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But the real winners this weekend were the Washington police, who showed that when given carte blanche to keep the peace, they are more than willing to overprepare and overreact. By Sunday night, 725 protesters had been arrested -- many just caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, others having resorted to hostility or violence, some with scars they'll be able to show their grandkids.

Throughout the weekend, the Metropolitan Police Department prepared for the worst and displayed what many saw as unnecessary zeal. Humvees and cops in full riot gear squared off against scrawny hippies, motorcycles were used as street sweepers, red-herring "fire violations" were trotted out to close down the protesters' headquarters. All weekend long, small eruptions of brutality were used as a warning sign and reminder of the cops' license to kick ass.

On Monday morning, since the police department had urged Washingtonians to skip work, many normally bustling city streets in downtown were abandoned. It was a post-apocalyptic vision, with sirens blaring and whistles shrieking, which was then interrupted by a disconcerting, deadening, silence.

For the most part, the police tactics worked -- at least by the narrow definition of success set by Mayor Tony Williams and Police Chief Charles Ramsey. The IMF and World Bank meetings went on pretty much as planned with seemingly few inconveniences inflicted upon their boards, and many protesters who stuck around through Monday seemed dedicated but terrified.

Monday morning at the intersection of 20th and Pennsylvania Avenue, for instance, a few hundred protesters staged one final effort at civil disobedience. Dozens tried to break through barricades into the area around the IMF and World Bank buildings that police had cordoned off, while still others sat in the middle of the intersection blocking traffic.

Cops were having none of that -- they pepper-sprayed to get people to move, and arrested 250 for charges ranging from crossing a police line to "incommoding" -- blocking public access. Many were chased down and clubbed to the ground. And though the department maintains it only uses pepper spray, one officer threw a tear-gas canister, which was later said to have been a simple mistake.

Next page | "We're tired! We're cranky! Shut the World Banky!"