This BlipTV episode appearing on buzzflash was reported by all over the board.
A small cohort of students gathered in a park in Rochester to protest military recruiting practices in public schools and to demand an end to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. About a hundred young people waving colorful banners chanted and banged on drums while marching in a peaceful and orderly fashion down a street.
Twenty seven police cars suddenly appeared, sirens wailing. The students, including several small children, walked around the cars. At this point, the police jumped out and began to arrest and physically assault protesters. Watch the video below the fold.
Apparently, the clash has caused at least some soul searching in Rochester. Initially, according to the Democrat and Chronicle, an online local paper, police responded because protesters had blocked an intersection.
According to City Court documents, Rochester Fire Lt. Joseph Luna told police that he could see a large group at the intersection of South Clinton Avenue and East Main Street, blocking traffic.
"We came to a complete stop because we noticed that group was pushing a police officer into our path using a large wooden banner," Luna told police. He said several people moved aside when firefighters repeatedly blew the engine’s horn, "but the majority of the group stayed in the roadway, still blocking the road and struggling with the officer."
A video taken at the scene seems to tell a different story. While protesters are indeed walking in the street, they do not appear to be blocking an intersection. A loud siren is heard and the protesters appear to stop in confusion. After standing still for a moment, the relatively small crowd reverses its direction, apparently in response to a vehicle attached to the siren. A few protesters run to the sidewalk. There is no evidence on the video of protesters pushing a policeman.
At this point, police cars pull up behind and in front of them and they move to the sidewalk. While the initial loud siren may in fact be a fire truck, nobody appears to be deliberately blocking either its path or an intersection. The police assault appears both overly aggressive and unprovoked.
Common Dreams reports that the incident was taken up by City Council the next day and that the police department has placed the matter under investigation.
"What worked well and what didn't? Clearly, many, many things didn't work well," said Deputy Police Chief George Markert. He told City Council some of the officers involved were young and less experienced, but he's not drawing many conclusions until the internal investigation is complete.
He suggested that in the future, students seek a permit before marching.
One councilman remarked that nobody in Rochester would have realized the protest had taken place if the police had not responded as they did. In the end, twelve individuals were arrested and three were briefly hospitalized.