[Peace-discuss] NYC: Civil Disobedience & Police Brutality

[Geoff Ower]

Since the New York City Police arrogantly refused to grant a march
permit for today's mass mobilization against the war on Iraq, civil
disobedience and police brutality broke out.

311 confirmed arrests were made. The protestors are being held on
unheated buses (it is 13 degrees in NYC right now) with no food, water
or bathrooms (and may not be released until morning or even later). Some
people have been hospitalized because police charged horses into a crowd
of peaceful protestors, trampling them. Many people were also maced.
More details below.

The information included below was taken from the New York City
Independent Media Center (http://f15.nycimc.org). Please read it from
the bottom to the top.


F15 8:44pm There are 15 people (including 1 legal observer) at the vigil
at 1 Police Plaza. The National Lawyers Guild is asking for more legal
support staff to come down. We have an unconfirmed report that the
arrestees will not be released until tomorrow morning.

F15 8:25pm United for Peace & Justice spokesperson Chris Pasteraro
reports that UFPJ's phonelines at their 42nd St. office went down at
11:30 a.m. Saturday just as 67 feeder marches were getting underway.
UFPJ was unable to communicate with feeder march liaisons. The phones
briefly resumed working at 12:20 p.m. but went down again at 1 p.m.
"We've been in this building for a month, "Pasteraro said, "and we've
never had any trouble until today."

F15 7:17pm 311 confirmed arrests. Detainees locked in buses at 1 Police
Plaza, just behind 100 Center Street. United For Peace and Justice
asking for people to go down to Police HQ or their or flood their
switchboard. 212-374-3921 An unknown number of people have been
hospitalized as a result of being trampled on by horses.

F15 7:04pm Unconfirmed of 20 arrests at 39th street between 7th and 8th
avenue. Another nearby group of approx. 100 protesters facing a
potential mass arrest.

F15 6:51pm New York seems to be calming down from one of its largest
days of protest ever. We will continue to post more updates as we
receive them.

F15 5:54pm The St. Marks Snake March has largely dissipated. Marchers
reached Astor Place and held a moment of silence to remember those
beaten today by the police.

F15 5:49pm 300-400 people are marching down 5th Avenue and 18th st. The
police have just arrived.

F15 5:27pm The Snake March from St. Marks has moved to Houston to 2nd
Avenue. The march is moving on and off the sidewalk. No reports of
police harassment.

F15 5:17pm 200-250 protestors assembling at St. Marks and 2nd for a
Snake March. Police are present with horses and vans.

F15 5:11pm Times Square Update: The police have blocked off 8th Avenue
south of 42nd street; Times Square is cut in half by police and small
groups of protesters continue to mill around.

F15 5:04pm Reports of protestors establishing a street blockade at 34th
st and 6th Ave. A large group left Times Square, marched to 34th and
6th, and held the intersection for several minutes. Police activity
continues and we have reports of two arrested.

F15 4:53pm We have heard reports, unconfirmed, of unprovoked arrests
earlier in the day on 92nd and 2nd Ave between 1:30 and 2:00pm. Our
source is telling us that he saw several high school students arrested
and maced. *** We have started to get many reports of police brutality
throughout the day. While you can call the IMC to report on todays
events, we would encourage you to post your own experiences directly to
our newswire.

F15 4:49pm We are hearing reports of police brutality outside Times
Square, 42nd St and 7th Ave; police on horses running into and over
protesters.

F15 4:23pm About 200 people are on 42nd street and 6th Ave, with no
police presence, heading west.

F15 4:17pm 52nd and Lexington: The southern line of horse-cops backed
off, but then the northern line pressed into the crowd. Cops on foot
were shoving people out of the intersection, trying to get people moving
again. They reportedly beat an old man.

F15 4:12pm The 50-100 people at 52nd and Lexington have sat down in the
street. A line of cops on horseback have moved in from the north, and
another line have moved in from the south. The southern line is riding
into the crowd.

F15 4:11pm Times Square subway station is closed; no one is allowed in
or out. Times Square webcams.

F15 4:00pm Critical Mass cyclists have left, but 30 people on foot are
on 7th ave between 47th and 48th chanting, "This is what democracy looks
like." Police are preparing to make arrests.

F15 3:59pm People at Lexington between 51st and 52nd have surged into
the streets, surrounding traffic and groups of police officers.

F15 3:37pm Critical mass shut down Times Square for about 5 minutes.
About 20 to 30 bikes and 100 people surrounded Times Square, but we are
hearing that the police have begun to move people out of the way.

F15 3:34pm Reports of 300 police at Times Square.

F15 3:24pm 57th and 2nd: The crowd has taken the streets and is chanting
“Whose streets? Our streets?” Police have not made any arrests or
injuries, but they are using their horses to push the crowd with their
horses back on to the sidewalk.

F15 3:01pm 53rd and 3rd Avenue: People on the west side of the barricade
have been trying to negotiate with the police but they may be getting
ready to storm it. There have been seven or eight reported arrests.
There have been reports of plainclothes policemen have been getting very
violent with protesters. 
3:04 50th and 3rd: Unconfirmed reports that people marching on the
sidewalk were attacked by police. Completely peaceful when police
attacked crowd. Mass pepper-spraying of crowd and large amounts of
police violence. There is a report that there is a severe lack of
medical help at the scene. There were men, women and children in the
crowd.
53rd and 3rd: Crowd has been corralled on all four corners. Police are
pushing the crowd against the buildings.

F15 3:00pm There have been 2 reported arrests at 2nd avenue and 57th
street of people trying to storm a barricade. The crowd has begun
getting very restless and has begun shouting “War means War.”

F15 2:42pm Estimate from organizers and the mainstream media on crowd
size: the rally on 1st avenue stretches many blocks north. NYPD usually
estimates 7000 people can fill an avenue block. Including the additional
people trapped by police at 2nd and 3rd organizers estimate over half a
million people.

F15 2:40pm More reports of police violence at 53d and Third. There were
reports of people climbing atop barricades and being pushed off by
police, about 25 on horses, plus others coming out of buses. The police
have started to push the crowd back from 53rd street. However, people
are completely trapped with nowhere to go

2:18 pm 2:04 At 53d and 3d Avenue, New Yorkers rushed the street
barricade and 15 people made it through. Ten minutes later a group of 8
or 9 anti-capitalists linked arms and organized a second rush on a
barricade. About 50 or 60 other people joined them in the rush. The
police brought in reinforcements, maced 15 or more people, and pushed
the crowd back. 

1:50 Sources report that police have begun arresting demonstrators on
54th and 2nd Avenue. 

1:43 First avenue is reported to be completely inaccessible-- people who
want to get there to protest cannot. 2nd avenue is full wall to wall in
the 60's. We are hearing reports that the police on 3d avenue have given
up, though this isn't confirmed. 

1:37 A smaller group of people made it out of the 51st / 3rd Avenue pen
and were herded north on 2nd avenue. It is a diverse group. They are now
being stopped by a row of mounted police on 54th st, and they cannot
move north. 

1:24 We have reports that portions of Second Avenue have been taken over
by marchers as well. 

1:23 The uptown Lexington avenue line has been stopped at 23rd street
because of the protest. 

1:21 Third Avenue is full from 50th to 53d street. Cars and buses have
been trapped by the crowd-- there are US Postal Service vans, a service
van, and taxis. Marchers have completely taken the street. 

1:09 The police are putting up barriers on 53d and 3rd avenue. They are
throwing them to one another. There is a huge crowd of people stopped by
the barriers and they are chanting "let them through, let them through."
There have been several unconfirmed arrests of people trying to get over
the barriers. There is a lot of pushing and shoving with the police. 

1:07 There is a march occurring on 3rd avenue; people are trying to get
to the protest and are moving north.

1:00pm. A report just came in that 2nd Ave. is “a sea of humanity”
protesters have taken over half the avenue and more people are joining
from every direction. 

12:41 "3rd avenue and 58th is ours!" says one caller. From 57th to 58th
is completely full. There are no protest pens on third avenue. There are
groups up third avenue as far north as 72nd street. 

12:38 The Labor March marching from 59th street is back on the sidewalk.
The police have broken it in half. 

12:32 Police are making it very difficult for protesters to get to the
rally; they are requiring people to go further and further north.

F15 12:06pm Update from Youth Bloc at 24th St and 6th: 300-400
protesters remained penned in, on the sidewalk not being allowed to
move. Approximately 200 police, 3 deep for an entire block. Possibility
that mass arrests will be made soon

F15 12:02pm If you are heading to the rally from the west side of
Manhattan, you should attempt to get there above 55th st. It will be
difficult to get there otherwise. There are large numbers of protesters
heading north past 51st and Lexington.

F15 12:00pm From the rally: There are large numbers of people turning
out in the bitter cold, and it is difficult to estimate numbers. At
least ten blocks are packed in outside the Dag Hammarskjold plaza.

F15 11:53am Police have confirmed arrests at Union Square. No numbers
given by police.

F15 11:47am Youth Bloc Update: several hundred people penned in by
police at 24th st between 5th and 6th ave. One-hundred police and 15 or
more mounted police. There have been several arrests. Police are letting
people out five at a time. The march is on the sidewalk. The marchers
are chanting "The whole world is watching, they are on our side."

F15 11:39am We have word that the Youth Bloc was the march that moved
west from Union Square, not east. They marched towards 6th ave. and then
north. At 23d st and 6th ave, police moved in and pushed the march back
east. There are several mounted police, 15 vans, and several buses. At
24th st, the march was cut in half by police.

F15 11:25am At the Public Library: Approximately 1,000 people at the
library. There are between 100-200 police in full riot gear, some with
batons drawn, standing in the second lane of 5th Avenue. People are
leaving in small groups, but no organized mach has yet left the library.

F15 11:03am One of the feeder marches just took the street on West 21st
street and 6th avenue. There are at least a thousand people on the
street. About 20 or so riot police are stationed on the street, but they
have now given up trying to force marchers back onto the sidewalk.

F15 10:59am 100 people have now left the Green Party headquarters, and
are headed towards the rally.

F15 10:55am Approx. 1,000 people have left Union Square, and they have
just been joined by an additional march. The march has headed west on
14th st., not east. They are marching behind a banner that says "Our
Nation Says No To War," and are marching on the sidewalk.

F15 10:14am Plans continue to percolate for post-rally marching. Read
updates here.

F15 10:04am Looking for something to do before the rally? Come down to
the IMC at 29th street, pick up copies of the Indypendent and awesome
party benefit flyers to distribute at the march.

F15 9:27am Update on crowd control techniques near the UN: 1st avenue is
closed to traffic from 34th to 59th to begin with... Entry to side
streets from 2nd avenue ... will only be allowed every 4th street or so
along 2nd ave, and exit at different streets. [Read More]

F14 12:40am Welcome to the NYC IMC website for the F15 convergence.