Hundreds Arrested, A Handful Hospitalized During Yesterday's Occupy Wall Street Protests

A former Philadelphia police captain was among those arrested yesterday. (Courtesy Robert Grim)

252 protesters were arrested yesterday during the daylong Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, an NYPD spokesman tells us. Five protesters were charged with felony assault, and there were at least a dozen reported injuries sustained by police and protesters. One officer policing Zuccotti Park in the afternoon was struck in the eye by an "unknown object," while another got a "nasty, nasty" cut to his left thumb after an unidentified person threw a "star-shaped glass object" at him, according to the Wall Street Journal. Mayor Bloomberg visited the officer at Bellevue, and then held a press conference to chastise the demonstrators.

"Unfortunately, some protesters today have deliberately pursued violence," Bloomberg told reporters, and chided Occupy Wall Street for falling short of its ambitious goals yesterday. "Occupy Wall Street had predicted on their website that tens of thousands would be participating in today's protests, but there have been far fewer—and so far they have caused what can accurately be described as minimal disruptions to our city." But by the end of the day, the crowd that gathered in Foley Square for a march over the Brooklyn Bridge was by all accounts massive.

It's difficult to say how many protesters were injured throughout the day, but one volunteer medic tells the Journal that some protesters suffered concussions after falling back and hitting their heads, and at least two protesters had been taken to a hospital. "The procedure for arresting is knock over and drag away on the back," says the medic. "I just rinsed blood off the street so no one would freak out."

The bloodiest arrest that caught the media's attention was Brandon Watts, a 20-year-old man whose been at Zuccotti Park since week one. As we reported yesterday, Watts allegedly knocked a police officer's hat off and was chased down by cops inside the park. The Daily News—which put his bloody face on the cover today—reports that he also tossed objects (including a AAA battery) at cops. Police say he resisted arrest and hurt his head on the concrete during the scuffle.

One protester, however, said the police "beat the shit" out of Watts, who was charged with attempted assault and grand larceny. It's difficult to verify how exactly he got that nasty gash on his head from this chaotic video, but if you want to give it the Zapruder treatment, here you go:

Watts, as it happens, is a bit of a minor celebrity at Zuccotti Park. He's been arrested four times so far, and you may recall him bragging to the Times about his sexploits at the encampment, telling the Sunday Magazine section, "I drank six Four Lokos with Core, a beer or two. And then we ordered an iced mocha and two chicken fingers and large fries. I lost my virginity today. I was amped for it." Watts was also the first protester to defy the no-tent rule and set up a tent in the park. “A [police] captain told him to take it down,” the protester tells the News. “[Watts] said, ‘No.’ He faced the cops down. After that, tents started popping up everywhere. That kid was a fighter."

Several protesters say they were roughed up by police when officers seized a rental truck delivering tents headed to an Occupy Wall Street storage space inside the United Federation of Teachers, Police “started hitting people,” protester JoAnna Mitchell tells the Journal. “I got hit in the leg.” And around 6 p.m., approximately 60 protesters, including Councilman Jumaane D. Williams, were arrested for blocking a roadway leading onto the Brooklyn Bridge in Manhattan. George Gresham, president of 1199/S.E.I.U., United Healthcare Workers East, and Mary Kay Henry, the president of the nationwide Service Employees International Union, were also arrested, the Times reports.

But it wasn't all nightsticks and barricades—the Post (which got a priceless photo of a lady in high heels wiggling through a police barricade) reports that a protester marching with a cowbell got some friendly encouragement from an NYPD officer. "More cowbell!" the cop yelled. Well isn't that special?

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on November 18, 2011 9:45 AM

Comments [rss]

Brandt Hardin

Evicting protesters is Unconstitutional and endangers the
basic rights of EVERY last American. Is
this the country we were raised in, where men and women are beaten, gassed,
pepper-sprayed and arrested for their disapproval of the government. Raise awareness and do your part with these
free posters I designed for the movement on my artist’s blog at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot...

o& �
.l��m/2011/11/propaganda-for-occupy-movement.html

Stan D

Really? What's your address? I am going to stop by and camp out at your apartment and claim that you can't evict me. It's unconstitutional n' stuff.

randomtransplant

They lost control of the park, they tried to assert themselves, by that evening they were pretty well demoralized and exhausted. Up to Union Sq there were almost no cops, on the way back down broadway they just looked tired.

Hitting unarmed patriots must be tiring. The NYPD doesn't have the moral for a sustained, multiple-days-long campaign of violence mongery and much like the snow storm, bloomburg isn't the sort of man to inspire anything.

Its going to be an interesting spring.

Stan_LS

"unarmed patriots" - hilarious!

jfu222

I wasn't there so I didn't see anything.

You shouldn't fuck with the cops physically if you are trying to make a point about abusive tactics though.

Militant Conformist

I know this doesn't belong here but I thought both sides conducted themselves quite well yesterday with a few minor exceptions. People may disagree with the manner of protest but the basic points behind OWS remain solid. And NYPD still happpens to be one of the best police forces in the nation despite its large size.

Militant Conformist

Also, that fucking kid needs to be fucking beat down like the fucking moron he is. Just like the "Don't Traz me Bro" dude deserved what he got well so does this stupid meathead

jfu222

Totally agree that both sides have been more or less doing the right thing. People seem to want to focus on the the bad apples on both sides ..and there are definitely some bad apples on both sides

"Tim Osman"

It's the bastards in the corporate media deflecting attention from the real issues, they are unfortunately very good at what they do

Stan_LS

I suppose the non stop drumming was there to constantly remind us of the "real issues"?

"Tim Osman"

Depends on who you ask, but I for one think the drumming was not necessary. But hey let's talk more about the drumming which is now over with and not the real issues!

Stan_LS

Oh, I get it! We'll just pretend that nothing, except the things that we approve of, happened! Awesome. But hey let's sleep in tents and throw paper airplanes at walls instead of talking about the real issues.

"Tim Osman"

Yes let's dwell on some minor things that are basically irrelevant instead of the REAL ISSUES of economic inequality, rampant corruption, and widespread warmongering.

Guest

Economic inequality? WTF is that exactly? Are you mad that someone working at McDonald's doesn't make as much as a doctor? That's the main part of this movement that makes absolutely no sense. You want more money? Get a better job. Get two jobs. Get three jobs. Hit the lottery. Do something about it. Don't bitch at people who make more than you just because they make more than you. That's called envy/greed and that's what began this mess to begin with.

"Tim Osman"

What is income inequality? Here is an introduction for you:
http://www.economist.com/blogs...

It's not about the silly talking points you mentioned - it's about how the top 1% has become the owners of the country while the bottom 99% has seen little or no gain.

Guest

My talking points, as you called them, are coming from OWS. Bitching about income equality is completely senseless. The top 1%, as they've been dubbed, have always existed. Acting as if this is something new is ridiculous. And then you used the woord 'gain', which proves to me that the 99% are just as greedy as the people they're bitching about. Why do you need to gain more? Is your life so horrible that you don't know where your next meal is coming from? I seriously doubt it.

Stan D

Makes sense. See the giant spike at the time when the web got popular? Those who saw the future and took advantage of the opportunity - benefited. Those who did not - stayed where they were.