Today continued the Boston Police Department’s trend to escalate the situation on Dewey Square, despite the fact that Occupy Boston has continually remained and affirmed its peaceful intentions and actions. The police presence surrounding Dewey Square has expanded tremendously, up to and including the BPD bringing out the cameras to video tape protesters.
That wasn’t all we saw today. The AFL-CIO joined Occupy Boston today in solidarity for another march, despite the bad weather. They were forced to march on the sidewalks. Well, one person in a march of many stepped over the side walk — and got arrested for it.
Here’s a picture from after the arrest.
The protesters at Occupy Boston are more than willing to go back to the days of peaceful action with the police; the decision to escalate things with them has been purely one of Mayor Menino and the Boston Police — and has been completely one sided. The protesters have remained peaceful throughout.
The people of Boston and the greater community must communicate to the Mayor and BPD their express desires that the people be allowed to peacefully assemble.
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In other news, we see news of the city of Houston trying to evict their Occupy movement today, and Mayor Bloomberg himself — days after promising he’d allow the protesters to stay indefinitely — will be trying to evict them tomorrow morning. Bloomberg’s eviction is under the guise that he’s just going to come in and clean, then let people back in, but notice what he won’t let those protesters come back with:
The city’s top cop said today that the Occupy Wall Street protesters who clear out of Zuccotti Park tomorrow so their filthy makeshift campsite can get a much-needed cleaning can come back when the job is finished — but they can’t take their tents, coolers and other gear with them.
“People will have to remove all their belongings and leave the park,” Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said, “After it’s cleaned, they’ll be able to come back. But they won’t be able to bring back the gear, the sleeping bags, that sort of thing will not be able to be brought back into the park.”
Needless to say, they’re trying to kill the Occupy Movement through stealth. Perhaps they figured the bad weather would do them in anyway, but discovered now that our unseasonably good weather is over that people are still sticking around and the movement is, in fact, still growing. Bloomberg will do anything to nip this thing in the bud, because he doesn’t want to be paying the same tax rates as teachers and cleaning ladies on his billions of dollars. The question is will the world allow him to get away with it?
Listen, if the serfs get restless, you really expect the Lords accept it? Nah – if the 99% look like they may seek their independence back, expect escalating pressure from the Lords, as well as violent and oppressive behavior from their lackeys and minions. While you and I know the police, like us, are usually one pay check away from disaster and really members of the 99%, as long as they fear the loss of their jobs and most curry favor with the “Lords” and elites, expect them to take a “just following orders” position. Mind, it did not work at Nuremberg!
Of course there are also bad apples who enjoy roughing people up – especially young women as EB# highlighted, so it is critical to have cameras, live feeds, and so forth operational in multiple locations at all times. This is not a picnic in the park.
In my civil rights days, I had to accept I was likely to be tear gassed and pepper sprayed – as well as when I linked arms, truncheoned. Those in power won’t give it up gently, and will behave badly unless and until the counter pressure is sufficient for behaving badly and denying civil rights ramps up.
Occupy Boston needs us, folks. Drop by when you can, that is about what I can do for now as well as my internet, letter & etc. type support.
They’re aware of that danger though, thankfully.
I even heard, but cannot confirm, that Zuccotti Park/Liberty Park is kept very clean – one message said even the trash cans had been polished. Does anyone know if that is accurate?
They charged two statutory crimes: “unlawful assembly” under G.L. c. 269, ss 1 & 2; and trespass under G.L. c. 266, s 120. Both charges lacked a probable cause basis to support elements of the crimes. Violence is necessary for a police declaration of an “unlawful assembly” of ten or more unarmed persons, and by all accounts the demonstrators were peaceful. Moreover, the “person in lawful control of” property has to forbid access in order for the crime of trespassing to occur. The tenant-in-possession of the Rose Kennedy Greenway never forbade access–particularly not at 1 AM. I think this realization is slowly dawning on city officials. The ACLU has already figured it out.
of the protesters personal property? What legal circumstances give city to confiscate and destroy property?
They would just summarily declare it trespassing and therefore everything was just garbage, which is where they put it. That said, with the Greenway consent and no veto from the state (they own the greenway), arguably the city would have to prove, if it were sued, that the trespassers were actually trespassing. Then, it would be like a cop grabbed her iPod while resting on a park bench and smashed it on the ground. It would be no where near that easy, but the argument could be made.
It just seems, if you park your car on private property, it can be towed and you might pay for the tow and possibly a fine, but they don’t confiscate your car or declare it garbage.
Anyone have the answer?
The City would have to prove that each individual was on notice from the Rose Kennedy Greenway Trust that they had been forbidden access. That wasn’t colorably the case. Notice is an element of the crime. The property damage would be an element of the economic loss that flowed from the city’s unlawful actions.
What is wrong with the BPD videotaping the protests? The protesters have been videotaping the police in order to document behavior.
Why wouldn’t the opposite be acceptable?
…that the police are using the tapes to identify persons with criminal records unrelated to the protests. They may then use this as justification for a wider crackdown, or at least a thinning of the herd, thus abrogating a whole host of civil and procedural rights that ought to be enjoyed by the protestors. Or they are saving the information for when the crackdown does occur and they can punish those particular malefactors more comprehensively as a means of trying to keep them off the playing field so to speak. I do not assert that the police are doing this, only that the possibility exists that they can. Certainly the legal advisors at the protests out to make inquiries as to why the police are making videotapes.
It’s not like there is insufficient police presence to the extent that eyes alone can determine crime. For some reason they are storing the images.
Certainly the legal advisors at the protests OUGHT to make… inquiries.
What the difference between a private person filming an event and the government recording and storing information on private citizens?
The videotaping keeps a record of what happens. It’s a common law enforcement tactic when large groups and the potential for conflict are involved.
Back when I was at UMass, rowdy students basically took over Amherst Center. The Amherst Police came and attempted to disperse the crowd. It didn’t work, but they videotaped everything for their own self-protection. If they were sued, they had evidence of what happened.
I’m not trying to defend the BPD, but they have a job to do whether we or they like it or not. They have a right to protect themselves from law suits as do demonstrators. If they really wanted to, they could probably record protesters more clandestinely. At least this is up front and honest.
Since Oct. 1, Boston police have logged 3,056 overtime hours at a cost of $146,189.55 due to Occupy Boston. They would have folks believe this is due to some crime wave occurring at Dewy Sq., not citizens exercising their 1st Amendment rights to peaceably assemble to protest the criminal and immoral behavior of the banks and those who destroyed our economy. What did that cost?
Yet, there have still have been no arrests of BOA or Wells Fargo or other officials who committed real crimes and damaged more than the shrubs.
Reality check!!!