Police, protesters clash in Atlanta, Oakland

[1fMoncler]

POLICE, PROTESTERS CLASH IN ATLANTA, OAKLAND
In Chicago, a group marched to City Hall to object to arrests after
police asked demonstrators to clean up the area in the city's loop where
they have been protesting for weeks. Occupy Chicago announced Wednesday
that its legal representatives, the National Lawyer's Guild, will be
meeting with the City's Corporation Counsel on Thursday to discuss a
permanent, round-the-clock location for the group's home base.
Scores of Occupy Chicago members have been arrested each of the past two
weekends for refusing to leave downtown's Grant Park after its 11 p.m.
closing time. Shawn Riley, 25, a college student and former Marine who
joins the protests between classes, said Wednesday that police have been
patient, "but today there's a lot more of them than usual." PHOTOS:
'Occupy' protests across USA STORY: 'Occupy' camps provide food, shelter
for homeless In Atlanta early Wednesday, helicopters hovered and trained
spotlights on downtown as police in riot gear moved into a small city
park and arrested more than 50 protesters who had been there in tents
for about two weeks. In Oakland, riot police cleared protesters from in
front of City Hall , leaving a sea of overturned tents, protest signs
and trash strewn across the plaza. Hundreds of officers and sheriff's
deputies went into the 2-week-old encampment with tear gas and beanbag
rounds around 5 a.m. Eighty-five people were arrested, mostly on
suspicion of misdemeanor unlawful assembly and illegal camping. About
170 protesters were at the site. Around the country, police and some
neighbors have started losing patience as protesters prepare to settle
in for winter in camps without running water or working toilets. Most
are rallying against what they see as corporate greed and a wide range
of other economic issues.
Businesses and residents near New York's Zuccotti Park, the unofficial
headquarters of the movement that began in mid-September, demand
something be done to discourage the hundreds of protesters from
urinating in the street and making noise at all hours. Ann Dumas-Swanson
works in marketing for an architecture firm whose office is on Wall
Street between Broadway and Nassau, two blocks from the park. She said
Wednesday that police security, which is always high because the New
York Stock Exchange is right there, has become tighter since the
protests began. The neighborhood draws a lot of tourists. With
protesters and increased police, it's getting very crowded, she said. "I
have a job; I'm happy to have a job. I hate to complain about things
like this, but it seems like a little much," she said. Around the New
York Stock Exchange, metal police barricades restrict pedestrians to
narrow chutes while keeping off-limits the street and plaza areas around
Federal Hall. That deters foot traffic and upsets high-end local
retailers, including La Maison du Chocolat and Hermes. "It's not the
protesters, it's the barricades,'' says Melissa Andreev, manger of La
Maison du Cholat and president of the FiDi Association, which represents
luxury retailers. "It's definitely affecting everyone." Early Wednesday,
police stood guard and metal barricades surrounded Atlanta's Woodruff
Park. Before police marched in, protesters were warned a couple of times
around midnight to vacate the park or risk arrest. Inside the park, the
warnings were drowned out by drumbeats and chants of "Our park!"
Organizers instructed participants to be peaceful if arrests came, and
most were. Many gathered in the center of the park, locking arms, and
sang We Shall Overcome until police led them out one-by-one to waiting
buses. Some were dragged out while others left on foot, handcuffed with
plastic ties. In Atlanta, State Sen. Vincent Fort, a Democrat, was among
those arrested after coming to the park in support of the protesters. He
said the police presence was "overkill." "He's using all these
resources.
This is the most peaceful place in Georgia," Fort said, referring to
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, also a Democrat. "At the urging of the
business community, he's moving people out. Shame on him." "It's real
simple: This is a crisis of priorities that this small group of campers
�� is the greatest threat in this city. It's outrageous,"
organizer Tim Franzen said. Reed said he based his decision to revoke an
executive order he issued last month allowing the protesters to remain
in the park on "concerns about public safety and escalating tensions in
the park." In a statement, the mayor said police entered the park late
Tuesday night and announced to protesters that anyone remaining in the
park after midnight would be arrested. After two more similar warnings
were issued, police moved in and arrested 53 Occupy Atlanta protesters
without incident. "For more than two weeks, the city of Atlanta,
downtown residents and business owners have shown tolerance and patience
for the members of Occupy Atlanta," Reed said. "The protesters, however,
moved from conducting an initially peaceful demonstration to
increasingly aggressive actions." Oakland was less peaceful. Police
fired tear gas and beanbag rounds as they cleared out the makeshift city
Tuesday. After nightfall, protesters gathered at a downtown library and
began marching toward City Hall in an attempt to re-establish a presence
in the area of the disbanded camp. They were met by police in riot gear.
Officers cleared the area by firing tear gas over a roughly three-hour
stretch of evening scuffles. In Chicago, police have erected barricades
near the corner of Jackson Boulevard and LaSalle Street, where Occupy
Chicago members gather daily within sight of the Federal Reserve Bank of
Chicago, Bank of America and Chicago Board of Trade. "People have their
First Amendment right," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said this week. "It's
protected, and they're expressing their views. And I've expressed my
understanding of those economic hardships while making sure the law is
enforced." Tony Norris, 49, a laid-off restaurant worker who has been a
regular Occupy Chicago participant, said the group's message will be
lost if people disobey the law. "When the police say move, you move," he
said. "You've got to keep a peaceful protest. You can't turn this into a
riot." Som people who work near the Occupy movement have no objections
to the protests. "It's a freedom of speech," said Jake Gloodt, 22, a
courier.
"They can do whatever they want. They seem respectful." Melanie Wells,
41, a marketing director, said she finds their presence annoying. "You
have to detour around them on the sidewalks or fight your way through,"
she said. "I don't know what they think they're accomplishing, but to
me, they're basically a pain in the neck." Meanwhile, in Washington,
D.C., a third protest inspired by Occupy Wall Street sprang up Wednesday
. The demonstration, known as Occupy Pennsylvania Avenue, will be
different from two encampments that have been in place since early
October in that participants will not be camping out. They plan to leave
at night and return every day until "we get change in DC at both ends of
Pennsylvania Avenue," organizer Patrick Schneider said in a statement.
He said the demonstration had appropriate permits and that the goal was
to communicate its message without breaking the law.




--
1fMoncler