Kinder Morgan paying Massachusetts State Police hundreds of thousands to quell Berkshire pipeline protests
Financial records obtained by customer funded journalist network Muckrock reveal the Houston, Texas-based company had, as of June 3, paid state police $115,949.33.
The payments cover "authority" and "security" services related to the company's ongoing work in Otis State Forest, according to an invoice.
Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio on Wednesday explained the relationship in response to a MassLive inquiry.
"Security details or overtime assignments for event or venue security are routine -- we do them for Patriots games, for the Marathon, for concerts, for the July 4th fireworks event on the Esplanade in Boston, for the Head of the Charles Regatta, to name a few," he said.
Citing the state police mission in the forest, Procopio added, "The State Police mission at the pipeline extension project is to ensure the safety of all involved parties, including the project team, local residents, and demonstrators. We seek to ensure that the rights of all parties are protected, including the rights of the contractors to complete this legally-authorized project, the rights of nearby residents to safety and privacy, and the Constitutionally-protected rights of demonstrators to have a safe environment to lawfully assemble, speak and protest."
Massachusetts State Police Troop B has maintained a regular presence in the forest since May. Services to Kinder Morgan involve the arrest and removal of dozens of protesters, who have congregated in the forest in opposition to this project specifically and new fossil fuel infrastructure generally.
The Sugar Shack Alliance, an organizing coalition founded in 2016 to resist Kinder Morgan's plans, addressed the police agency's financial relationship with Kinder Morgan in a Facebook post Wednesday.
"All interactions with the Massachusetts State Police and the Sugar Shack Alliance have been amicable and respectful on both sides. But we must always keep in mind just who is paying for this party," the post read
In a second post, the group added, "It looks an awful lot like the state police are protecting Kinder Morgan, not the public, by arresting us for criminal charges that never stick. And yet we persist."
Arrested persons total more than 60 so far, including 98-year-old Northampton activist Frances Crowe.
Each faces a trespassing charge for refusing to leave restricted construction areas, and according to state police, all surrendered "peacefully and without resistance."
The trespassing charges against some of the protesters have been dropped, according to Sugar Shack Alliance. All of the charges were filed in Southern Berkshire District Court in Great Barrington.
Given the most recent round of 22 protester arrests on July 29, and continued policing of the forest since the June 3 invoice, the total amount Kinder Morgan has paid state police could by now run two to three times the earlier figure, assuming a consistent price.
Kinder Morgan spokesman Richard N. Wheatley declined to comment on the arrangement with police in correspondence with MassLive on Wednesday.
"Per company policy, we do not comment on security matters or our security program," he said.
The company in April received federal permitting to begin the work, which in Massachusetts involves the building of four miles of new pipeline in the forest, primarily located within the Southern Berkshire County town of Sandisfield.
Although the forest falls under Massachusetts' Article 97 protection, it already has two Kinder Morgan pipelines running through it along the same corridor, which date back 30 and 50 years. The third line under construction now runs right alongside the earlier two -- one of which exploded in 1981, forcing an evacuation of a portion of Sandisfield.
The line under construction now, which is to total roughly 14 miles, will also traverse parts of New York and Connecticut. The gas carried by the new pipe is destined for the company's Connecticut customers, hence its name, the "Connecticut Expansion."
For its part, Muckrock offered its two cents on the agreement, noting, "When public servants are hired by private firms, the balance of power between public interest and private profit can be easily corroded -- agencies that are put in place to protect and serve the public cannot simultaneously work for corporations while serving the people."
Procopio addressed these charges in his comments, saying the state police presence in the forest allows the public's interest of equal protection under the law and personal safety to be fulfilled.
"Operations such as this one do not represent a conflict of interest. Wherever we work -- whether regular shift, detail, overtime, whether routine patrol, critical incident response, or security operation -- our mission is to maintain and preserve the public's safety. That is the public interest, and that is the role we fulfill, regardless of whether we fulfill it on routine patrols, regular or overtime operations, or private detail."
Protester tactics have involved the formation of human blockades to prevent construction vehicles from entering work areas. The work has been consequently held up by hours at a time, in some cases.
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