Opening
Opens with Lieutenant/Captain picking out an occupier to be arrested, while another Lieutenant/Captain with a bullhorn walks along telling protesters to “Please stay on the sidewalk. Any move to come forward will result in arrest.” A thick wall of cops holding riot shields pin protesters against the side of buildings leading around the corner to the arrest corridor, while a Lieutenant/Captain walks along and chooses the next take down victim. As protesters are chosen, multiple cops drag each one OFF the sidewalk and to the street corner, forcing some to lay face down on the street while they are zip-tied before being led off to the paddy wagon. Wonder how many of them were charged for being in the street after being dragged there, instead of being on the sidewalk as ordered by Megaphone Men.
Note that one group of protesters is cut off from the others in order to form an arrest corridor around the corner. While those being ruthlessly arrested scream, protesters in the “safe but blind” zone chant, “You. Are. The 99%.” at police. Heartbreaking.
Arrest 1 Time stamp: 0:04 -Arrest 1 – Badge # 1917, #23537, #13491 – Each officer has hands on the protester, wrestling him to the ground. In spite of his (admittedly late) protest that he would co-operate, police force him to lay in the dirty street for arrest. Badge #13424 only briefly touches the protester.
Arrest 2 Time stamp: 1:04 -Arrest 2 is nearly hidden from view at left of the screen. No officer details available at this resolution.
Arrest 3 Time stamp: 1:14 -Arrest 3 – Badge #30673 – Helped violently yank protester from the crowd being held against the building. Can’t see the actual arrest after this – off camera.
Arrest 4 Time stamp: 1:25 -Arrest 4 – Badge #1745, #3284 – Already has Occupier on his knees. Protester is taken to the street but may have been allowed to kneel instead of being forced face down. Arresting badges not clear but they may also have been #1765 and #2384×.
Arrest 5 Time stamp: 2:04 -Arrest 5 – Badge #13491– Throwing Occupier to ground, stepping harshly on ankle. Protester wearing glasses and an open olive cardigan. Protester tries to get to their knees, is picked up and flung (at 2:08) face down on the sidewalk. “Officer” appearing to be the infamous “Red Jacket” DHS official who arrested Megan Holmes at another 2011 NYC protest (Close up of Red Jacket and Arresting Megan Holmes ) comes around the corner and helps “subdue” the protester’s calf by taking a slight jump (at 2:13) down on it. Holds the leg sideways against the ground, foot near protester’s ankle. You can hear a woman screaming in the background the whole time.
Arrest 6 Time stamp: 2:27 -Arrest 6 – You can barely see him in the background. Camel colored jacket, similar to a Carhartt, beginning to fall to the ground. Can’t tell if he’s being pushed or not. This side of the street has definitely become an arrest corridor.
Time stamp: 2:31 -Police shove a cameraman trying to film Arrest 5 and/or 6 out of view so that no public record is kept. “Get on the sidewalk. On the other side. On the other side.” Assumption is they want him on the other side of the corner -in the “safe-but-blind media zone” – not near enough to film. At time stamp 2:50, another photographer being pushed away and told the same thing.
Arrest 7, Jon Wasserman Time stamp: 3:04 -Arrest 7 – Helmet #13491 – At 2:58 a female photographer attempts to cross from the far side of the corner to the arrest corridor and is stopped. Told by the same cop pushing other photographers away to stay “on the other side please”. She tells him “The (your?) boss just told me to come over here” and, with a handful of other photographers, succeeds in photographing Arrest 7. She asks the man being arrested, “What’s your name?”. He replies, “Jon Wasserman”. “Yes, Jonathan Wasserman”.
Arrest 8 Time stamp: 3:50 -Arrest 8 – Helmet #48 – After watching the rest of the photographers get pushed around the corner and into the “safe-but-blind media zone” where more protesters have been forced to stay, far enough away to not witness any arrests. The camera pans police penning them in before switching back to the arrest corridor to film a policeman walking a handcuffed protester away. Did not see this arrest in the video, only it’s result. The arrest corridor now looks clear. Police move further down the corridor to what appears to be a staging area.
Dispersal order is given to remaining people in the “safe-but-blind media zone” at 5:28. Not sure it is the first dispersal order, but it’s the first one I heard. I only heard police ordering people to stay on the sidewalk, and away from the arrest corridor, prior to this. Cops are blocking the way to the arrest corridor, and are lining the street to prevent anyone crossing it. Some people turning around to move away as ordered, but the crowd goes nowhere. At 6:54 the crowd is told, “This is your last chance. Failure to disperse will result in arrest.”
At 7:08 the camera zooms in quickly for a tight close up of one protester saying “Fuck you” to the cops. He’s just been tagged for arrest I’m sure. At 7:27 a couple of helmets with letters “MSTF” show up on the screen – from the Motorcycle and Scooter Task Force – and a DoT helmet a few seconds later.
Arrest 9 and 10 Time stamp: 8:39 -Arrest 9 and 10 – Helmet #4941 and Red Jacket -Video pans to a couple twined together on the ground, and you can hear a woman yelling harshly while cop bends over to grab her leg. Red Jacket (who the camera appears to be with btw) swings over to help a motorcycle cop and #4041 separate them for arrest. Note Red Jacket kneeling or stepping on one of the protesters, body slanted so his weight is braced on that leg (at 8:46) to separate them. #4941 twists protesters arms behind them, hands almost behind their head (hands being brought back down at 9:16). Then yanked up backward off the ground by #4941 (at 9:27), who is using the cuffs as a handle. My shoulders may have been dislocated right then if that were me. At 10:04, one of the two protesters being arrested says, “Do not cut off the circulation in my hands, sir”. Cop tells her “You were resisting arrest and look what happens to you. Go!” Camera only films the helmet and face of officer assisting Red Jacket with Arrest 10, and we don’t see the protester’s face. He’s wearing a red and black checked shirt and a bright orange jacket. No indication of how the couple ended up on the ground, but I assume them hanging on to each other so tightly was an attempt to protect themselves from arrest.
At 10:23 the camera approaches two people holding someone up between them. The person they’re supporting is obviously too injured to walk, and they occasionally have to support his/her head as well. But aside from filming them in passing, no attention was given them by police. And no offer of assistance. Too busy filming the “suspicious package” (or empty cardboard packing envelope) on the ground? It’s called trash, boys.
At 11:00 I see a person with a large canvas shoulder bag being held by the arm while escorted somewhere. They seem to have come from a nearby alley but can’t be sure. There were no cuffs on that person, and they may have been released into the herded crowd.
At 11:50 another warning to keep moving and disperse or be arrested is given. Something exciting obviously happened at the end, as camera people were dashing past police surrounding the remaining protesters, moving back toward the arrest corridor. No idea what it was as the camera never followed them. May have been unrelated.
What strikes me most about DHS’s “Red Jacket” officer is his offhanded, casual abuse of protester bodies during arrests. They are objects to manipulate while achieving his goal – “the arrest”. I’m sure he’s been a great example and inspiration for all NYPD officers he may have trained.
Badges in addition to those tagged are: #5512, #2379, #2753, #2155, #29198, #2968, #2073, #1352, #4073, #4968, #27452, #4699, #13899, #7003, #31659, #12049, #3270, #17001, #3705, #23818, #430, #95, #596, #12413, #14686, #6203, #5060, #28685, #2848, #12994, #630, #6686, #1476
