Sporadic clashes between rolling squads of protesters and a muscular task force of police flared Thursday through the heart of Miami, but the vast majority of demonstrators found peaceful ways to express their grievances against a proposed free-trade pact.
''We accomplished what we set out to do,'' said John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, which sponsored the main event of the day -- a nonviolent march by thousands of union members and others that snaked through the city center.
The protesters opposed this week's round of talks at the Hotel Inter-Continental to create a Free Trade Area of the Americas. They say a pact would damage the environment, exploit foreign workers and cost many Americans their jobs.
Apart from several small trash fires set by a few protesters, no significant acts of vandalism or property damage were reported during the day, and no disruptions erupted in outlying areas.
Police said about 8,000-10,000 people participated in the demonstrations.
At least 12 activists were treated at Jackson Memorial Hospital for minor injuries. About 125 protesters reported to an activist medical center -- at least 15 with welts or head wounds caused by rubber bullets, 10 with wounds inflicted by police batons and more than 100 with skin burns caused by pepper gas, according to Dr. Eowyn Rieke, a medical doctor at the center.
During afternoon clashes near Bayside Marketplace, cries of ''Medic! Medic!'' rose from injured protesters.
Three law enforcement officers were treated for minor injuries.
At the same time, authorities reported at least 141 arrests, mostly on charges of trespassing, resisting an officer, disorderly conduct and obstruction of justice.
PRAISE FROM CHIEF
Miami Police Chief John Timoney said officers on the scene performed excellently, considering the hostility of demonstrators.
''I thought the officers showed remarkable restraint,'' Timoney said. ``These are outsiders coming in to terrorize and vandalize our city.''
Police arrested 1,300 people and 570 people, respectively, during similarly motivated demonstrations in Washington, D.C., in 2002 and Seattle in 1999. The Seattle riots caused $20 million in damage.
With one day of scheduled protests left, Timoney said extensive training and strong cooperation among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies helped police deal with the flare-ups.
''We had almost six months of training,'' he said. ``In Seattle, they didn't have that.''
In Miami on Thursday, the heavy presence of black-uniformed, riot-equipped police apparently had the desired effect: The hit-and-run skirmishes were more fleeting and less incendiary than some had feared they might have been.
In addition, protesters -- some wearing black clothing, their faces obscured by bandannas -- were not easily visible from the Inter-Continental.
''I think Miami's put on a great show,'' said Gov. Jeb Bush, who attended the talks.
But many protest leaders and participants criticized what they called the authorities' intimidating and heavy-handed tactics. In essence, the police created black walls of human shields through much of the city.
Nikki Hartman, 28, was bleeding from the head after being struck with pellets fired by police on Biscayne Boulevard late in the day.
''They shot me,'' she yelled as other protesters pulled her away. ``They shot me in the back.''
The concentrations of police appeared unprecedented. Authorities mustered a force of more than 2,500 officers from at least 40 agencies. Armored vehicles were there, as were many officers on horseback and bicycles.
The Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office, meanwhile, asked an appeals court to help free three men arrested on minor charges in connection with the protests and held on what the office said were unusually high bonds.
The three were jailed on bonds of $10,000 or $20,000 for charges that usually merit bonds of $500 or $1,000, Public Defender Bennett Brummer said. He said their files, like many belonging to arrested protesters, had been flagged with special ''FTAA'' markings.
Police said more demonstrations could occur today, although the trade ministers from 34 nations unexpectedly ended their talks Thursday. Many local streets and exits from I-95 into the downtown area are likely to remain closed.
''The security plan will be the same,'' Timoney said. ``We are treating it as if the ministers are meeting.''
Said Miami Police Lt. Bill Schwartz: ``They're going to keep testing us.''
Sweeney said police partially failed one element of the test -- the obligation to allow citizens to assembly freely.
Dozens of buses carrying union members and supporters were prevented from reaching the rendezvous point for the rally, Sweeney said. And the route of the march, he said, was abbreviated at the last minute.
''What happened was an insult,'' Sweeney said. ``It was an insult to all the people who were left standing on the street for hours. The police officers were insensitive to thousands of people who came to Miami and had a message to deliver.''
SOME CLASHES
The clashes came early in the morning and late in the afternoon, before and after the AFL-CIO rally and march.
In the morning, police employed pepper spray, at least one concussion grenade and stun guns during brief confrontations with several thousand demonstrators who streamed in disorganized fashion through city streets.
Some protesters tossed or fired white substances at some police officers. The substances were variously described as whitewash and vinegar or white paint and urine.
One opponent of the talks was shot in the thigh with a rubber bullet. She identified herself as Sweetart, a student from Colorado. She suffered a quarter-size purple bruise and was treated by medics associated with the protest groups.
''They didn't warn us or anything,'' she said.
In the afternoon, about 600 demonstrators returned to the area, and a few of them set small trash fires in the middle of Biscayne Boulevard near the Inter-Continental.
A few protesters, apparently members of a radical group called the Black Bloc, threw rocks, bottles and other objects at officers. One or more demonstrators used makeshift slingshots to propel projectiles at police.
In response, thick lines of officers -- carrying batons and plastic shields -- moved relentlessly forward, pushing back the activists and clearing the street. Some officers fired pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and beanbags into the ranks of protesters.
After about an hour of small-scale confrontations, police largely succeeded in suppressing the modest assaults by protesters.
The largest event was the AFL-CIO march, which looped peacefully through a portion of downtown Miami without major incident.
Organizers said that 20,000 union members and supporters participated in the march, but the number appeared to fall well below that.
Union members and other protesters associated with the AFL-CIO gathered at Bayfront Park at midday, ready for the big rally and march, although many of them were compelled by police to distinguish themselves from more radical elements of the protest.
Some union members waited more than an hour outside the gates and grew impatient.
''Let us in,'' they chanted. ``Let us in.''
Said Nancy Brigham, a retired member of an auto workers union, referring to the police:
``I think they're just trying to provoke something. I believe they don't want peaceful protest. They're trying to discredit protesters and the event.''
Herald staff writers Susan Anasagasti, Lisa Arthur, Richard Brand, Elinor J. Brecher, Lesley Clark, Ina Paiva Cordle, Oscar Corral, Trenton Daniel, Amy Deen, Jim DeFede, Rebecca Dellagloria, Elaine de Valle, Amy Driscoll, Daphne Duret, Manny Garcia, Tim Henderson, Christina Hoag, Sonji Jacobs, Jasmine Kripalani, Meg Laughlin, Susannah A. Nesmith, Gail Epstein Nieves, David Ovalle, Matthew I. Pinzur, Chuck Rabin, Karl Ross, Carolyn Salazar, Sofia Santana, Michael Vasquez, Casey Woods and Luisa Yanez contributed to this report.
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