HD! #D12: NYPD aggression turns a peaceful dance party into a police riot (Part 1)
Channel: Dicey Fitz
Date: 12/12/2011

Watch as NYPD officers, courtesy of Brookfield Properties, violently and stupidly arrest 17 members of a peaceful and happy gathering in the WFC's Winter Garden, including at least 8 citizen journalists.

In this video, you can see at least two journalists arrested with no clear pretext. According to @johnknefel, who's arrested at 6:31 in the video, 8 in 10 people in his paddy wagon were arrested with cameras. Also, @justinwedes, who contributes to @OccupyWallStNYC, is arrested just past the 10:00 mark.

In both cases you can clearly see the police initiate aggression towards the cameramen. They're both pushed to the ground and cuffed. The moment where @justinwedes is arrested is horrifyingly dangerous: you can see members of the NYPD shoving people down a staircase. This is the kind of reckless misconduct that can get people seriously hurt.

15 others were arrested, including at least 6 other journalists including @dontbeaputz and @OWS_Live. If you know any of the other citizen journalists who were arrested, please let me know.

When will Ray Kelly answer for his department's sickeningly routine violations of the civil rights of the people of New York City? When will Mayor Bloomberg be held accountable for his orders and his duplicity? Where does the buck stop?

For more #OWS coverage, please follow me on twitter (http://twitter.com/diceytroop) and tumblr (http://diceytroop.tumblr.com).