Yesterday, in Police brutality on Wall Street, I complained that the demonstrations and examples of police brutality were not getting the media coverage they deserve. That has changed, and as a result, I understand the dynamics better than I did yesterday. For one thing, most of the abuse that has taken place had been by supervisors, with a rank of Lieutenant or above. Demonstrators report that their relations with rank and file police have been good. For another, rumors of violence by demonstrators are false. There is no evidence of such an occurrence. Here is a poor attempt to justify the abuse, followed by video reports.
When members of the loose protest movement known as Occupy Wall Street began a march from the financial district to Union Square on Saturday, the participants seemed relatively harmless, even as they were breaking the law by marching in the street without a permit.
Even as the loose protest movement known as Occupy Wall Street seems unorganized, it poses a challenge to the police.
But to the New York Police Department, the protesters represented something else: a visible example of lawlessness akin to that which had resulted in destruction and violence at other anticapitalist demonstrations, like the Group of 20 economic summit meeting in London in 2009 and the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle in 1999.
The Police Department’s concerns came up against reality on Saturday, when their efforts to maintain crowd control suddenly escalated: protesters were corralled by police officers who put up orange mesh netting; the police forcibly arrested some participants; and a deputy inspector used pepper spray on four women who were on the sidewalk, behind the orange netting… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <NY Times>
This excuse does not hold water. The behavior by these demonstrators was completely different from what happened in those other demonstrations. The job of police is to respond to conditions that actually exist, not to react to what they fear might happen.
The badge pictured above belongs to the man accused of pepper straying four women without cause.
Keith covered the story in two segments with activist Kelly Heresy and Reporter Karen McVeigh on Countdown.
Here’s the second.
I’m pleased to hear from demonstrators that relations with police have been positive, overall. However, police brutality during demonstrations has been all too common. Lawrence O’Donnell discussed the weapon demonstrators used that was so terrible that police needed violence to counteract it, and follows with a condemnation of police brutality.
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I fully agree with his position. A large part of the problem is that police culture demands that officers protect their fellow officers from culpability. They would far better serve their reputation and their ability to do their jobs of they would help weed out the officers who commit violent crimes against those they are sworn to serve and protect. Instead, their silence serves to condemn them all for the actions of a few.
22 Responses to “Wall Street violence gets coverage”
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This type of police behavior is EXACTLY what started the 1967 Detroit rebellion in which 43 people did die (not including the 16 they killed prior to the start of the rebellion) and has incurred almost 50 years of some sort of federal oversight. It also is why cops won’t come into certain neighborhoods after dark without and army. Wall Street first Chicago second, DC after that! I doubt they could kill a million Americans before the mainstream news starts to cover this. Poor Lawrence hamstrung by Comcast/GE to not call out “Liberty Park” as the place for people to gather.
Mark, that’s an excellent point. However,m I understand the demonstrators and the rank and file are getting along. It’s the supervisors instigating the violence.
I just posted on Baloney myself. This is a guy who was known to be a bad apple, and yet…. he kept his job. Not exactly good works on the part of New York City.
Excellent article, JR. I highly recommend it. You have that right!
Folks, click here.
I wonder if these cops are Republicans and if that is the REAL reason they acted this way? Maybe they just are on opposing side and they took things into their own hands, so to say? I wonder if it could be proven if they did it for their own political reasons or if they were paid off by someone on Wall Street? There is always a reason why people do things.
Welcome, Sam! 🙂
I can’t see their motives, but since it is the supervisors who are being abusive, not the rank and file, my best guess is that they are doing what Mayor Bloomberg wants, which is what the Banksters want.
Has their motto been changed to “To protect and serve our own best interests”?
It just takes a few bad ones to taint the image of them all.
The best interest of the rank and file is to support the protestors, because the protestors support their union,
Those who pepper-sprayed that innocent deaf lady should in turn be pepper-sprayed. Repeatedly at their trial, before they are convicted and sentenced for their heinous crime. There is NO justification whatsoever in what they did, and justice demands that they are punished for it.
Jack, a actually disagree, a rare occurrence indeed. There is certainly no justification for their abuse, but a long prison sentence is sufficient punishment.
Excellent article ; I do want to note however ; so far media coverage seems to be focusing on the Police and their behavior ;; Little attention seems to be paid to the reason demonstrators are there in the first place.
The demonstrators’ agenda and the media’s corporate agenda are opposites.
Don’t want to say “I told you so”, but I told you so! These cops are thugs, not “republicans” — they don’t give a damn – they’re getting their rocks off! What is so inspiring to me, is that after a decade of protesting this and that – the younger generation seems to be arising from their “apathy” and actually taking a stand!!!! How refreshing! Our work is done!!!!!! Now if I can only inspire my brothers, who, like myself are filled with anti-Obama sentiment, but so much so they are about to vote for Perry or Bachmann – if only to help cause the right to see how abhorrent their behavior actually is! They’re convinced that the left has left the barn for the wolves, and O hasn’t delivered on his promises – re gitmo and speedy trials for those left there, as well as the country going further “right” with each year of the Obama “capitulation” presidency! It looks right now slightly right of Nixon – sorry to go on a tangent here – just a little concerned.
Lee, perhaps you might consider an anger management group. You’re bitterness is out of hand, my friend.
Trust me, this is only the beginning. There will eventually be an armed revolution and blood in the streets. People can go unemployed, homeless and hungry for only so long before they will go after what they need. The wealthy set’s gated communities had better be damned secure or their Mc Mansions are going up in flames.
May you be wrong, because nothing good will come of it.
I hope they expose that officer who sprayed those women and fire him. That was completely unnecessary.
Lisa, he’s exposed and should have been fires long ago. See JR’s article I linked above.
So far, they are defending Tony Baloney. Hopefully, the pressure will become too great to do this indefinitely.
Amen to that!
I have a great deal of respect for police — they have an often thankless job to do. I was raised that way. My mother spent years as a Justice of Peace signing search and arrest warrants. Had she seen this, she would gladly sign an arrest warrant to get this moron, Bologna, off the streets away from ordinary citizens peacefully exercising their constitutionsl right to freedom of speech, and away from the impressionable rookie officers and other good decent officers who must endure the fallout from the actions of this idiot. Looking at him, he must be close to retirement. One side of me says continue the ‘existing’ action and a new action against him for the Occupy Wall St protest, but retire the bastard before he can do more harm. The other less compassionate side of me says charge him, convict him and throw him in prison obviously for his crimes, but also as an example to other officers who feel thay are above the law. Strip him of his pension, or at least part of his full pension and benefits. Maybe in prison he’ll be forced to get anger management help. There is no place in a civil society for this kind of action.
Thanks to TomCat for posting a link to JollyRoger’s post. Good post JR. Thanks
Lynn, it’d not a matter of bitterness, but those entrusted with making our laws and those entrusted with enforcing them. Must be dealt with most strictly for their violation, because they are abusing the power entrusted to them.