22-04-2012, 05:49 PM
Wall St. Protesters Lying on Sidewalk Are Arrested
By COLIN MOYNIHAN
kstr3l via Youtube Video of Friday's protest near the New York Stock exchange.
The police arrested a group of Occupy Wall Street protesters who were lying on a sidewalk at the corner of Wall Street and Broad Street on Friday afternoon after one demonstrator announced that the law allowed them to do so as a form of political protest.
Organizers said that the eight people who were arrested were trying to draw attention to statements made by police commanders over the last few days that protesters were not allowed to lie on the sidewalks.
The police also arrested two other people on Friday afternoon. One man, holding a camera and a tripod, was arrested while standing on a sidewalk at the foot of the steps of Federal Hall. A second man was arrested moments later as a wedge of police officers walked east on Wall Street, pushing a crowd of people ahead of them.
Kevin Jones, an Occupy Wall Street protester, said that a wave of officers had passed when an officer trailing behind shoved a man in the back. The man stumbled forward, Mr. Jones said, and fell into the officers walking ahead of him. He was then arrested, Mr. Jones said.
An e-mail message to a Police Department spokesman seeking comment was not immediately answered.
On April 9, protesters began sleeping on sidewalks near the New York Stock Exchange, saying that a ruling in 2000 by a federal district judge allowed them to camp there as long as they took up no more than half the sidewalk and did not block building entrances or exits.
On Monday, the police told protesters they could no longer sit or lie on sidewalks. Since that time, protesters have established a near-constant presence on the steps of Federal Hall, which is controlled by the National Park Service. The police responded by placing metal barricades around a section of those steps.
Protesters have complained that officers have since then sometimes cited obscure regulations while making arrests. One night this week for instance, a man who gave his name as Lawrence Rockwood walked past the barricades surrounding the steps and shouted that no city ordinance requires people to sit behind a cage. A few moments later, officers arrested him, saying that he had violated a noise ordinance.
On Friday afternoon, more barricades appeared as police blocked some sidewalks near the stock exchange and appeared to be limiting those who were allowed to pass.
"It looks like they are going by appearances," said Zak Solomon, an Occupy organizer. "They are stopping people who look like protesters and letting through people who look like tourists."
Still, about 100 protesters were able to make it to the area around the stock exchange on Friday afternoon. There, they chanted slogans and waved placards in the air before leading a march to Zuccotti Park.
Some stayed behind, maintaining a presence on the steps of Federal Hall.
Later. back on Wall Street, federal park police distributed a six-page packet that listed rules for Federal Hall.
The rules designated part of the steps as a "First Amendment assembly area" and placed limits on the size of signs and other objects allowed on the steps. Federal officers kept count of the number of protesters there. Up to 25 protesters at a time were allowed on the steps, while others beat drums and and danced on the nearby sidewalk.
By COLIN MOYNIHAN
kstr3l via Youtube Video of Friday's protest near the New York Stock exchange.
The police arrested a group of Occupy Wall Street protesters who were lying on a sidewalk at the corner of Wall Street and Broad Street on Friday afternoon after one demonstrator announced that the law allowed them to do so as a form of political protest.
Organizers said that the eight people who were arrested were trying to draw attention to statements made by police commanders over the last few days that protesters were not allowed to lie on the sidewalks.
The police also arrested two other people on Friday afternoon. One man, holding a camera and a tripod, was arrested while standing on a sidewalk at the foot of the steps of Federal Hall. A second man was arrested moments later as a wedge of police officers walked east on Wall Street, pushing a crowd of people ahead of them.
Kevin Jones, an Occupy Wall Street protester, said that a wave of officers had passed when an officer trailing behind shoved a man in the back. The man stumbled forward, Mr. Jones said, and fell into the officers walking ahead of him. He was then arrested, Mr. Jones said.
An e-mail message to a Police Department spokesman seeking comment was not immediately answered.
On April 9, protesters began sleeping on sidewalks near the New York Stock Exchange, saying that a ruling in 2000 by a federal district judge allowed them to camp there as long as they took up no more than half the sidewalk and did not block building entrances or exits.
On Monday, the police told protesters they could no longer sit or lie on sidewalks. Since that time, protesters have established a near-constant presence on the steps of Federal Hall, which is controlled by the National Park Service. The police responded by placing metal barricades around a section of those steps.
Protesters have complained that officers have since then sometimes cited obscure regulations while making arrests. One night this week for instance, a man who gave his name as Lawrence Rockwood walked past the barricades surrounding the steps and shouted that no city ordinance requires people to sit behind a cage. A few moments later, officers arrested him, saying that he had violated a noise ordinance.
On Friday afternoon, more barricades appeared as police blocked some sidewalks near the stock exchange and appeared to be limiting those who were allowed to pass.
"It looks like they are going by appearances," said Zak Solomon, an Occupy organizer. "They are stopping people who look like protesters and letting through people who look like tourists."
Still, about 100 protesters were able to make it to the area around the stock exchange on Friday afternoon. There, they chanted slogans and waved placards in the air before leading a march to Zuccotti Park.
Some stayed behind, maintaining a presence on the steps of Federal Hall.
Later. back on Wall Street, federal park police distributed a six-page packet that listed rules for Federal Hall.
The rules designated part of the steps as a "First Amendment assembly area" and placed limits on the size of signs and other objects allowed on the steps. Federal officers kept count of the number of protesters there. Up to 25 protesters at a time were allowed on the steps, while others beat drums and and danced on the nearby sidewalk.
"Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws. - Mayer Rothschild
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass