Brutal arrests at OWS protest (VIDEO)
The peaceful Occupy Wall Street protest has turned violent yet again. Hundreds of people have been arrested in NYC and an RT producer was attacked by police. Rallies throughout the US are marking two months since the beginning of the movement.
RT producer Lucy Kafanov, who is on site in New York, is reporting arrests amid clashes between police and protesters. There have been multiple reports that police have used LRAD (sound cannons) on the protesters.
Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) is a distance noise-emitting device and non-lethal crowd control weapon, able to direct sounds painful to humans to localized areas.
“Mass arrests & violence on Broad and Beaver. Officer hit my arm with club. Another photog got shoved. Police beat protesters,” says Kafanov’s tweet. It seems not only the protesters that get beaten but members of the press too.A moment later she writes: “Five more beaten and dragged before me. Crowd shouting ‘shame!’”Kafanov tweets that those without work ID cannot enter Wall Street. At the same time, an RT cameraman reports violence on Broadway.Protesters are determined to get their point across. Many are ready to get arrested for their cause. They are blocking streets and access to businesses. Kafanov tweets that a “guy is mad that he can't get to his Starbucks. Grandmas locked arms. Crowd shouting ‘this is bigger than you!’” Kafanov calls it mayhem.There are reports of protesters getting inside the operating NYSE. They have been immediately arrested and loaded into vans.NYPD have arrested a retired Philadelphia police captain, Raymond Lewis, who took his chances to come out in full uniform in a show of support for the Occupy Movement. The crowd that witnessed his arrest cheered in support, while Lewis was handcuffed and led to a police van. No further details are available at present.
The protests for economic justice have turned into a war between protesters and police, for their right to express their views, for the right to assemble peacefully. The chaos seems to be spinning out of control, with two rivaling ‘armies’ ready to pounce on each other. The new Bulls and Bears of Wall Street.Heavy police presence dominates Zuccotti Park and the adjacent streets. Four NYPD helicopters are circling the area. Police are as determined as the OWS activists are. Police officers say, they are just following orders. Earlier today OWS promised to shut down Wall Street. “We will occupy all of New York City with our bodies, voices and ideas,” read the statement on their official website. The crowed marched towards Wall Street with a determination to shut down the street, they call a symbol of corporate greed and inequality. Those who work on Wall Street have a hard time getting access to work. Massive rallies expected on November 17 throughout the United States to mark two months since the occupation began on the 17th of September in Zuccotti Park, NY.
