THE PRICE OF PROTEST

THE CITY At a JOHN WILEY PRICE- led protest of WFAA-TV and The Dallas Morning News in August, a passing motorist looked quizzically out his window at a group of police officers assigned to watch the protest. “Your tax money at work!” one officer yelled at him.

How much tax money? Exact counts aren’t available, but we thought we’d try to get an estimate. There are usually more than 30 officers patrolling the area outside WFAA-TV and The Dallas Morning News during the noon-time protests.

D Magazine counted 35 blues deployed one Friday afternoon. The officers were accompanied by 11 police motorcycles, nine squad cars, one big cop van known as a command post, two police horses plus the truck that brought ’em, and one video camera. (This for a one-hour march ’n’ chant with about 50 protesters on our visit-eight of whom were kids.)

If we take an average hourly rate of pay those officers could have been earning ($13.30 for an officer with three years’ experience), and figure in the average protest hours logged in a week (11), we can get a minimum monthly cost to the city of more than $20,400.

Of course, that doesn’t count the two officers who were assigned to watch over a handful of ami-Price demonstrators each Friday from noon to 1 p.m. The cost to keep tabs on the counter-picketers. who stand three blocks from WFAA-TV holding placards denouncing Price, was running a mere $106.40 per month.