Anti-police brutality activist arrested on explosives charges
Carlos Miller
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 5, 2003 12:00 AM

Tempe resident Laro Nicol, a member of an anti-police brutality group and frequent critic of the U.S. government, was arrested Tuesday on federal explosives charges.

Nicol is suspected of building "an improvised grenade," said Tom Mangan, spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

"It's basically like a pipe bomb," Mangan said.

His friends believe it was a set-up.

"I am convinced that this is an attempt to intimidate people who are anti-war and anti-police activists," said Joel Olson, who like Nicol is a member of Phoenix Copwatch, a Valley group that videotapes police officers as they make arrests in order to prevent police brutality.

Armed with a search warrant and assisted by Tempe police, federal agents arrived at Nicol's house in the 2100 block of East Palmcroft Drive at about 2:10 p.m.

Nicol, who was not home at the time, had been notified of the incident and turned himself in to Tempe police a few hours later, Mangan said.

He is being held at Madison Street Jail on one count of possession and manufacturing of destructive devices. He could not be reached Tuesday for comment. The U.S. Attorney's Office said it would release a report today that would offer more details on the investigation.

Nicol, 40, an air-traffic controller at Goodyear Airport, was editor of the now-defunct Valley alternative newspaper, the Current.

The former military man also spoke to Arizona State University students last October on "Justice in an Unjust World," according to a university newsletter.

"He has been actively involved in peace and justice groups in the Phoenix area for years," said Olson, who described Nicol's political ideology as "left to center."

Pat Schwind, a former member of Phoenix Copwatch who has been friends with Nicol for years, believes the charges "are totally bogus."

He describes his friend as a man who "speaks out against oppression and the abuses of government power" and has a tendency "to express views that may not sit well with the authorities."

But he also describes Nicol as "squeaky-clean."

"He just feels differently about political things than the average guy," Schwind said.