Pepper spray and the police
During the years Rudy Giuliani was mayor of New York, his administration was on the losing end of a long string of First Amendment lawsuits. It got to the point that a federal appeals court noted the “relentless onslaught” of such cases, resulting in 18 decisions against the city.
I had thought that having a media executive as mayor would lead to greater respect in City Hall for the First Amendment. Michael Bloomberg’s response to the arrests of more than 1,800 peaceful protesters at the Republican National Convention in 2004 – largely just to get them off the street for as long as 36 hours – demonstrated otherwise.
This background makes it less shocking than it should be that there is now a controversy over the video-verified fact that a high-ranking police official – a deputy inspector – squirted pepper spray on Chelsea Elliott, 25, a woman taking part in the ongoing Occupy Wall Street demonstration. Perhaps the various videos don’t tell the whole story, but from the look of it, Elliott was doing no more than exercising her right to free speech at the time.
Jim Dwyer does a good job in today’s Times of providing the broader context – a Police Department with a growing power that is unchecked.
Unchecked by whom? The list could be lengthy, since a variety of local, state and federal authorities have official oversight responsibilities, and others – the news media – have an unofficial role. But I would start the list with Mayor Bloomberg.
The Wall Street protests nationwide are about to heat up as soon as more people find out that the ‘elite’ oppose a transaction tax of half a penny on stock and bond transactions. this tax will bring in 150 billion a year, trillion and a half a decade. When I buy anything I pay a tax except in the ‘poor’ Stock Market.The manipulators/traders are investing millions of dollars a micro second that is causing the extreme volatility of the markets and 401ks without creating one job or paying one dollar in tax..; so anyone thinking that protests are going away is delusional. It was nice to see that the blue jacketed cops , paid in nickels, were not the ugly ones. The ambitious white shirted superior officers were the thugs.. maybe the new un-employment idea will we be Wall Streeters to ‘rent- a thug’ ?
On another note, lets hear from ‘our leaders’ once again how peaceful demonstrations should be allowed in Damascus Syria.. all together now..preach.. preach
That’s an opinion piece, Paul. For broader context, one would need to go elsewhere.
This from Talking Points Memo:
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/09/pepper_spraying_cop_was_named_in_civil_rights_comp.php?ref=fpblg
Pepper Spraying Cop Was Named In Civil Rights Complaints For 2004 Anti-Bush Protests
by Jillian Rayfield
September 27, 2011
Anthony Bologna, the NYPD officer who maced a protester at the Occupy Wall Street rally, was named in several civil rights lawsuits related to arrests made at the 2004 Republican National Convention.
Posr A. Posr filed suit against Bologna and another officer, Tulio Camejo, in 2007, for false arrest and civil rights violations. The arrest took place on August 31, 2004, during the Republican National Convention in New York City, when around 1800 people were arrested for protesting the Iraq War.
Posr’s attorney, Alan Levine, told The Guardian that when he heard about the pepper spray incident “a bunch of us were wondering if any of the same guys were involved.”
According to the complaint, Posr was arrested after he approached a car covered in anti-abortion slogans. According to Levine, “police contend that Posr hit the [driver] with a rolled-up newspaper. He said he was just talking to the guy. Bologna ordered another officer, Camejo, to arrest Posr.”
From The Guardian:
The case is scheduled to be heard next year.
Several other complaints against the city, related to arrests made at the 2004 protests, name Bologna as one of the defendants, along with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Police Chief Ray Kelly and a number of other NYPD officials.
Bologna was identified as the police officer who pepper sprayed female protesters who were taking part in the Occupy Wall Street rally on Saturday. USLaw.com first posted the video over the weekend:
One of the women told the New York Times that though there had been some pushing going on among the protesters and police, she and the other women who were sprayed were not involved. “Out of all the people they chose to spray, it was just me and three other girls,” she said. “I’m not pushing against anybody, or trying to escape.”
Thanks, Gene. Sounds like a typical protest and reaction. Hardly any way to sort these things out – he did, she did – everybody’s right and everybody’s wrong. Best, as a rule, to stay out of the way of the cops, I think, especially when they’re massed to control something, unless you’re willing to suffer seriously for your imprudence. I admire both the controllers and the daredevils – it’s a holy war.