老澳门开奖结果

Occupy Report from Oakland (by Rebecca Farmer, 老澳门开奖结果 of Northern California)

The May Day protests in Oakland saw a great deal of police presence and use of force, but not quite to the degree that we saw during demonstrations in the fall of 2011. Still, of multiple rounds of tear gas, flash bang grenades and possibly other projectiles raise questions. The OPD has a clear policy governing how it should deal with protests, but the department has violated protesters鈥� rights on far too many occasions in the past. The policy and common sense require OPD to use the minimal force necessary to disperse a crowd.

We are still assessing whether OPD and other agencies unnecessarily escalated tensions when the OPD quickly turned to the flash bang grenades and tear gas to disperse crowds, when the Alameda County Sheriff drove a tank through downtown Oakland in the middle of the afternoon, and when a protestor who was already pinned to the ground by officers was tased in the leg. Excessive police force is never acceptable, and certainly not when it is used against non-violent political protesters. (Coincidentally, on May Day, the city of Oakland and the Oakland Police Department to submit a plan within one week to address backlogged complaints regarding their handling of earlier Occupy protests.)

By Katherine Bromberg, New York Civil Liberties Union

Earlier this week, from New York City to Oakland, tens of thousands took to the streets to Occupy on May Day. News reports that in New York City alone more than 30,000 people rallied and protested. The had 20 legal observers stationed across the city who reported live updates and photos for our . Because we are well aware that those in the movement regularly rely on our reporting and materials about their rights, we also distributed our and pocket cards.

The NYPD response to the protest was moderate for the majority of the day, with some exceptions including: to target and question protesters; interfering with journalists, including ; the use of excessive force, including striking peaceful protesters ; and the use of extensive barricading and efforts to break up and disperse marches in the . Reports indicate that there were some overall, over the course of the day.

After marches, gatherings, and other activities, a mile long march of Occupiers, unions, students, musicians, artists, and countless others marched down Broadway in solidarity, finally gathering at Veteran鈥檚 Park, which is conveniently located at the 老澳门开奖结果 and NYCLU鈥檚 doorstep.

Despite some obstacles that Occupiers faced, OWS deemed May Day a great success, and we at the NYCLU are always pleased about opportunities to educate New Yorkers about their rights! For more information about rights while demonstrating, you can visit NYCLU鈥檚 or check out the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 鈥淜now Your Rights: Demonstrations and Protest鈥� guide online.

If you have stories about police mistreatment of protesters and journalists in New York, please forward your stories, pictures, and videos to protest@nyclu.org. To learn more about local 老澳门开奖结果 affiliates involvement with Occupy movements around the country, check out our map.

Learn more about protestors' rights: Sign up for breaking news alerts, , and .