NASHVILLE (AP) — The state Department of General Services billed Occupy Nashville $1,045 to provide two troopers for security the night before they began arresting the protesters and clearing their encampment.
The invoice was part of a public records request to the department from The Associated Press.
Protester Dorsey Malina said she was one of a group that met with General Services Commissioner Steve Cates on Oct. 26 over their concerns about security on the plaza.
There is some disagreement about what happened at that meeting. Malina said a trooper who had been making the rounds of the plaza at night suddenly stopped showing up and protesters wanted to know why.
They were told the state could not police their encampment and they would have to pay for security, she said.
Jennifer Donnals, a spokeswoman with the Safety Department, said troopers never stopped patrolling the plaza and Safety officials who attended the meeting do not recall protesters ever raising that concern. They were concerned about safety, she said, so Cates suggested they hire security.
Both sides say the protesters agreed to hire the troopers. On Oct. 27 the protesters received a bill for the services of two troopers from 10:30 p.m. until 8:00 a.m. at a rate of $55 per hour.
Asked whether the bill was high, General Services spokeswoman Lola Potter said the protesters were charged the same rate as anyone who requests security for an event on the plaza. She said two troopers likely were needed because it would be hard for one to see everything happening in the area.
Malina said that, to her knowledge, no one from Occupy Nashville ever paid the bill for the troopers because shortly thereafter they took the state to court.
The same day of the invoice, the state announced a new 10 p.m. curfew for the plaza and other grounds surrounding the Capitol, citing concerns about security and sanitation. That night, at about 3 a.m. on Oct. 28, troopers moved in and began making arrests.
After two nights and 55 arrests, troopers abruptly stopped enforcing the curfew, and on Oct. 31, a federal judge granted an order barring its enforcement. Since then, protesters have reoccupied the plaza and said they plan to stay through the winter.
Gov. Bill Haslam told reporters Monday his administration is crafting a new policy to govern the plaza's use.
"We've begun the process, we're having conversations with the attorney general and other folks about how the rule promulgation will work," he said. "I don't really have anything new beyond that."