Bellingham man arrested for allegedly shoving 2 police officers during Camp 210 protest
On the same day the city of Bellingham cleared a homeless encampment in a parking lot at Frank Geri Softball Fields, police arrested a Bellingham man wanted for reportedly shoving two officers during a protest of the city’s efforts to clean up Camp 210 downtown approximately six weeks earlier.
Cavan Clayton Sperry, 21, was booked into Whatcom County Jail on Tuesday, March 16, on suspicion of two counts each of third-degree assault and failure to disperse and one count of obstructing a law enforcement officer. Jail records show Sperry was released Wednesday on personal recognizance.
At approximately 7:30 a.m. Jan. 28, Bellingham police and Public Works employees began efforts to clean up a tent encampment outside Bellingham City Hall, Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
Homeless campers had been living in tents outside City Hall and the downtown Bellingham Public Library since November 2020 to protest a lack of shelter in Bellingham and Whatcom County.
Bellingham police were on hand to provide a secure corridor for Public Works employees to clean up and repair the area where the encampment had been and communicate with people who had been living there to offer services, Murphy reported.
Through much of the clean-up, Sperry was seen at the front of a large group of people who attempted to hinder clean-up efforts and yelled vulgarities at officers, Murphy reported. Several announcements were made by police to disperse when work by Public Works crews had to stop.
With the help of other protesters, Sperry pushed against police officers while holding a long metal pipe, Murphy reported, and at one point he “violently shoved” a police officer in the shoulder.
Later in the day, Sperry reached out and intentionally shoved another officer, according to Murphy. When the officer pushed Sperry’s arm back, Sperry reportedly shoved the officer again.
Both incidents were caught on body cameras worn by Bellingham police officers, Murphy reported. The Bellingham Herald has filed a public records request to obtain video of the incidents.
Sperry was stopped at 11:34 a.m. Tuesday while driving his car in the 1200 block of Lincoln Street and was arrested without incident, according to Murphy.
He was the seventh person arrested and booked into jail for their alleged roles in the Jan. 28 protest, and at least one other person has been cited.
Some of the residents at the downtown Camp 210 relocated to the parking lot near the lower fields of Frank Geri Softball Fields, until the city cleared that encampment Tuesday morning.
Some of those campers relocated to Laurel Park, and on Wednesday, March 17, the city of Bellingham notified them that they needed to remove themselves and their belongings from the new location by Friday morning, March 18.
Since the campers moved to Laurel Park, Murphy said as of Wednesday evening police have received at least 49 complaints — most came in on the department’s online reporting system, though some were phoned in.
“Many of the reports are about concerns for safety of the neighborhood residents, health hazards, fire hazards, increase in thefts (beer stolen from one citizen as they were unloading their groceries), open-air urinating and defecating, an increase in garbage in the neighborhood, and the inability for the neighborhood kids to use the playground/park,” Murphy wrote.
