Hundreds of WTO protesters remained in Seattle jails Thursday, as thousands more demonstrated peacefully to demand their release and an apology from the city for the police crackdown that drew increasing criticism from elected officials, civil libertarians and the city’s residents.

More than 400 protesters, most arrested in non-violent protests on Wednesday, faced another night in the King County Jail as authorities met for hours with negotiators and attorneys. Seattle officials agreed to the negotiations after several thousand people staged a four-hour sit-in outside the jail downtown. The group gathered at the jail after a peaceful march by several thousand people to highlight concerns about the effect of WTO rulings on agriculture.

Demonstrators at the jail included not only those who have been protesting the trade talks all week, but a large contingent of Seattle residents outraged by the aggressive tactics of police, who have indiscriminately teargassed and arrested large numbers of non-violent protesters in the aftermath of vandalism by a small gang of troublemakers.

Celia Alario, a spokeswoman for the Direct Action Network, and John Sellers of the Ruckus Society, two of the groups that organized this week’s non-violent protests, told the Observer that authorities had conceded on a major point: The 400 arrestees inside the jail, who have formed a number of mutual-support affinity groups among, will be allowed while still in custody to conduct "jail solidarity" strategy meetings with their attorneys.

By refusing to cooperate with authorities to be processed and released, the "Seattle 400" hope to force an apology from the city and the dropping of all charges against protesters arrested for non-violent activities.

Mayor Paul Schell conceded Thursday that he had seen evidence of over-reaction and even brutality by police officers, and he was not alone.

Television stations repeatedly showed footage from a standoff between police and protesters Wednesday night in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, which included one man who was walking backwards with his hands in the air when an officer charged him and kicked him the groin. KING-TV, the city’s most respected TV news operation, stated flatly that the tide of public opinion had turned firmly against the police.

"The next protest march will have nothing to do with the WTO and everything to do with the outrageous police conduct," one Capitol Hill resident told KING.

The confrontation Wednesday night on Broadway — well outside the no-protest curfew zone downtown — involved about 150 people, most of whom insisted to police that they were residents of the neighborhood.

"Go home," the crowds chanted, according to the Seattle Times. "We live here."

Police responded by spraying residents with pepper spray and tear gas.

Among those gassed was King County Council member Brian Derdowski, who was trying to negotiate between the riot-gear clad police and protesters.

"The people in the street were singing Christmas carols," said Derdowski. "There was no warning, then we got hit with teargas canisters, rubber bullets and concussion grenades."

A lawsuit by the Washington state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, calling for an injunction to lift the curfew and official state of emergency, was denied Thursday by a superior court judge, although late in the day Mayor Schell greatly reduced the size of the curfew. But criticism continued to mount from many quarters.

"I didn’t see some of the things that happened yesterday, but you were treated shabbily. If this were my city, I’d apologize to you," George Becker, president of the United Steelworkers of America, told a crowd of marchers.

And a group of local residents calling themselves Neighbors Against the Seattle Police State met Thursday night, drawing a crowd that demanded the resignations of the mayor and the police chief.

Religious leaders, environmentalists, labor, youth, and elected officials met today to coordinate a community response to Tuesday’s property destruction and the brutality of the police response, hoping to return the debate to the problems with the WTO.

Attending were King County Councilmember Larry Gossett, and representatives of the AFL-CIO, Teamsters, Sierra Club, and Washington Association of Churches, among many others.

Ron Judd, head of the King County Labor Council, said opponents of the WTO could be proud that they had "changed the climate and the nature of the debate."

But he blasted the reaction by authorities, saying the scattered vandalism Tuesday night did not make it right for police to violate the constitutional rights and non-violent protesters and city residents.

"Democracy, freedom of speech, and the right to peacefully protest have been lost," said Judd. "It appears that WTO Ministers are more worth protecting and have more rights than the citizens."