Protesters arrested while blocks away from the protests. Their charges were thrown out. But it is important to recognize the impact such spurious arrests have on peoples perception of freedom to assemble and petition their government for a redress of grievances. Who wants to risk arrest for not only attending a protest but for simply planning to attend? In making this arrest the police have shown they are not interested in maintaining order but in the suppression of dissent.
With the exception of acts of conscious designed to spur arrest, such as chaining oneself to the White House fence to protest discrimination codified into our military, attending a protest should not result in arrest. Petty arrests such as for jaywalking and blocking traffic should be dismissed and should not have been made in the first place. Gatherings and marches are not the enemy, the enemy is income inequality destabilizing society and our ability to maintain social cohesion. Having large segments of our population homeless and jobless and desperate puts us all in danger especially the disenfranchised.
On Nov. 17, Kira Moyer-Sims was near the Manhattan Bridge, buying coffee while three friends waited nearby in a car. More than a dozen blocks away, protesters gathered for an Occupy Wall Street “day of action,” which organizers had described as an attempt to block the streets around the New York Stock Exchange.
Then, Ms. Moyer-Sims said, about 30 police officers surrounded her and the people in the car.
Mr. Pawar said that the police had charged his three clients, Ms. Moyer-Sims, Angela Richino and Matthew Vrvilo, with obstructing governmental administration, but that the Manhattan district attorney’s office had declined to prosecute them.
Now they are preparing to sue the city, Mr. Pawar said, adding that the arrests had violated their constitutional rights.
“Not only are the police disrupting people’s rights to free expression,” Mr. Pawar said. “They are taking pre-emptive steps by arresting people who might be just thinking about exercising their rights.”
The overreach by the police in their efforts to quiet those voices that heretofore have been silent about the erosion of our way of life is not a new behavior on their part by any means. But part of evolution is learning from the past and changing your actions accordingly.
I guess the question I am raising is why do we have police forces still stifling dissent when historically it can be abundantly shown that such behavior results in a buildup of social tensions and a more severe backlash that will result in more people protesting.
Perhaps that is what the police want more protesters on the street decrying the horrible mess our society has become.