In my attempt to reconcile sharply differing accounts of police conduct on Monday night/early Tuesday morning, further eyewitness testimony has been offered in response to yesterday's diary "What Happened at Occupy Boston Last Night: Most Police Restrained, We're Still Here." That diary disputed Russia Today's headline that Boston Police were "beating war veterans," which conjures images of billy clubs and fists flying, which there is no evidence of. What did happen is bad enough, but with the future of the movement and tensions at an all-time high, it serves no one except the enemies of the movement to inflame passions any more than they already are.
Yesterday's diary noted a dispute within Occupy Boston over the tone of its press release with the lead line:
Boston Police Brutally Assault Occupy Boston
Posted on October 11, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 11th, 2011
Boston Police Brutally Assault Occupy Boston
At 1:30 this morning hundreds of police in full riot gear brutally attacked Occupy Boston, which had peacefully gathered on the Rose Kennedy Greenway. The Boston Police Department made no distinction between protesters, medics, or legal observers...
Many protesters present objected that they had witnessed nothing of the sort, and the arrests being conducted on their side of the Rose Kennedy Greenway were a professional response to the civil disobedience they had chosen to undertake. One of those arrested described, in corroboration with many other reports:
though the police took a very intimidating stance when moving in, they were exceptionally professional and respectful. I waited my turn while they went around the ring of us arresting everybody, and before each arrest they informed each of us that, should we choose to, we would be permitted to get up and walk away, no questions asked. Only those protesters who were sitting on the ground and who refused that offer were arrested. I was one of them.
Mention was made of the fact that most of the police were not in full riot gear, an intimidation tactic in itself which has unfortunately become a part of many police department arsenals, most often deployed against peaceful protesters as in 2009 in Pittsburgh at the protests of the G-20 summit meeting, a closed-door meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bankers of 20 major economies in which protesters say far-reaching decisions are made in violation of public meeting laws and away from public scrutiny.
Pittsburgh 2009, G-20
In contrast to protesters maintaining that their arrests were conducted professionally and that they witnessed no violence, it should be noted that the scene of thousands of people across the large Greenway, including 200 police, was large enough that experiences may have been vastly different in different regions of the Greenway. An elderly member of the Smedley Butler Brigade member of Veterans for Peace wrote in an email:
I was linked up on Pat`s (Scanlon's, chapter president) right when "Mumbles" Menino`s Stormtroopers struck. They seemed to target Pat and Rachel (an Iraq vet), since they were two of the most vociferous. I saw 2 of them grab and manhandle Rachel ("Heroes" that they are!) and when Pat,to her right, tried to reach out to help her, they grabbed him and manhandled him.At this point two of the badged thugs grabbed me by the V.F.P. sweatshirt and arm. When I yanked away,some sort of truncheon hit me on the right shin below the knee, which stung like hell, and then something (elbow?) struck me on the mouth knocking out a front filling,and I went down. I was dazed, but could see an opening,as the crowd surged over me,and crawled to safety.
So in essence both sides are right. Most police seem to have conducted themselves professionally, marred by the brutality and unprofessionalism of a smaller number who seem to have been targeting organizers and legal observers, a grave escalation of suppression of First Amendment rights in itself.
Moreover, it is confirmed that the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, the private charity which maintains the Greenway, told organizers and the city that they had no objections to the expansion of the camp to the Greenway, as long as the flower beds were cared for and respected, as Occupy Boston was already doing in Dewey Square (Camp 1) in addition to keeping a collection for re-seeding the lawn. The decision to continue with the eviction was strictly Mayor Menino's, for whatever reason.
The circumstances merit calls for an investigation of treatment of war veterans on that night, by some members of the Boston Police, including the identification and punishment of those members. As well it should be recognized that most BPD members handled themselves professionally, in the spirit of cooperation between protesters and police which had marked the previous weeks. The Veterans for Peace have expressed a wish for this cooperation to continue. Mike Ferner, national president, wrote yesterday:
We need to keep in mind that police officers are in the same 99% as we are, providing the muscle, sweat, blood and money used by the 1% who own and govern. The most important thing we share with the police is our humanity. We appeal to police in every corner of America to maintain their humanity and think about it when they consider orders they are given...
We are just at the beginning stages of a powerful, new rising of democratic energy and ideals. We will remain human but we will remain silent no longer.
The time to draw a sharp line on what constitutes acceptable police behavior herein Boston is now. Before we become another Pittsburgh or Miami.
Boston Mayor's Office:
617.635.4500
Related posts on Occupy Boston:
Barack O'Bailout Feels Occupy Wall Street Protesters' Pain.
Occupy Wall Street. What Wars and Socialism for Corporations Are Costing You.