87 Arrested in NY as cops attack protestors again! (sunday)
Wipe Out WEF | 04.02.2002 02:18
ACTIVISTS ARRESTED IN ACTION AGAINST POLICE RESTRICTIONS ON PROTEST; DOZENS INJURED; PRESS CONFERENCE CALLED FOR TOMORROW
87 Arrested in NY as cops attack protestors again! (sunday)
Sixty activists were arrested this afternoon by New York Police while performing a "snake march" along the sidewalks of the East Village, while dozens of others were beaten and pepper-sprayed by police. Police told the People's Law Collective, an anarchist legal collective, that as many as 50 more may still be arrested.
The snake march, a direct-action protest tactic in which activists link arms and dance along streets and sidewalks in an unpredictable route as a way to reestablish public space for festivity and free expression, began at StMarks Place and Second Avenue. Marchers had reached Second Avenue between 12th and 13th Streets at about 1:30pm when fully-geared riot police, with two corrections vans, ambushed them.
The 60 arrests were accompanied by dozens of injuries, as police knockedto the ground a group of activists who were crossing the street legally butwere not engaged in the march. At least one person was knocked unconscious,picked up and placed in a corrections van.
One report said that Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chief Raymond Kelly were on the scene observing the police actions.
The march was called by the Anti-Capitalist Convergence, a New York-based collective of anti-authoritarian, anti-capitalist activists that hadalso participated in yesterday's anti-World Economic Forum march from 59thStreet and Fifth Avenue to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Members of the ACC were subjected to an unprovoked attack from police at that march; policecharged the crowd of activists, beat and pepper-sprayed many, and hauled 20 outfor random arrests. The 20 are being arraigned today at 100 Centre Street, after having spent 12 hours yesterday in a police van without water or communication.
"The police overreacted," Joe Keady, a member of Anti-Capitalist Convergence, said of today's incident. "There was such a buildup to the WorldEconomic Forum protests yesterday, and they spent that whole day with nothingreally to do. They were bored, and I guess they decided to make some action for themselves."
Keady suspects the marchers were "profiled" by police, who may have been tipped off that the march was going to take place. However, "there's no excuse for a vicious attack like this," Keady says.
Roots Media Collective is calling a press conference on the incident for tomorrow afternoon at the Walker Space, 56 Walker Street in Manhattan,to present more information on this incident and what legal action may be taken.
RMC
Roots Media Collective is a group of independent journalists and media activists that was formed in 2000 and is based in New York City.
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More Info See:
IMC NY
http://nyc.indymedia.org IMC NY Breaking News
http://nyc.indymedia.org/breaknews.php UK WEF Coverage
http://uk.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=21514&group=webcast
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Another event gets trashed by cops....
04.02.2002 04:05
Police Brutality At Animal Liberation March
by Witness 6:47pm Sun Feb 3 '02
Between 2nd and 3rd avenue on 59th St a protestor was thrown to the ground and may have received head wounds. The protestor already had a head wound with stitches. It is not known why the protestor was assaulted. As I witnessed the accurance, I was rammed with a bike and threatened with arrest for reporting the incident on a cell phone. I fled the scene before being arrested. All of the media was removed from the premises.
At the March for the Earth and Animal Liberation, I witnessed a shocking incident of police brutality. The march started at 76st and 5th avenue, it was planned to march until arriving at the offices of Royal Dutch Shell Oil. It never made it there because of extreme police repression. Somewhere along the way, an office window was broken by one protestor. The office had been involved in animal testing. The riot police moved in and split the march into two groups. Part of the protesters went east and the other half to the west. Our group moved to the west and moved down 2nd avenue. For the entire duration of the procession, we were surrounded by riot cops. I was impressed with the fact that the groups refused to give up the march. At 59th st. both groups merged together to reform the original group. The group proceded from 2nd ave. toward 3rd avenue. I was in front of the march to monitor any developments and report them on my cell phone. The police were growing increasingly uneasy. It seemed that they were waiting to attack. Finally they seized the opportunity when the chants of the crowd were at their climax. A protestor was grabbed and it looked like he was pepper sprayed. He was then thrown to the ground by the police. People screamed that he already had a head wound with stitches. The pigs were completely unsympathetic. It looked as if his head may have hit the ground. I counted four police officers on top of him. Officers on bikes and riot cops moved in on the scene. All of the media was pushed out of the viewing area. I immediately called the People's Law Collective and reported everything that I saw. An office then began ramming me with his bicycle in the knee. They forced me away from the scene and threatened me with arrest. I showed my press pass and they said it was illegitimate. I rushed across the street to avoid arrest and a further assault. The police were moving in with force. Police vans, cars, and bikes moved in on the demonstrators. I was rather nervous because the police were not at all pleased with my accurate cell phone report and eyeing me suspiciously. I saw a couple of cops that were poining in my direction. It was absolutely ridiulous. There was no warrant for such violent police action. I feel lucky that I escaped and managed to call in to the IMC, but very sad for the other demonstrators. It looked like a fucking Gestapo raid. This article may be sloppy because I am still a little shakey. If someone else witnessed the assaults, please e-mail me and let me know if anyone was severely injured. Everything happened so fast that it is hard for me to fully recount my experience. I would strongly suggest a protest against the NYPD's police brutality this weekend. They more than exceded their legal authority. The cops who assaulted the crowd should be taken to court and all of the demonstrators should be freed without charges.
...ends...
btw I think one window got smashed and a couple of paint balls thrown.
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