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http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/201...arrested-after-confrontations-on-wall-street/
23 Protesters Arrested After Confrontations on Wall Street
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By Andrew Grossman
ZumaPress
Protesters took to Wall Street Wednesday night, and nearly two dozen people were arrested after skirmished with police.
Police arrested 23 people in Lower Manhattan Wednesday night after a large, peaceful daytime march against corporations and the financial system ended in a series of skirmishes between protesters and law enforcement.
Most were arrested for disorderly conduct, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said; one person was charged with riot and another with assault on a police officer.
Almost all of the arrests occurred after the end of a union-backed march in which thousands of protesters moved from Foley Square to Zuccotti Park, the site that protesters have occupied for nearly three weeks. Browne said one person was arrested for disorderly conduct near Foley Square during the march.
The arrests came as some protesters from the “Occupy Wall Street” movement, perhaps emboldened by the day’s large turnout for Wednesday’s march, tried to do what they have so far failed to accomplish, despite their name: occupy the actual Wall Street.
The protesters involved in the incident were met by police at the corner of Wall Street and Broadway, where videos posted online Wednesday night showed some clashing with police. A lieutenant — whose uniform indicates that he has more than 15 years of experience — is shown in one video swinging his baton at demonstrators. That’s where one person was arrested for riot and four others were charged with disorderly conduct, according to Browne.
Protesters involved in the movement have faced police before — most notably the 700 people arrested Saturday during an attempted march across the Brooklyn Bridge — but Wednesday’s events struck an altogether different tone. Videos show more a direct confrontation between police and protesters.
“The vast majority of demonstrators have been peaceful,” Browne said. “But there’s a relatively small, hard core who appear bent on confrontations with police.” He alleged that a group of protesters at Wall Street and Broadway organized a charge against police and “threw liquid-filled plastic bottles at the officers.”
One video captured a skirmish near the iconic statue of a charging bull: As police on small motorcycles rode down the street, demonstrators, some with bandannas covering their face, blocked them. The officers got off their motorcycles and made some arrests.
In another video, one officer standing across the street from the New York Stock Exchange is overheard telling another: “My little nightstick is going to get a workout tonight.”
Aat a press conference Thursday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended the NYPD’s conduct.
“I think our Police Department conducted themselves the way they should,” the mayor said. “Every cop, I don’t know. There will always be somebody that’s got some piece of footage.”
Bloomberg said he does not think the demonstrations will escalate, but he also said they could last for a while.
“I don’t know that there is a way to resolve. There’s no leadership, one group that’s leading or whatever,” he said. “What I can tell you is this is the place where you can protest. This is the place we have, I don’t think the city needs to defend its record as being the most tolerant, open city in the world.”
But some demonstrators appear to feel differently. One video, which appears to have been edited, shows a young man shouting at police at the corner of Wall Street and Broadway, across from Trinity Church.
“Each new macing video that’s released, each new depiction of the abuses of the police on the First Amendment, the more people will show up here in New York City,” he says. “And the more waves of occupation will spread across this country. And you should be proud of that police, because you are participating in our media publicity campaign. Thank you for attending.”
– Sean Gardiner and Michael Howard Saul contributed to this report.
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23 Protesters Arrested After Confrontations on Wall Street
Article
Comments
Metropolis HOME PAGE »
Digg
+ More
smaller Text larger
By Andrew Grossman
ZumaPress
Protesters took to Wall Street Wednesday night, and nearly two dozen people were arrested after skirmished with police.
Police arrested 23 people in Lower Manhattan Wednesday night after a large, peaceful daytime march against corporations and the financial system ended in a series of skirmishes between protesters and law enforcement.
Most were arrested for disorderly conduct, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said; one person was charged with riot and another with assault on a police officer.
Almost all of the arrests occurred after the end of a union-backed march in which thousands of protesters moved from Foley Square to Zuccotti Park, the site that protesters have occupied for nearly three weeks. Browne said one person was arrested for disorderly conduct near Foley Square during the march.
The arrests came as some protesters from the “Occupy Wall Street” movement, perhaps emboldened by the day’s large turnout for Wednesday’s march, tried to do what they have so far failed to accomplish, despite their name: occupy the actual Wall Street.
The protesters involved in the incident were met by police at the corner of Wall Street and Broadway, where videos posted online Wednesday night showed some clashing with police. A lieutenant — whose uniform indicates that he has more than 15 years of experience — is shown in one video swinging his baton at demonstrators. That’s where one person was arrested for riot and four others were charged with disorderly conduct, according to Browne.
Protesters involved in the movement have faced police before — most notably the 700 people arrested Saturday during an attempted march across the Brooklyn Bridge — but Wednesday’s events struck an altogether different tone. Videos show more a direct confrontation between police and protesters.
“The vast majority of demonstrators have been peaceful,” Browne said. “But there’s a relatively small, hard core who appear bent on confrontations with police.” He alleged that a group of protesters at Wall Street and Broadway organized a charge against police and “threw liquid-filled plastic bottles at the officers.”
One video captured a skirmish near the iconic statue of a charging bull: As police on small motorcycles rode down the street, demonstrators, some with bandannas covering their face, blocked them. The officers got off their motorcycles and made some arrests.
In another video, one officer standing across the street from the New York Stock Exchange is overheard telling another: “My little nightstick is going to get a workout tonight.”
Aat a press conference Thursday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended the NYPD’s conduct.
“I think our Police Department conducted themselves the way they should,” the mayor said. “Every cop, I don’t know. There will always be somebody that’s got some piece of footage.”
Bloomberg said he does not think the demonstrations will escalate, but he also said they could last for a while.
“I don’t know that there is a way to resolve. There’s no leadership, one group that’s leading or whatever,” he said. “What I can tell you is this is the place where you can protest. This is the place we have, I don’t think the city needs to defend its record as being the most tolerant, open city in the world.”
But some demonstrators appear to feel differently. One video, which appears to have been edited, shows a young man shouting at police at the corner of Wall Street and Broadway, across from Trinity Church.
“Each new macing video that’s released, each new depiction of the abuses of the police on the First Amendment, the more people will show up here in New York City,” he says. “And the more waves of occupation will spread across this country. And you should be proud of that police, because you are participating in our media publicity campaign. Thank you for attending.”
– Sean Gardiner and Michael Howard Saul contributed to this report.
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