Video that surfaced on YouTube after last night’s massive Occupy Wall
Street march shows a police officer using a baton to hit protesters.
It’s unclear what happened leading up to the chaotic scene shown on the video. A group of police officers appear to be attempting to push back a crowd of protesters in front of a barricade, when one of them swings at people with his night stick. The crowd pushes back and forth as people snap photos and take videos of the scene.
More than 5,000 people participated in last night’s march in New York City from Foley Square through the Financial District, many of them from high-profile unions.
When asked about the use of batons, Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said, “Police have a right to use
necessary force and to defend themselves when they are being charged by
a group trying to overwhelm them.”
Browne said there were 23 arrests yesterday, mainly for disorderly conduct by protesters. He said five of those arrests happened at Broadway and Wall Streets when protesters charged a police line there.
