ONLINE SEPTEMBER 26, 2011
Why I Was Maced at Occupy Wall Street
Video by Jeanne Mansfield
My boyfriend Frank and I are heading toward Liberty Square to check out what’s going on at the Occupy Wall Street protest, when we stumble upon the afternoon march toward Union Square. So we join up and walk along behind. The crowd looks like maybe 300 people, mostly punk-styled kids and folks carrying their computers (for live streaming, we found out later) and some aging-hippie types. People are beating drums, blowing whistles, carrying signs, and chanting: “Banks got bailed out, you got sold out!” and “We are the 99 percent!” and “All day, all week, occupy Wall Street!” and of course the classic “This is what democracy looks like!”
All in all, it starts out as a pretty good time. There are police, but for the most part they are walking behind the group casually, just beat cops bantering and laughing, keeping an eye on things. There are around 30 of them. We reach Union Square, circle it a couple times, and join the human microphone. The human microphone consists of one person speaking or shouting, and then everyone within earshot repeating, thus, a human amplifier, albeit with some delay. After about fifteen minutes, we are on the move again, the crowd spurred toward the United Nations by the messages transmitted from the human microphone.
As we circle Union Square, about twenty NYPD officers haul out orange plastic nets (the kind used to fence off construction sites) and close off the road, diverting the crowd. But the detour, too, is closed, leaving us only one option: straight down Broadway. The lighthearted carnival air begins to get very heavy as it becomes clear that we are being corralled. The main group, about 150 protesters, keeps on down the street, but the police are running behind with the orange nets, siphoning off groups of fifteen to twenty people at a time, classic crowd control.
A new group of police officers arrives in white shirts, as opposed to dark blue. These guys are completely undiscerning in their aggression. If someone gets in their way, they shove them headfirst into the nearest parked car, at which point the officers are immediately surrounded by camera phones and shouts of “Shame! Shame!”
Up until this point, Frank and I have managed to stay ahead of the nets, but as we hit what I think is 12th Street, they’ve caught up. The blue-shirts aren’t being too forceful, so we manage to run free, but stay behind to see what happens. Then things go nuts.
The white-shirted cops are shouting at us to get off the street as they corral us onto the sidewalk. One African American man gets on the curb but refuses to be pushed up against the wall of the building; they throw him into the street, and five cops tackle him. As he’s being cuffed, a white kid with a video camera asks him “What’s your name?! What’s your name?!” One of the blue-shirted cops thinks he’s too close and gives him a little shove. A white-shirt sees this, grabs the kid and without hesitation billy-clubs him in the stomach.
One of the blue-shirts, tall and bald, stares in disbelief and says, ‘I can’t believe he just fuckin’ maced us.’
At this point, the crowd of twenty or so caught in the orange fence is shouting “Shame! Shame! Who are you protecting?! YOU are the 99 percent! You’re fighting your own people!” A white-shirt, now known to be NYPD Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna, comes from the left, walks straight up to the three young girls at the front of the crowd, and pepper-sprays them in the face for a few seconds, continuing as they scream “No! Why are you doing that?!” The rest of us in the crowd turn away from the spray, but it’s unavoidable. My left eye burns and goes blind and tears start streaming down my face. Frank grabs my arm and shoves us through the small gap between the orange fence and the brick wall while everyone stares in shock and horror at the two girls on the ground and two more doubled over screaming as their eyes ooze. In the street I shout for water to rinse my eyes or give to the girls on the ground, but no one responds. One of the blue-shirts, tall and bald, stares in disbelief and says, “I can’t believe he just fuckin’ maced us.” And it becomes clear that the white-shirts are a different species. We need to get out of there.
The other end of the street is also closed off, and we are trapped on this one block along with about twenty frustrated pedestrians. My eye is killing me and I’m crying, partially from the pain and partially from the shock of the violence displayed by these police. A shirtless young “medic” with ripped cargo shorts, matted brown hair, and two plastic bottles slung around his neck runs up to me and says, “Did you get pepper sprayed? Okay here, tilt your head to the side, this isn’t going to feel great,” at which point he squirts one of the plastic bottles of white liquid into my left eye, then tilts my head the other way and does the other eye, then repeats with water. Then he unties the white bandana from his wrist and wipes my eyes with it saying, “You’ll be okay, this is my grandfather’s bandana, he got through Korea with it, and if he got through that, then you’re going to get through this. Just keep blinking.” Thanks to the treatment—liquid antacid, pepper-spray antidote—the burning behind my eyes subsides.
A woman with two little girls in tow walks up to a cop at the end of the block and explains that they just need to get to ballet, but he won’t let them through. The woman seems to accept this, turns to the girls, thinks for a second, then marches straight to the edge of the fence at the corner of the building. A different officer sees them coming and, understanding their situation, lets them through. So Frank and I bolt for the same opening and escape.
The farther away we get, the more normal everyone starts to look. People have no clue about what’s happening just five or six blocks down. Frank and I say maybe two words to each other the whole five-hour bus ride home.
Just for the record, I love cops. I do, my mother worked in the justice system for 30 years, and I’ve known a lot of really good cops, really good honorable people just doing their jobs. I’ve never agreed with the sentiment, “Fuck the Po-lice,” and I still don’t. But these guys are fucked up. There was an anger in those white-shirt’s eyes that said, “You don’t matter.” And whether they were just scared or irrational or looking for a target for their rage, there was no excuse for their abuse of authority. I had always thought that people who complained about police brutality must have done something to provoke it, that surely cops wouldn’t hurt people without a really good reason. But they do. We were on the curb, we were contained, we were unarmed. Pepper spray hurts like hell, and the experience only makes me wish I’d done something more to deserve it.
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Jeanne Mansfield works at Boston Review.
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http://articles.nydailynews.com/1999-10-31/news/18124747_1_sergeants-white-uniform-shirts-cop
Get with the others sprayed, put your message out with fundraising paypal links, and gather the money to sue and get those corrupt cops off the street permanently. They work for US, and have NO free pass to harm citizens in such a manner.
Their actions this past week undoes the valor they exhibited on 9/11.
Pretty effective crowd control by the NYPD.
Your lucky it's not May 1970, at the protests over the Vietnam War on Wall Street.
You punks got an orange net last week?
Ask your Mommy's and Daddy's how they liked being charged by the NYPD Mounted Unit in that 1970 demonstration.
Really.
Your the biggest bunch of panty waist demonstrators if I've ever seen, and I've seen them all.
It's embarrassing. Maybe you need a course in Protest 101 up there in Boston. Or watch some footage from the 68' demonstration in D.C. or the Chicago Democratic Convention.
Do something besides whining.
You're not ready for the big leagues in N.Y.C.
That's obvious.
I'll be interested to see what happens to the Bologna sandwich.
& none of you blowhards running your mouths about Saturday's protesters being "crybabies" about being attacked by nypd because it "wasn't like the 60s" had the courage to be at the Occupy wall st. protests or the anti-war protests of the 60s, either.
in my experience, the cops isolate people for good reason, if they're violent, unruly, etc. you probably did something to provoke them.
i'm going to withhold judgment until more video and testimony surfaces.
and next time you're out protesting, you comply with the cops. don't ever provoke.
in my experience, the cops isolate people for good reason, if they're violent, unruly, etc. you probably did something to provoke them.
i'm going to withhold judgment until more video and testimony surfaces.
and next time you're out protesting, you comply with the cops. don't ever provoke.
That is police brutality. You have your video evidence.
To Jaym:
The actions of the officers that brutalized the innocent people does not reflect on the whole police force. This in no way revokes any valor from the NYPD's actions on 9/11.
I wish that was true. I would've said the same thing you did if I hadn't been there and seen it myself. The only thing those girls were doing was shouting "Shame!" I don't know the NYPD rulebook, but I would be very unpleasantly surprised if that warranted close-range pepper spray use.
oh, and @Scullman, why the hell do you have to make it a contest? the police brutality back then is no more justifiable than it is now, it's just more unfortunate for police officers that there are always cameras present now to capture their abuses of power, so it's no a longer a case of the protesters word vs their own. peaceful demonstrations should never be violent, and people should not have to fear their safety to make a political statement. period. it wasn't right then, and it isn't right now, so why don't we focus on the fact that we need to protect free speech and peaceful demonstrations, instead of embarking on a crusade to inform protesters that they haven't faced as threatening scenarios, and need to toughen up and expect that their rights to free speech and peaceful assembly should be violated by police? is that your aim?
in my experience, the cops isolate people for good reason, if they're violent, unruly, etc. you probably did something to provoke them.
i'm going to withhold judgment until more video and testimony surfaces."
No, you've already passed judgment. Your judgment is that the cops are always right, and there is never any such thing as police brutality.
Way to go!!
Stop whining and crying about being a protester, or stay home.
No one wants to hear your lawyer-like rational when the shit you planned, whatever it is, backfires in your face.
Get in a cops face, take your chances, and STFU.
To the point the blue shirts(low ranking cops) stood around while white shirts(high ranking cops) did most of the mayhem. If the protestors where doing something really fucked up, the low ranking cops would do what they do every day, STOP IT.
Look at NYPD, the blue shirts are the ones that actually walk the beat, and I am sure to them breaking up trouble is instinct to them in a town like NY. Yet, from the other side of a barricade during a protest, the need for them to mace and beat protestors was not there. Answer me that.
The white shirts. The guys who work in an office, supervise, probably haven't walked the beat in years did all the violence. Tell me why that is? Tell me why rank and file stood still, with a flabergasted disgust over their superiors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Police_Department#Ranks_of_the_NYPD
There is no plausible explanation for this. If you have a plausible explanation for this whole glaring contradiction, please let me know.
Looks to me like some paper pushers with connections wanted to play cowboy and got caught on tape. Back in the 60s cops could get away with this, but when everyone has a camera on their cell phone. its hard. But I still want to hear the police's side to the story in detail. This has to be good.
I found your footage highly compelling. Indeed, yesterday I felt motivated to synchronize it with the other prominent video of this incident.
In that other video, we actually see you being kettled. Then afterwards we see you screaming for water. When first watching your video, I didn't realize it was you frantically asking where you're supposed to go.
That must have been a traumatic experience, and I'm sad you had to go through it. However, I hope that your video and article will inspire good.
Here is the video I made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf6m_w7K8XM#t=1m19s
Best wishes,
Ben
http://www.commondreams.org/further/2011/09/26-1#.ToCA1galoxc.facebook
OK, complaining to the police might make you feel better, but chances are really good that nothing will be done and you'll waste your time, at best, and at worst, you'll give the bad guys your case so they can begin preparing a defense should you file a civil rights lawsuit against the City of New York. This latter action is what I think you should do: you should file a lawsuit under 42 United States Code section 1983, Deprivation of Civil Rights Under Color of Law. You'll need a lawyer to do this, and it's highly preferable to get one who practices in Lower Manhattan, where the attorney will know the judges and counsel for the City of New York. You can find attorneys who specialize in Police Brutality/Excessive Force/False arrest cases, just do a google search on "police brutality attorney New York City" and there should be quite a few listings come up. Most of them do free case evaluations and will tell you your chances of success, and they'll take the case on a contingent fee basis, which means their fees come out of the amount awarded for damages. OK, so find an attorney you're comfortable with.
Before you go into his or her office, do the following - right now or as soon as possible - and right now is highly preferable:
1.
Find videotapes of what happened when you were brutalized or arrested.
2.
Find people in those videotapes or who actually saw you being assaulted by the police; get their names , addresses, phone numbers and emails. Have them write out a statement of what happened at what time and what they saw. Have these reports signed by the people making them.
3.
Write down yourself a timeline of what happened from an hour before you came into contact with the police in any way, to the time you were let out of jail, if applicable. Write down a narrative of what happened, what you saw and heard, what injuries you had, which were inflicted by the NYPD.
4.
Take pictures of any injuries, and go to the hospital and get seen in the ER, and get the name of the doctor or nurse who examined you. Keep track of any money charges to you for treatment, and the medical records from the visit.
5.
Finally, if you have nightmares or insomnia or you're suffering from depression or anything else has changed, keep a diary giving dates and times of these events, and any treatment you get - and get docs names and addresses and the diagnosis (like maybe PTSD or something)
Do all this, and make two copies of everything, and store the original and a copy in safe places, and go talk to the attorney with the evidence you have amassed. Make sure it's an attorney who specializes in this kind of case and that he or she practices before the judge who will hear the case, on a regular basis.
Don't waste your time with NYPD Internal Affairs, they're just there to waste your time and demoralize you
Just as you've relayed your opinion, they are relaying theirs. Why is your opinion or experience any more important than an article relaying and reporting anothers experience?
So what if people had worse before, society is supposed to move forward, is it not?
Does this excuse the NYPD? Does it give them permission to act like this toward peaceful protesters, just because people have had worse?
Would you say the same thing in comparison to Syria or Egypt?
"Stop complaining, if this were Syria you'd be in a mass-grave by now" oh, that's okay then, please hit me again good officer!
You need to grow a brain.
Just in case you forgot-
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE PEACEABLY TO ASSEMBLE, AND TO PETITION THE GOVERNMENT FOR A REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES."
go back to north korea, scullman. you'll be happier there.
Occupy Wall Street has a lot of support around the country. And this is only the beginning. Join us on October 6th and beyond, as we continue the struggle:
http://october2011.org/
Right now the protesting is being done by Americans that are kind of doing alright, mostly students, those types. Things aren't great in this country, but we still have it alright compared to much of the world. Go back and watch some videos of the protests in the Middle East this past year- the people are tougher, their words are more heartfelt, they believe strongly in what they are fighting for. A bunch of American kids just don't have the gristle to be taken seriously.
Also, sure it's good to have some footage, but does EVERY SINGLE PERSON need to be recording this? It's like a cell phone/camera party out there. Let some of the people protest, and let some of the people be journalists. Not everyone has to document it.
I know I'll remember that forever.
Much love and light
The thing that bugs me most about these people, apart from their general thuggery, is that they don't really stand for anything. They'll loudly state what they are against, spewing memorized half-truths and shouting down anyone who points out the flaws in their illogic, but what are they FOR? I think it's their inability to envision or express anything positive or goal-oriented makes them a mockery of any admirable protest movement.
But Jeanne, I am sorry this happened to you. You and your bf were just having an outing. You had no way of knowing these people did not have a permit to protest and had no right to be blocking the street.
The use of mace here was gratuitous and showed a real lack of crowd control competence on the part of the white shirts. But I guarantee you, it's got the thug protest hobbyists stroking themselves because nothing pleases them more than provoking people to violence, and cops most of all. I wish they'd take up needlepoint or something.
A large number of disabled vets are now homeless and neither the board of KBR nor Dick Cheney will lift a finger to help them.
That's the future that awaits for loyal bullies - used and thrown away like pawns.
...they get shot and killed with real bullets and more rebels just keep on doing it. Saw one guy get his entire jaw shot off but did he squeal like a stuck pig, no, he was kind of quiet and reserved about it
...agreed Drew the real failure here is there was only one person in that crowd who was not filming at the moment and they were the only ones filming in 1080p. If this is going to go viral we will need raw files with upconversions from everyone. And can nobody find a steadycam, perhaps coursework on film will be necessary if these protests are to succeed. The whole world is watching... and getting motion sickness
...I for one will not watch an iPhone video shot vertically as it is an injustice against nature
...so it turns out the guy's name is Tony Baloney. We are amused
Donations: NYCGA Donation Page
Help & Directions: +1 (877) 881-3020
General Inquiries general@occupywallst.org
Press Inquiries press@occupywallst.org
My Plea to Everyone:
Our obligation to this movement is to donate what we can, at all costs. Allowing our fellow revolutionaries to feed themselves, wash themselves, medicate themselves and feel as comfortable as they can in a concrete jungle. We will and can show our love in very unselfish ways, we must.
There is no reason to feel disconnected from this movement - we are them and they are us. We are the 99% of people who are being beaten, thieved, raped, enslaved and manipulated at every turn. Everything is an illusion - all of it. Every single bit of it from the foods we eat, the water we drink, the homes we live in, the paychecks we earn, the taxes we pay, the air we breathe - all of it is an illusion - a made up fairy tale told to us by the 1% .
We are not slaves, we are not beaten, we will not lay down and take this any more. We do have the power, we do have a voice, we are human beings and we are the 99%. They will hear us, but we have to speak loud. This is our chance America.
Here are my tips to help others not feel disconnected or not part of this - YOU ARE NEEDED - NOW! IMMEDIATELY!!!!!
Donate to the media team immediately - they have suffered targeted arrests, rainy weather, confiscations and they deserve our support.
http://nycga.cc/donate/
Donate to the general fund to help protesters!! Anything you can help is so important - there are so many of us out there just sitting and waiting to see if this movement moves forward - $5 from each of us is just a coffee or a Big Mac but together it becomes a very impressive amount of money - PLEASE DONATE NOW! If our revolutionary heroes are hungry and dehydrated - how long do you think they will continue to fight for us??? Show your love and support.
http://nycga.cc/donate/
Send a care package or money orders to: The UPS Store Re: Occupy Wall Street 118A Fulton St. #205 New York, NY 10038
There are requests for medical supplies, non-perishable food, water, toiletries, garbage bags, ponchos, blankets, zip lock bags, tupperware, shelves, LED lights and I'm sure much more.
Call local Wall Street businesses and order food or supplies for them direct from local companies - this encourages support from these companies and leeway on any inconveniences that may occur. Be creative!!
Spend just 30 minutes each day spreading this information - do it online, do it on the phone, do it outside your local store, do it at your job, do it everywhere you go. Word of mouth is going to help this movement more than anything else. Spread only factual information.
Do not argue with those that don't agree with this movement. People who choose ignorance will be forced to see through the smoke and mirrors at some point in the very near future. Spending time arguing is a wasted effort, this energy could be better used elsewhere.
Be creative! Hold a bakery sale, use your car as a billboard, post fliers, print stickers, plug radio stations, pay for an ad in your local paper, post free ads in the paper, stop random people, ask for donations.... anything you do will make you an important part of this extremely detrimental movement. You are them, They are us.
Facts about this movement:
This is a 100% peaceful protest, the people have suffered police brutality since day 1 (today is day 11).
Here are some videos for reference:
https://occupywallst.org/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kevXKRROF6I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyvbI6Eq-qA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmmvZ7z-ZVo
This is a very serious occupation/protest/movement - they are well organized, motivated, inspired and angry. This park has a medical station w/ medical staff, a cafeteria, a library, a media team, a lawyer team and many many people who are ready to fight for you and me. We are obligated to support them. Do so now, please!!
I can't stress how important this is... we've all been waiting with baited breath. The time is here, take this opportunity to do your part!
Important Awesome Heroic Movements of Solidarity:
Micheal Moore - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCZLhEOJ8XA
Chris Hedges - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SKw2j3XOY0
Noam Chomsky - https://occupywallst.org/
Micheal Rivero - http://whatreallyhappened.com/
Alex Jones - http://www.infowars.com/
Tom Morello, Immortal Technique - http://www.craveonline.com/music/articles/175056-tom-morello-immortal-technique-join-occupy- wall-street-movement
Don't miss out America - donate, join or support - or do all 3 ---- just do what you can - but DO SOMETHING..... Love you all.
Expect us.
All day. All week. #OccupyWallStreet
http://pastehtml.com/view/b57sj5taz.rtxt
Also follow @anonmedics on Twitter, they seem to be helping actively with the current protests.
Much love to those who can get out there to help.
Since they needed to eat. Since they needed to drink. Since they needed to pay for a website to get the word out (though a website is fairly cheap compared to their personal needs, it's little costs that add up).
What are you, 12 years old?
— posted 09/27/2011 at 06:30 by Es"
O, do give us the benefit of your infinite wisdom, Es!
You live in DC? Good for you. I live in Baltimore and have worked in DC for years. We're so sorry you've been inconvenienced by protests. Poor thing. Couldn't you get to your desk on time at the IMF or State Department or wherever it is you sit and sneer at people who are actually trying to do something for this country?
Since you live in DC, you know where Freedom Plaza is. That's where thousands of us -- many thousands -- are converging on October 6th to begin an occupation of Freedom Plaza. Like Occupy Wall Street, with whom we are aligned, and many of whom will be joining us, we have a list of grievances and demands. Want something "goal-oriented"? "Positive"? Then do a little research. We have 15 goals listed on our website, along with more information about more issues than you could read in a month.
http://october2011.org/
We are ordinary Americans, of all ages (and I'm 54, so spare me your generalizations about young disaffected college kids), all races, all levels of experience, and we are sick of watching our country go down the crapper. We aren't "thug protest hobbyists," though I bet that out of the thousands of us some do needlepoint. So perhaps that'll assauge you.
Everyone else, join us.
http://october2011.org/
Sorry, but I don't feel a lot of sympathy. This person got the martyrdom they were looking for, a nice resume-building magazine article, and a story she'll one day be telling to her grand kids about her time on the front lines - all for the price of a little discomfort.
I'm sure if given the chance she would do it again in a heartbeat.
The guy even looked like George W. Bush
I'll bet none of the protesters are "thugs" but it seems that a goodly many do it as a vocation. Instead of following the Dead around the country, they show up at these things. Listening to the live feed a few of them were talking about having been at the protests in Madrid, etc.
Giving these people money isn't helping anything but to fund their party.
Look, as you point out, DC has protests and rallies all the time, and I've participated in plenty. But it's only the economic protesters that come swaggering into town looking to pick a fight. Seeing the group Jeanne happened upon occupy a street without a permit and then get in cops' faces at the gross injustice of them not allowing anarchy to interfere with public safety looked awfully familiar. (Which, as I said before, does NOT justify the use of mace.)
Mind if I ask -- if the protester I am describing is not you, why do you take offense at my words? If you're not rude, if you don't plan to walk to Freedom Plaza down the middle of whatever street you want and dare cars to hit you, and shriek at any police who come near, hoping to escalate the situation to violence, then I am clearly not talking about you.
I will be delighted if the Freedom Plaza protesters are not the IMF protest veterans. But I do think your goals are hopelessly broad and undirected, and the web site is dripping with Arab Spring envy. Gosh, that looked like fun. I wish my life had that much meaning ...
@Drew Barret said it best, the Arab Spring was heartfelt and genuine in a way these protests just aren't. The folks in Tahrir square knew what they wanted -- they wanted Mubarak to step down. You want clean water, honest media, public health care, civil rights ... dude. The Afghanistan War has a clearer exit strategy than this. You could well be in the Plaza for the rest of your life, here.
Maybe I'll bring down some needlepoint.
In other words, tattoo a big "L" on your forehead.
You probably thought the civil rights activists were rude. After all, the got in people's faces. They blocked traffic. They -- gasp! -- walked down the middle of the street. How rude.
As for the comments of locomotivebreath1901 -- "knee deep in mob of angry, dirty, unemployed squatters with no parade permit who sought to foul other people’s nests in quest for some neo-bolshevik utopia" --
yeah, get a job all you commie pinko twits. There are so many of them out there! We don't have a problem with unemployment in this country. People haven't been kicked out of their homes. Their savings haven't been plundered. It's all good!
cz
The only ones sticking around are the professional protesters. These aren't the ranks of the unemployed and dispossessed.
I'm employed. And I'm going to be sticking around. As are thousands of my colleagues, many of whom are using personal and vacation time to attend.
Of course the ranks swell on the weekend. So what? That makes the protests null and void, because employed people also give a shit?
Though who do you think has more time in this society -- the employed, or the "unemployed and dispossessed"? People with no jobs have more at stake and also no boss to yank their jobs from them if they show up at a protest. Gee, lucky them.
CALL! 212-741-8401
Everyone who says that there was absolutely nothing done to provoke this whole scene is wrong. If you watch the videos, you will see a very angry heavy-set girl, the one that gets dragged under the net and arrested, clearly provoking the police both verbally and physically and eventually getting what she had coming. She was screaming like a 15-year-old who's in trouble at school 'cause she doesn't like the rules... "FASCISTS! WHAT IS THIS 1943!? ARE WE IN NAZI GERMANY!?" stuff like that.
First of all, I'd like to propose that people save the Nazi comparisons for something a little more severe that crowd control and a few people getting pushed or pinned down for provoking the police. I cannot even begin to explain how sick I am of hearing people talk about Nazis and Hitler for comparatively minor complaints. You can't just run around in the street, anytime. If they want to block off a part of the sidewalk, that's what they're doing. Listen, move, and keep protesting. Don't scream.
Second, as they put out those nets, she was pulling it down and becoming very aggressive. That's why they arrested her, and that's when the screaming started. SHE should have been maced, if anybody... but really, nobody should have gotten the pepper spray.
"...agreed Drew the real failure here is there was only one person in that crowd who was not filming at the moment and they were the only ones filming in 1080p. If this is going to go viral we will need raw files with upconversions from everyone. And can nobody find a steadycam, perhaps coursework on film will be necessary if these protests are to succeed. The whole world is watching... and getting motion sickness"
Seriously... worst one I saw was somebody literally using their laptop (MacBook Pro, big shock) as a camera. A small videocamera, even a Flip video type device if you can't afford a DSLR or anything else that could produce an acceptable image, with a very simple handle or even a "gunstock" mount would be doing viewers a huge favor. You're not going to catch "iconic" images on an iPhone. Your videos and images end up with about as much credibility as a Loch Ness monster photo, especially if you can't even pick a subject. Pick something and shoot it, you can't capture EVERYTHING AT ONCE by moving your camera REALLY FAST.
...
Sorry for all the complaining. I just don't like seeing messages diluted by goofballs and tag-alongs.
@paul: No, no we're really not. Saying that devalues the experiences of those people.
As for this -- "and eventually getting what she had coming" -- maybe you should work for the cops. Some of the cops, I should say, as many of them despise the behavior of their colleagues as much as we do.
As an aside, I've now watched different videos from different angles, and I didn't see that girl "provoke" anything. I didn't see anyone provoke anything. The girls who were Maced didn't have anywhere to go. They were being penned in. Have you seen the young men carrying cameras who were assaulted, their heads slammed into the ground or into parked cars? What did they "provoke"? They were carrying cameras; that's what the white-shirts didn't like.
The young men carrying cameras, it's terrible yes, still in agreement about the abuse of power... but if you want real powerful images, find a safe place, get out of the area that the police are trying to control, sit on a fire escape, get somewhere and shoot it well. If they come to you and arrest you violently, then it's an even bigger outrage that can't be ruled off as part of the chaos.
It's not one-upsmanship, it's just putting things in perspective for some people, specifically the people that insist on comparing these protests to those same events.
Many people in the October2011 coalition are grizzled veterans. They've seen time in Vietnam and on the streets of the U.S. They've been beaten, they've been arrested. They're not naive. Yet they, too, acknowledge that they've had both good and bad experiences with the police.
The cops are also in danger of losing their jobs, pensions, health care. Our job -- one of them anyway -- is to keep telling them that.
Peaceful protestors, NEVER ever swing at a cop. That's assault on a police officer, which will get you much more serious charges than anything else. I don't care how pissed you are. Now, unfortunately, if that goes to court and they have that video... she can be convicted of whatever, and the police are justified.
The video where she's screaming about fascism and grabbing the net, I can't find right now, but she was unnecessarily aggressive. Slapping at the cop was just the last stray.
...Also "Hey man don't push me man!" when they're just guiding them towards the sidewalk with minimal force... ugh.
“Shame! Shame! Who are you protecting?! YOU are the 99 percent! You’re fighting your own people!
Saying that expressing the Constitutional right to peaceably assemble is "provoking" the cops is your expression of pathetic obsequiousness to authority, something every American should be disgusted by.
You peons deserve to get peed on!
But how many people on this board know that either? How many people anywhere know that? Unless you've had direct interaction with the cops, I bet you'd have no idea that simply pulling your hand away when someone grabs it counts as "resisting arrest" or "assaulting an officer."
Again, bad move, but not anywhere near justifying the force they then used against her.
They were clearly going onto the sidewalk -- where people were legally walking -- and simply targeting people at random to yank away and handcuff.
Non-violence training teaches people to go limp at once, though of course even that doesn't guarantee you won't get roughed up by the cops.
http://www.change.org/petitions/mayor-michael-bloomberg-remove-raymond-kelly-jail-anthony-bologna
Shepard Road was one of the many mass confrontations from that week of mayhem, as 300, more or less innocent people, were handcuffed and detained, with many spending a night or two in lock-up.
Like most of the crowd of 300, I was trying to get to a concert featuring Mos-Def, among other names, that followed the day's anti-war march. A shirtless kid, running in the opposite direction I was headed, his body red and covered in white foam from tear gas, was the first indicator of serious trouble. And then the line of mounted police with raised grenade launchers clearly told the rest of us to turn around. We did. And the cops were behind us, corralling us into the Mississippi River more or less. We were trapped. (I didn't mention that it was police officers, nonetheless, who had told me this would be a safe and direct route to get to the concert.)
My editor sent me a text after I was handcuffed, and the uniform, understanding that I was a journalist and that all his actions would appear in print, offered to retrieve my cell phone from my shorts pocket so I could respond. I laughed and said something like, "Guys shouldn't reach into other guys' pockets." He chuckled. Then, still handcuffed, I grabbed my phone from my pocket. He was impressed at the flexibility, and a little disappointed he hadn't cuffed me tighter.
He sat me down and we joked and laughed. He knew I wasn't a threat. Then his superior showed up. A "white shirt," as Manfield's story calls them. The supervisor swore at me for a while and then said I was being released. I asked what I had been detained for in the first place. Throwing in a few more explicits, he said I'd spend the night in lock-up if I asked any more stupid questions. The uniform who'd been holding me quietly advised I get my story elsewhere because that "white shirt" was a dead-end.
There was a line of garages behind me while I waited to be released. Unknown to me at the time, they were filled with National Guard soldiers. My buddy, who is currently in Kuwait escorting soldiers out of Iraq, had many friends in those garages. They didn't want to get called into action because they didn't believe in the cause. They didn't agree to be part of the brutal crackdown that was going on against mainly innocent people. They felt uneasy, and were glad when the call never came.
The point is that there are big protests and small protests, and none warrant unlawful action against innocent people. There will always be rogue enforcers, whether one or two, or a group of 20 "white shirts," and those people need to be put down. Go after them aggressively and never let up. There's a reason Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher lost his next re-election bid (well, that and a nasty little scandal involving a corrupt Gang Task Force). Whether you vote or march (or preferably both), do your part.
Good job Ms. Mansfield. Stay vigilant.
We look at them, pawns of these corporate agendas and working against themselves, and fawn over the idea that an older generation could be in touch with such a movement and treat them as something of a novelty. Then we look at the people who actually want to see change happen and work independent of a corporate agenda and we vilify them, blame them for their frustration and anger, and treat them as if they are only thugs looking to start something? This isn't a protest because some sports team lost a game and people are looking to cause significant damage to property. These people were maced while complying with police orders in an effort to remove them from a protest and discourage others from joining in. What tactics, then, do you suggest we use? Too much filming, you say? Where are you, besides sitting behind an ivory keyboard as it were, dictating plans for this protest as if you're general of some army?
What is happening at both of these protests is the manifestation of the frustration and anger people of all walks of life have been feeling for some time, but the hands driving these protests are like night and day. It's clear that business as usual political strategies are not enough to effect change in the way that it needs to occur. These people aren't political strategists and do not claim to be, but thank you for making those asinine assumptions in your spurious efforts to delegitimize these actions.
I think many are especially disillusioned by the results of the last two years, starting with a presidential campaign where reform and change was promised but has been relatively small and slow to come on. We're in the middle of two wars that are sucking our economy dry, we treat our veterans like crap, our health care and social security infrastructure is crumbling, corporate greed takes precedence over individual liberties, we've narrowly avoided a federal government shutdown because of the ineptness of our elected officials in coming up with amicable and productive solutions, students are being strapped in with huge debts and job opportunities are becoming more and more scarce. People are losing their jobs as companies go under and all of a sudden those who were living the good life find themselves applying for unemployment benefits and scraping the bottom of the barrel for job opportunities.
Personally, I got lucky. I came from a poor family, worked my way through college and now I'm employed at a shit job that exploits its workers and I make decent money, but I've got looming $500 a month loan payments on top of my basic expenses, no savings, and my co-pay for insurance is rising to $50 a visit in the next month. I know what it feels to have, and I know what it is to be without. The more we start to feel the impact of these policies, the angrier and louder the crowds will become.
To the people who post all these negative, condescending and derailing comments: Enjoy your privilege now, because when the collapse of the empire comes, no amount of collusion will save you. What will it take to spur you into action? Which side are you on?
Should the cops have maced you guys? Probably not, though I'm not trained in law enforcement, I wouldn't know. All I know is, with no protest permit, this flash mob (that's what it is) endangered the general public, caused disruption in traffic in the streets, and is an example of a cause gone-awry.
I'm going with what I witnessed with my own eyes.
Proof from the horse's mouth: During the Mollen Commission investigation into police corruption in New York City. NYPD Officer Bernard Cawley testified:
“Cops don't tell on cops. And if they did tell on them, just say if a cop decided to tell on me, his careers ruined. He's going to be labeled as a rat. So if he's got 15 more years to go on the job, he's going to be miserable because it follows you wherever you go. --he's going to have nobody to work with. And chances are if it comes down to it, they're going to let him get hurt.”
More proof, provided by cops under oath: In the prosecution of New York City police officer Michael Kelly for murdering an arrestee, seven of Kelly’s colleagues testified against him after being threatened with prosecution if they continued to hamper the prosecutorial effort. Kelly’s seven fellow officers admitted that they had lied during the initial grand jury investigation to protect Kelly, explaining that it was accepted practice to commit perjury to help a fellow officer.
Scholarly proof:
Ruess-Ianni (1982) in her scholarly analysis of policing, documented the existence of a police subculture as a culture in which cops look out for cops, or said another way, that cops protect cops. This fundamental, foundational norm of the police subculture relates to prosecution of police officers for police malfeasance (especially brutality) in three primary ways. First, the norms or “Cop Code” require that all officers on a scene (police parlance for a situation) or having knowledge of the scene, must, if called upon, regurgitate an identical police version of what happened on the scene. For example, officers who adhere to the Code are not to be truthful about what they saw on a scene. Stoddard (1968)defined this as “the sanction of the code which demands that fellow officers lie to provide an alibi for fellow officers apprehended in unlawful activity covered by the code.”
Crank (1997) concisely asserts that support for perjury in police ranks is a “pervasive [police] cultural phenomenon” ” (p. 243).
Here's a Manhattan JUDGE talking on the record about police lying: "“Informal inquiry by the court and among the judges of this court, as well as knowledge of cases in other federal and state courts, has revealed anecdotal evidence of repeated, widespread falsification by arresting officers of the New York City Police Department,” Judge Weinstein wrote. Despite numerous investigations by commissions and efforts by the Bloomberg administration to improve training and discipline, the judge wrote, “there is some evidence of an attitude among officers that is sufficiently widespread to constitute a custom or policy by the city approving illegal conduct of the kind now charged.”
Basically, good cops are just bad cops waiting to testily. To hear cops, the original ‘No Snitchers’, complain about a ‘no snitching’ movement in Black America is absolutely absurd. Why should I tell cops which way a drug dealer ran when cops, who are entrusted to uphold the law, lie to send innocent men to jail and protect fellow cops guilty of crimes like rape, torture and murder from going to jail?
i am also neither whining or crying, merely stating that your argument lacks logic. the only backfiring is that cops are not remaining lawful in their response to peaceful protest. it is not a matter of taking chances and getting what you get, but rebelling against the police feeling they can give us whatever they want without accountability.
and on another point, i really don't appreciate the insinuation that protesters are merely college-age cretins with nothing better to do than complain about their pitiful first world problems. i myself have two masters degrees and work a day job as a drug and alcohol counselor. i pay taxes, belong to a religious congregation, give to charity, and would say i am an overall highly contributing member of society. i also have no dreads or tattoos of which to speak, but even if i did , would they negate my ability to rationally defend my ideologies?
And thank you Jeanne for sharing the story.
Judging from the many videos I have seen and various online testimony, Anthony Bologna's actions were vicious and sadistic. Most of the cops seemed to be doing a good job, but the various attacks on this small group of protestors were wrong. We need vigorous investigation and prosecution of these attacks. There is no reason for this violence and it gives good police a bad name.
To those who were hurt, know that it has drawn even more attention to the cause.
I am solidly on the side of the protestors.
People with cameras on the fire escapes sounds like a good plan, also in buildings along the route shooting through the windows if this is possible.
And for the rest of you people, steady your camera and pan slowly. If you have the chance to zoom in on something…do it slow but steady. I too get seasick watching some of these videos, and get really pissed when something important is happening and all one sees is a blur. The press cannot use these types of videos, so if you want more coverage, give them something they can use.
It's easy to fix shaky video in postprocessing as long as the lighting is good enough to prevent motion blur. My tool of choice is the freeware "Deshaker" by Gunnar Thalin. It's fairly complicated to get going, but if anyone has some quality activist video, I'd be happy to help stabilize it if I can. Once again, here are the results for Jeanne's video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf6m_w7K8XM#t=1m19s
By the way,#87 has it right.
Oh I was at many protests back in the day..yep the one in nyc many in dc including the one where Kerry threw his metals over..and even the one at Nixon inauguration...John Sinclair in Ann Arbor, I could go on..
You have NO idea how courageous these people are...I applaud them..sent a donation which I hope made it to them...and hope I might be able to join them...
THANK YOU ALL for doing what many of us wish we could do..you are NO cry babies...You are our HEROES!!!!!
Are the protesters competing to be the problem? Or are they trying to be the solution? Rude people -- by which I mean conflict-addicted thuggish protester hobbyists -- are not the solution to anything.
Lisa said: "You probably thought the civil rights activists were rude. After all, the got in people's faces. They blocked traffic. They -- gasp! -- walked down the middle of the street. How rude."
I am lucky enough to have a handful of Civil Rights leaders, veterans and heroes as my neighbors. You wouldn't want to hear what they had to say about the IMF protesters. There's no comparison, either in goals or methods. The Civil Rights protesters made a point NOT to be rude, actually. They didn't seek conflict for conflict's sake, they didn't feel disappointed on those occasions when the dogs and firehoses were not brought out.
They were well-trained, organized and knew that every person involved in the protest represented the movement as a whole. They would not have tolerated the kind of behavior exhibited by today's hobbyist protesters who deliberately collect arrests or injuries like merit badges.
Drew said: "Don't call names, don't touch the police or their equipment (including nets and police tape), be PEACEFUL and KNOW YOUR MESSAGE. Okay, Wall Street is corrupt, what specifically and realistically do you want them and the government to do about it? Talk about that and nothing else. Broad-based protests are ineffective because nobody knows what the hell you're asking for, all they know is that you're angry and Wall Street is an easy target."
EXACTLY! There's really no need for me to say another word. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIi4cVOrgyg
Look, an organized American protest with a message. People who were who were actually affected by what they were talking about, people with something to say, protesting in an organized manner (read: not a flash mob), getting a point across. And what else is that? A camera on a tripod? Capturing this video so that it could live on forever and people could see it in 2012 and still get a feeling for what was going on?
Like I said before, I sympathize with the cause... but... "You're doing it wrong." Social media has made shit so easy for everybody, the organization is garbage. Let's all go to this place and yell a lot 'til they make us leave then we can run through the streets and it will be a good ol' time 'til the cops beat us up.
Gayle
Vermont
September 28th, 2011
11:15 am
I was there for the civil rights movement. I was there for the anti-war movement. I was there for the women's march on the Pentagon...and then for two decades I got co-opted into believing the system was actually gonna work for me. Now, I'm almost 60, unemployed for three years with a husband who just lost his job through an e-mail. Our health insurance is $800 a month, and he gets $160 a week in unemployment. Well guess what we've got? Time. I stand in solidarity with those on Wall Street and am ashamed that it took this long to bring me back to the essential truth of what this country is about. Unbridled corporate greed."
http://community.nytimes.com/comments/www.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/world/as-scorn-for-vote-grows-protests-surge-around-globe.html?permid=189#comment189
After all the corporate corruption of the Bush years, almost none of the culprits have been brought to justice.
Instead, they've been bailed out. And the only battle that will be waged against this is the one we fight for ourselves.
~
Excellent report. It gives me context that I didn't have before from any of the "bona fide" press reports. I live in the neighborhood where the mass arrests took place and stumbled upon the protest while walking my dog as the nets were being deployed near 12th and 5th. After returning the dog to the safety of my apartment I returned to watch the arrests. I was threatened with arrest by a large bald cop wearing a blue uniform with anti-terror unit insignia (same one?). for just watching. I was going to ask to speak to a supervisor and after reading your article I am very glad I didn't do that. The account of the beat down of the African American man is consistent with the "marching orders" I witnessed. No one was being allowed to question the police. The supervisors were all acting like Eric Cartman in South Park's "Die Hippie Die" episode. http://tinyurl.com/DieHippieDie. Using nets to make mass arrests in an urban residential neighborhood - where children are going to ballet class - is insane.
why should police not be held to the same rules as citizens? do you feel they are above the law the rest of are held to?
if police mace someone for no good reason that should be a crime just like if i mace someone for no good reason. the only reason they should be using violence is if they are in imminent danger, the same rules we play by. to suggest anything less is to suggest the police are above the law that the rest of us are held to.
to the permit posters....."Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
A law of filing a permit is a law that is "prohibiting the free exercise thereof;the right of the people peaceably to assemble"
But this part irks me:
"So we join up and walk along behind."
WHY? You really have nothing better to do? Why do you feel the urge to join them? If I happened upon a group of 300 punk-styled kids and aging-hippie types, I could think of many, many other things to do, other than join up and walk behind. Are you one of them? How many others are in the same boat, they just saw a group of people and decided to join them for kicks? Maybe that's why it's so unorganized and people had no idea wtf was going on. Maybe some better planning and organizing would lead to better results.
I'm sorry that it took a personal pepper-spraying for this lesson to be conveyed. But yes, innocent people are brutalized by police who abuse authority, much more frequently if you're not Caucasian or female. Just like innocent people are still wrongly murdered by the death penalty in this country. Thank you to the officers who put their lives on the line for justice. For those who abuse their power terrorizing the citizens they are paid to protect, we must call the Mayor, and the Civilian Complaint Review Board & demand justice. Flood their lines: 1-800-341-CCRB.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/ccrb/html/contact.html
"My boyfriend Frank and I are heading toward Liberty Square to check out what’s going on at the Occupy Wall Street protest"
"So we join up and walk along behind."
"All in all, it starts out as a pretty good time."
What utter narcissistic childishness. It's no wonder that these so-called protests aren't taken seriously; it's obvious that these are little more than social gatherings. People are in real pain as a result of the actions of many people on Wall Street, and you see it as an opportunity for protest tourism and a street party? Spoiled brats.
She wanted to observe the protest up close and got caught up in it. She was witness to, and to some extent victim of, police abuse, and she is now conveying that to the world. How is that a problem?
Go complain pointlessly somewhere else.
Leon Arie. A.
Location
Israel
Comment
The unprovoked summary macing of penned female protestors Sep 24,2011 was a criminal offense by NYC Police Supervisor Anthony Bologna. ? ( id to be proven )
He should be charged by City, State and Federal Prosecutors and have the book thrown thrown at him.
He should be disgracefully discharged from the force and put in jail for a long time. Alternatively he may volunteer for Afghanistan and attempt
macing some Al Quieda terrorists in Kabul.
The evidence is all there in the peoples' videos on Utube.
If the authorities don't take the initiative and prosecute then the
Civil Liberties Union should pick up the glove.
Another option is a criminal and civil complaint by the victims.
The evidence is all there in the video's and stills the people photographed.
If the maced lady was caught on camera doing anything
warranting a macing in her eyes let the NYPD show the evidence.
These are not Al Quieda terrorists these are US citizens seeking
social justice.
The President should issue an executive order appointing a special
Prosecutor to investigate the case.
If neccessary file an emergency Writ of Certiorary before the
United States Supreme Court as court of last resort.
the video links are:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ05rWx1pig
https://occupywallst.org/
Id of NYC Supervisor Anthony Bologna (the macer) ? :
http://davidscameracraft.blogspot.com/2011/09/occupy-wall-street-march-v...
Antony Bolognas second assault video:
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheOther99Percent#p/a/u/0/giJPnzr37bU
Vietnam War Veteran
The attacks on the ppl that are doing the march / sit-in is real. If you are there..if you have been hit / maced/ head thrown into the street or cars I think you have the right to have a say in it all. But sideline / watching from s safe place need not comment.
Any person trying to show injustice and getting criticized because it isn't 'correctly' done, is being rude to the rest of us that did what they thought was good for all of us.
So what if the girls were 'middle class white girls' those comments are profiling comments. Not good: especially in the context here.
The only reason the police are not ramming horses into protestors is because of all the camera,phones and computers.
I do find it offensive that 'dirty hippies' and 'professional' protestors are causing all this to happen for some obscure reasons.
Has any of you see the news? haven't you seen the climate changing? what about all the jobs out there? these reasons and more a real issues that need to be addressed.
All I can say is.....give Peace a chance.
Help do not hinder. thank you
I'm so sorry you had to find out the hard way - you seem like a very nice young lady and you didn't deserve that kind of treatment.