During a recent Occupy Wall Street protest march in New York City, 10 protesters were arrested for a variety of alleged infractions. The four-hour demonstration was labeled as a protest against police brutality in New York, with the arrests occurring as the protesters wound their way through the streets of Manhattan – from the birthplace of the Occupy Wall Street movement, Zuccotti Park, to Union Square Park.
Banners and signs carried by protesters included the phrases “end police brutality” and “Shame on NYPD,” with one going as far to say “They never stop & frisk old white guys like me.” According to police, many of the protesters were arrested on disorderly conduct allegations.
2006 NYPD Shooting
The protest occurred just a day after the N.Y.P.D. announced the firing of an undercover New York detective who was involved in the 2006 shooting of Sean Bell, an unarmed black man leaving a bachelor party. The detective had fired the first shots of police gunfire that ultimately resulted in the death of Bell.
Bell’s death led to immense public outrage from black community leaders, who believed the shooting was further proof of the use of racial profiling and excessive force by the NYPD.
It seems fitting that this most recent march against police brutality began in Zuccotti Park – the starting point of countless Occupy Wall Street protests, several of which were broken up by police, leading to numerous allegations of police brutality.
Source: Reuters, “Police arrest 14 in two New York Occupy protests,” March 24, 2012