Grizzly Creek video transcript

On the morning of September 17, forest defenders made a video tape documenting a confrontation between the nonviolent activists and hostile loggers near Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park. What follows is a transcript of the audible interaction recorded on that video. The main logger in this transcript is A.E. Ammons, the man responsible for falling the tree which killed David "Gypsy" Chain. The violent and persistently threatening verbal attack Ammons wages on the activists occurred approximately one hour before Gypsy died. The logger and the trees he was falling toward the activists eventually chased the videographer out of the area.

N#1 [Narrator #1, Zoe Zalia]: (Quietly) Here we go. There's a clearcut right ahead of us. This is what it looks like after they clearcut. In the background you can see what it looks like before they clearcut. (Narrator #1 ducks behind tree and hands off the video camera to Narrator #2, Mike McCurdy, as a logger chases other activists downhill, threatening them, screaming and raging.

A.E. Ammons: (Running downhill after activists, screaming) You fÑÑ' cÑ sÑÑsÉinaudibleÉin the trees and let the fÑÑ' people who don't know what's goin' on go to fÑÑ' jail. We had patience yesterday. I stopped yesterday.

A: [Erik "Ayr" Eisenberg, one of the activists]: ÉinaudibleÉ

AEA: (Raging) Get the fÑ out of here! You've got me hot enough now to fÑ!

A: (Apologetically) We don't want to cause you any problems.

AEA: (Angrily) You already have! So get out of here! You cÑ sÑÑ! I mean it!

A: (Assertively) ÉWhen CDF comes out here they'll tell you to stop.

AEA: (Angrily) When the mÑÑfÑÑ shows up and tells me to stop, I'll stop!

A: (Calmly) ÉworkÉ Well we should give 'em a chance to show up.

AEA: (Angrily) Why the fÑ weren't they here early this morning!?!

A: (Questioning) They were here early this morning?

AEA: (Angrily) I said, "Why weren't they here early this morning!"

A: (Reasoning) Because they're in the company's pocket. So nowÉ

AEA: (Sarcastically) They're in the company's pocket? That's why they're fÑÑ' with us everyday. Yeah!

A: (Reasoning) They're not fÑÑ' with you everyday, otherwise they would be out here this morning. That's the thing.

AEA: (Threateningly) Get outta here! Otherwise I'll fÑÑ', I'll make sure I got a tree comin' this way!

A: (Gently) Alright. Well let's not talk about that. You know we're not gonna.

AEA: (Loudly, angrily) CÑ sÑÑ!

A: (Calmly) ÉinaudibleÉHurwitzÉinaudibleÉ

AEA: (Angrily) That's all I heard out of you mÑÑ fÑÑs yesterday!

A: ÉinaudibleÉ

Second logger: (Yelling) Why don't you go over there and harass the other fÑÑ' crew!

A: ÉinaudibleÉ

AEA: (Angrily) Why don't you get outta this fÑÑ' plan and go to the fÑÑ' trees that ain't been approved! We don't cut anything that ain't been approved, otherwise we go to fÑÑ' jail for it!

A: ÉinaudibleÉ

AEA: (Shouting) Where you cÑ sÑÑs belong for being out here and fÑÑ' with us!

A:ÉinaudibleÉ

AEA: (Raging) Ohhhhh, fÑ! I wish I had my fÑÑ' pistol! I guess I'm gonna just start packin' that mÑÑ fÑÑ in here. 'Cause I can only be nice so fÑÑ' long. Go get my saw, I'm gonna start fallin' into this fÑÑ' draw!

N#2: (Quietly) Grizzly Creek, September 17. A very angry logger.

AEA: (Shouting) FÑ! Yee Hoo!

N#2: (Quietly) I think he gave up now.

(Chainsaws revving, cutting, narrator scrambling up hill)

N#2: (Breathing heavily) They are logging, with people in the area. There's a tree falling. There are people in the area. Only a few minutes after I saw the irate logger threatening to hurt people I retreated from him. Here's some fresh cut. As you can see this is a very fÑÑ' steep slope. I can barely climb up it, making it extremely dangerous for an activist or logger up here.

A: ÉinaudibleÉ

AEA: (Shouting) What?

A: ÉinaudibleÉ

AEA: (Angrily screaming) I said I fÑÑ' love it! You got something elseÉ Get out of here mÑÑ fÑÑ!

(Narrator #2 chased out of the area by logger and falling trees.)

Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1998
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited


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