The empire strikes back: Police evict protestors

Occupy Wall Street protestors would have been removed in New York, but the private company that owns the park they have been occupying called it off “for a couple days” to allow time to work out an agreement with the protestors. Mayor Bloomberg called off the police.

 

Originally, the park owner, Brookfield Properties, had asked police to remove the protestors so they could clean the park. They said after the cleaning, protestors would be allowed back in, but not allowed to camp overnight. The protestors themselves spent Friday cleaning the park.

 

Occupy Wall Street called for reinforcements and thousands of additional protestors joined them early Friday. Officials feared that there was a potentially bloody showdown in the making. "I think the masses of people forced the City to pull back," Michael Ratner, president of the Center For Constitutional Rights, told The National Memo. "The city decided there was going to be too much national coverage of blood flowing, he said.”

 

After the announcement of the postponement, some protestors went on a celebratory march towards the New York Stock Exchange. They were stopped by police, and dozens of protestors were arrested.

 

The protestors in Denver were not so lucky. At about 3:30 AM Friday, police evicted the protestors from the park adjacent to the State Capitol. Workers knocked down their tents and tossed them in state owned trucks. The protestors themselves were moved to a sidewalk across the street. Colorado’s Democratic Governor, John Hickenlooper issued an executive order closing the park until further notice.

 

Protestors retreated peacefully without resistance, however, police ended up arresting a couple dozen for stepping off the sidewalk into the street. Most were released, but some were held for other offenses. The Denver eviction stood out for the professional and restraint of the police. They had practice at this sort of thing because of similar protests during the Democratic National Convention in 2008, and anti-war protests in the late 1960’s.

 

Governor Hickenlooper was in a corner. He is generally sympathetic with the cause of the protestors, and a supporter of free speech. Republicans were pushing him to act.  Colorado has a law that prohibits overnight camping or sleeping in this park, and case law supports that law. As Governor, he must uphold state laws. The GOP Attorney General would most likely have filed a suit had he not acted.

 

The Governor visited the site and met with the protestors a couple of times. He said in a news conference that he was sympathetic to their message and frustration, but that protestors understood that there were laws, and they had to be enforced. He praised the protestors and the State Patrol for the non-violence associated with the eviction. He said this was a “model operation.”

 

"We understand the frustration voiced by demonstrators about the economy, the loss of jobs and dysfunction in Washington,” the Governor said. “That's why we are intently focused on economic development in Colorado. Just this week the state saw two global companies make significant investments in Colorado that will add jobs and momentum to business development efforts happening throughout the state.”

 

Protestors were also removed from parks in Seattle and San Diego for essentially the same reasons as Denver. There were arrests, but not any major violence. Protestors will be allowed to demonstrate, but can not camp overnight.

 

It is clear that Wall Street, Republican politicians, and conservative talk show hosts are not happy with the entire Occupy movement. They do not like the media attention, and they fear that if the movement grows, it could either influence policy, or the outcome of the elections in a way they don’t want to see.

 

The situation puts Mayors and Governors in a tight spot. They must walk the line between allowing constitutionally guaranteed rights to assembly and free speech, and enforce local laws and ordinances. They must protect the protestors from harm, and the general public. This is no easy task.

 

It is clear that the Occupy movement is not going away. In fact, it is spreading to cities in Europe as people are sick and tired of the economic repression they have felt for the last decade.  Stay tuned.