Throwing punches and mowing them down with motorbikes: The shocking videos which ‘prove brutal police overstepped the mark with Wall Street protesters’
- Videos show police ‘attacking protesters, punching them and mowing them down with their motorbikes’
- Shocking images suggest authorities have ‘gone too far’
- Officers now gear up for weekend of violent clashes across the country
- Protesters jubilant after trying to confront NYC Mayor Bloomberg last night
- Attempted to deliver a petition while he was at Manhattan restaurantCipriani
By Mark Duell and Paul Bentley
Last updated at 6:16 PM on 15th October 2011
The police has been accused of shocking brutality after videos emerged showing officers in New York punching Occupy Wall Street protesters and mowing them down on motorbikes.
As demonstrations turned bitterly violent, hundreds of protesters clashed with police as they marched in Manhattan – jumping over barriers, pushing over police scooters and blocking traffic.
Officers in turn seem to have responded in the most draconian manner. In one clip a policeman appears intentionally to run over a protester, trapping his leg under his motorbike’s back wheel.
Heavy handed? Police have been accused of brutality after footage has emerged showing officers mowing down protesters on their motorbikes
Force: New York City Police Department Inspector Cardona hits protester Felix Rivera (wearing a green shirt), as protesters clash with policeAs the demonstrator screams out in pain, other policemen prevent his friends coming to his aid, holding back the furious mob.
Another clip shows officers employing a similar tactic, seemingly mowing down protesters on purpose. After being antagonised by a female demonstrator who refused to move from in front of their vehicles, footage shows a row of bikes suddenly jolt forward, knocking a man to the ground.
Fourteen protesters were arrested in New York on Friday and the violence is expected to continue, with officers gearing themselves up for a weekend of nasty stand-offs.
The protests took a violent turn after park owners – backed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg – put off a scheduled clean-up of the area – prompting demonstrators to march down Broadway in celebration.
The dramatic move came just hours after demonstrators chanting ‘Hell no! We won’t go!’ stormed a Wall Street restaurant last night to confront Mayor Bloomberg over the planned eviction.
Protesters surrounded Cipriani restaurant in Manhattan as the Mayor was at dinner in an attempt to hand him a petition with 310,000 signatures supporting their right to remain in Zuccotti Park.
Their anger was triggered by the Mayor’s endorsement of a clean-up of the ‘unsanitary’ Occupy Wall Street encampment – which was postponed by Brookfield Office Properties at the last minute.
Mayor Bloomberg said it was Brookfield which had decided to postpone the clean-up, under pressure from city politicians.
‘My understanding is that Brookfield got lots of calls from many elected officials, threatening them and saying: “If you don’t stop this, we’ll make your life more difficult”,’ Mayor Bloomberg said.
‘If those elected officials would spend half as much time trying to promote [the[ city and get jobs to come here, we’d go a long way to answering the concerns of the protests.’
New York City Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway made the announcement and protesters, who viewed the clean-up as an ‘eviction notice’, streamed into the plaza this morning.
‘Late last night we received notice from Brookfield Properties that they’re postponing their scheduled cleaning of Zuccotti Park,’ a tweet by Mayor Bloomberg’s office read yesterday.
There was a strong police presence and a showdown with protesters had been feared. Hours earlier, the Mayor had refused to leave his New York restaurant, instead making his exit out of a back door.
‘I’ll believe it when we’re able to stay here,’ protester Peter Hogness said. ‘One thing we have learned from this is that we need to rely on ourselves and not on promises from elected officials.’
Another protester, Nick Gulotta, was jubilant. He had been holding up a sign saying: ‘Bloomberg Don’t Evict Occupy Wall Street.’
