Great video – raw, direct, every detail of the action and the cops.

Nice, front row. Direct action in play.

So are cops not included in the 99%? Police face the same economic pressures as everyone else, so why fight against the people you should be fighting alongside?

I call that keeping order. And I do hope your use of the word brutality was focused at these ‘protesters’ These officers show great restraint until their safety becomes an issue. Pounding on the van? OUR van that we all paid for with my tax dollars? This is infuriating to watch as a contributing, law abiding citizen. These heathens are out looking for trouble and 15 minutes of fame. Spray them, and start w/ tazers. Protesters – start with respect if you want respect. What a bunch of loud animals. This video disgusts me. Thank god for SPD. I respect and honor you daily for having to deal with this BS. Just because you most of the 99% does not make us lawless.

The Seattle Police Department and all police departments charged with serving and protecting citizens during times of civil unrest and disobedience are in a very tough position and I feel for them (not that I would like to have most of them over for dinner). They are being exploited by the protesters and the business interests both during these protests. They are human beings and as such are susceptible to allowing their emotions to inform their actions (which can be brutal without being criminally or unethically so). Every time there is an image of one of these uniformed strong men displaying joy or anger while swinging a baton or discharging tear gas on an unarmed citizen the more movements like this gain strength. Thank you Seattle Police for doing your job, for being human, and for contributing to the voice of your fellow 99%ers. Occupy is willing to be gassed, beat and arrested for this cause and appreciates your willingness to meet them halfway. Also: It makes great copy and brings a lot of eyes to news sites advertisers.

That poor tree.

Life for a sidewalk tree is hard enough with the compacted soil, the concrete, the lack of water, having to stare at a bank all day.

On top of all this! The poor tree gets shoved and bent and maced.

http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Phil,

What is an appropriate response to a violent and aggressive crowd?

Hmmm: Do you, like “Sad” think that the use of chemical weapons and/or electrical shock is an appropriate response to someone beating his or her bare fists on a vehicle?

I can’t see the embedded video in Firefox, Chromium, or Akregator. I would appreciate a direct link.

Heathens? Sad?

Your bank just cancelled a host of consumer fees, no connection, think again.

The police know the rules, so do the protesters. This sort of thing has been done in this city hundreds of times going back 50 years.

Of course in the labor wars with the loggers, back when. Pinkertons killed loggers. This action was a long way from that.

REALLY? IE? ONE PERCENT? COME ON!!! Perception is very skewed in this camp…I have literally read and SEEN IT ALL now. I will have a great chuckle the rest of the day. Thank you for that.

My mistake. 1% is actually the smartphone market share for Windows Phone 7.

@Phil mocek

“Hmmm: Do you, like “Sad” think that the use of chemical weapons and/or electrical shock is an appropriate response to someone beating his or her bare fists on a vehicle?”

if they are being asked to comply with a legal police directive and are ignoring those orders, then yes chemical and/or electrical shock are appropriate. that’s why we give those tools to the police to control aggressive crowds.

@weave

“Your bank just cancelled a host of consumer fees, no connection, think again.”

prove that those fees were cancelled because of ows/os. there’s been a lot of conversation/outrage about these most recent banking fees from citizen’s rights groups, members of congress and even the white house. any/all of those can be cited as getting those fees cancelled.

besides, those fees were cancelled before the protest yesterday. so there’s no connection to this specific incident.

Facebook video sharing is being a little odd — either shared again or on the fritz. Anyway, I can view in Chrome just fine on this post.

Phil, I’m surprised (and a little disappointed) at you. “Hmm” asked you a very reasonable question…instead of answering it, you asked another question. Sorry, but that’s not a fair response.

Focus, please. I posted here in response to the comment from “Sad”, who wrote, “These officers show great restraint until their safety becomes an issue. Pounding on the van? OUR van that we all paid for with my tax dollars? This is infuriating to watch as a contributing, law abiding citizen. These heathens are out looking for trouble and 15 minutes of fame. Spray them, and start w/ tazers.”

Sad, I asked you if the use of chemical weapons (such as pepper spray or Mace) and electrical shock (such as that which would be delivered via use of a Taser) are appropriate responses to people beating on a van with bare fists. You didn’t answer, instead writing that “the protesters were doing much more than simply beating on a van.” You didn’t mention any of that in either comment.

What, if any, actions did you observe in the video that you believe warrant the use of chemical weapons and/or electrical shock in response? At what time in the video did you observe those actions?

I don’t know what the appropriate response to a violent and aggressive crowd is. I suppose it depends on the roots of and targets of the aggression of people in the crowd. In this case, it’s irrelevant. I was there from 3:30 until about 4:30, and I did not observe a violent and aggressive crowd. But that’s all off-topic for this sub-thread, which is about Sad’s apparent belief that the use of chemical weapons and electrical shock are appropriate responses to unarmed demonstrators engaging in peaceful civil disobedience.

Watching Goldy’s video of the later demonstration, it occurred to me that if someone’s actions are worthy of attack with chemical weaponry, they’re certainly worthy of arrest and prosecution.

What does it mean when police deploy their weapons at someone who is not suspected of having committed an arrestable offense?

This isn’t police brutality. This makes me very upset that people are hijacking the Occupy movement so they can have an “anarchist rebel” story to brag about.

People were demonstrating and/or observing peacefully when the police began battering them with bikes. Of course, it’s generally unwise to push back when a cop shoves you, but if you’re in a dense crowd of people and you’re pushed, you’re bound to spring back. Two police officers deployed chemical weapons at approximately seven unarmed, peaceful demonstrators.

Following is what is visible in the video:

0:04 – bike cops outside bank on sidewalk create bike barricades leaving clear route away from bank. People nearby watch and photograph
0:10 – demonstrator #1 (Hudson; brown sweater) escorted out by police officer
0:12 – demonstrator #2 (female, brown hair, gray sweatshirt) escorted out by police officer
0:13 – demonstrator #3 (female, blond hair, gray v-neck sweater) escorted out by police officer
0:16 – demonstrator #4 (male, brown crew cut hair, glasses, black sweatshirt) escorted out by police officer
0:18 – demonstrator #5 (Liam, black jacket, cap) escorted out by police officer
0:22 – observer follows police officer escorting demonstrator #5 and is yanked by another police officer back out of path of officers
0:27 – demonstrator #5 and accompanying officer turn left to head north on sidewalk
0:35 – path used by officers escorting demonstrators out is still clear; no apparent effort by observers to narrow the path
0:40 – camera moves position into street
0:45 – police van (23214 later visible on rear) in on-street parking is lined on passenger side and rear end with peple facing sidewalk, three next to it on driver side
0:53 – camera reaches front driver corner of van
0:54 – someone calls for others to “surround the van.” Van is already surrounded 180 degrees
1:03 – clear path to rear of van is seen
1:05 – demonstrator #4 enters van
1:09 – demonstrator #5 enters van
1:19 – two observers within one foot of rear of van, one holding phone, officer next to them at ease
1:20 – bald male police officer closes van driver-side rear door
1:22 – blonde female police officer closes van passenger-side rear door
1:26 – sound of hands thumping side of van heard
1:27 – camera pans across roof of van toward front
1:37 – male police officer with short dark receding hairline rounds rear driver corner of van, moves to front; observers step back to allow passage
1:39 – same for thin, younger police officer
1:40 – same for third officer, shorter, short dark hair
1:42 – camera moves to rear driver corner of van, turns toward front to reveal 4′ of clearance next to van, three police officers near driver door
1:50 – camera moves backward, away from van, into street
1:53 – two commercial camera operators seen behind van; one moves off-camera northward
2:02 – camera is directly behind van, facing south in parking lane; observers watching, roughly 1/3 of them holding cameras/phones
2:05 – camera is on sidewalk facing van; approximately 20 observers in view, all standing still
2:09 – camera zooms in
2:10 – bike officer #1 (helmet, clear glasses) arranges bike at 45 degree angle, front pointed at front of van, next to observer in purple striped shirt, who is also facing front of van (two are perpendicular)
2:14 – bike officer #1 shoves side of man in purple striped shirt with bicycle; he moves without further reaction
2:16 – bike officer #1 shoves side of man again; may turns head left and says something; it’s not apparent why officer is standing there (no path being cleared, line held, etc.)
2:26 – bike officer #1 sits bike on ground next to purple striped shirt man; bike officer #2 (helmet, dark glasses) stands with chest 4″ from officer’s back, second bike in between them
2:35 – officer #3 (buzz-cut dark hair; no glasses), ahead of #1 and #2, repeatedly shoves stationary observers curb-side
2:36 – camera adjusted to tight view with officers #1 and #2, #3 ahead of them, and purple striped shirt man
2:38 – bike officer #1 turns bike perpendicular to road and van, again pushing purple striped shirt man, who is still facing van;
2:43 – bike officer #1 raises his bike and sways, along with it, forward and back in tight crowd; no one else’s arms are raised
2:44 – bike officers #1 and #2 push bikes into crowd; denim jacket observer is rear and street-side of purple striped shirt man; at least one observer (male black jacket, light brown hair, camera above head) is street side of the officers and bikes
2:46 – officer #4 (pattern-bald stubble head, dark glasses with white stripe on frame) begins assisting officer #2 pushing bike into crowd
2:47 – bike officer #2 raises bike higher than head and pushes it toward denim and purple; denim ducks to shoulder level, purple extends arm at head level toward bike
2:52 – officer #4 continues shoving upraised bike toward tight crowd; denim, purple, and a third in blue sweatshirt extend arms to protect from bike ramming at them, holding position while multiple people are 6-12″ behind them; it’s unclear what is street-side of officers pushing bike due to close camera
2:55 – observers hold position, countering force of officers against bikes, pushing bikes toward van, but not stepping in that direction, just reaching
2:58 – four observers countering pressure on bikes stumble about 1′ forward as pressure is relieved
2:59 – observers release bike and are pushed back about 1′
3:00 – officer #4 reaches under bike to push observers
3:01 – bike still in air, officer pushes it 1′ farther into crowd
3:04 – officer #4 continues pressing bike into crowd, reaching forward about 2′ pressing top of bike; officer #2 turns left to look back, motions officer #5 (only arm seen at this point) in front of him and to right, curbside toward observers
3:06 – officer #5 deploys chemical weapon from red cannister across bicycles, turning it side to side to attack 3-4 observers, none of whom is among those who were resisting battering from other officers
3:12 – officer with cannister moves to rear of van; camera turns left to face officer, who picks up bike and
3:20 – camera turns right; bikes are on ground, observers stationary; purple, denim, and blue are out of view
3:28 – purple stripe’s arm seen from right pointing at police to left
3:38 – bike officers still next to van, nobody using space they cleared and no observers attempting to breach the line
3:49 – camera moves to directly behind van; female observer steps in to photograph van occupants, bike officer guides her back; she does not resist
3:51 – commercial cameras visible 2′ from driver side of van
3:58 – camera view turns slightly right; bike officer without bike walks perpendicular to bike line, past it into observers
4:03 – two bike officers hop bikes forward 1′
4:05 – bike officers move bikes steadily forward into crowd; nobody resists
4:15 – front bike officer backs up with bike so that man with yellow scarf facing street is sandwiched between two officers, both facing away from street (left to right: cop, bike, yellow scarf, cop, bike)
4:17 – man with yellow scarf is pushed into police officer by officer behind him, who backs streetward while facing away
4:18 – officer to right turns right, facing camera, reaches with right arm around yellow scarf man’s neck, then removes arm and steps forward with bike, toward camera, hooks bike on tree and yanks
4:40 – yellow scarf repeatedly leans forward to speak to police, feet planted, arms lowered behind back
4:52 – camera turns to face rear of van, turns left
4:54 – three officers on driver side of van walk toward back; four observers 2′ from them stand facing van
5:02 – on officer rounds rear of van with baton and waves it at observers
5:12 – camera pulls back; nobody except three officers within four feet of rear of van, most of passenger side, and at least rear 1/4 of driver side; crowd stationary
5:22 – camera moves left past parking lane into street, still facing rear
of van
5:26 – van reverse warning signal is heard
l:29 – 4′ border is seen on both sides and rear of van
5:31 – man with yellow scarf (can’t tell if it’s same as before) runs on sidewalk from middle to rear of van, passing man (with scarf covering from nose down, black beret, yellow backpack straps) who is facing street from sidewalk; officer #1 (ball cap and dark glasses) grabs the two and pulls them into the street, rotating clockwise
5:32 – officer #2 (short, dark complexion, dark flat-top hair) also grabs yellow scarf man, who falls to ground as #2 swings him, scarf falls off; he scoots under van’s bumper perpendicular to rear; #2 backs away and motions van forward
5:40 – van begins to drive forward as #1 moves in and grabs man’s left ankle, tugging at him as van continues forward; #2 grabs left pants pocket and pulls; van still moving forward; police do nothing to suggest that van should stop moving
5:44 – view of man and police tugging blocked by other observers
5:49 – man’s legs again visible, on right with officers #1 and #2 tugging; van has stopped moving; five observers (1: black jacket with hood and khaki pants, 2: black jacket with yellow patch, 3: blue jacket with camp and camera held high, 4: black jacket, gray backpack, 5: gray jacket), are between camera and legs/police/van, 6′ from officers tugging legs and 8′ from van, stationary
5:51 – motorcycle officer moves sideways from near curb, shoving observers #2, then #1, backward, then turns left to shove observers on sidewalk backward; no order is issued to move before shoving
5:55 – man is disengaged from rear of van, which moves forward and turns left away from curb; officer #3 stands near his head
6:05 – officer #2 helps man stand up, then shoves him toward sidewalk
6:10 – man stumbles, facing van, shakes hand of officer #3; is patted on back by two observers
6:21 – man shakes officer #3’s hand again, the two speak
6:31 – man walks away from van toward sidewalk
6:42 – van stationary and aimed 45 degrees counterclockwise of parallel to road
6:55 – camera moves left of van to partial view in front; 12 officers in view, standing calmly or moving slowly, roughly holding open space in front of van and to driver side; crowd nearby is sparse and stationary
7:21 – officer motions forward, van moves forward, then turns wheels right and reverses
7:42 – officers in front of van push observers away
7:52 – van is perpendicular to curb, sideways in road facing center; about 6 officers surrounding it, observers stationary or moving, none within 5′ of van or moving toward it
8:00 – van turning left into northbound lane
8:04 – van moving slowly forward/northbound
8:07 – officer pats side of van, walking from front to back on driver side
8:10 – commercial camera blocks view of van
8:15 – van speeds away
8:26 – camera turns back southbound; road filled with people milling about; police making no effort to move them
9:20 – man in orange safety vest lunges toward police three times with arm upraised, is pushed backward by police and by other observers
9:40 – crowd begins walking southward
10:20 – police walk/bike southward, following crowd, asking those who lag behind to move out of street onto sidewalk
11:13 – demonstrators with signs next to bank door thank police officer
11:30 – road in front of bank is clear except for a few officers
11:41 – I’m visible standing on green trash can, camera above head, facing south toward people marching in road
11:48 – camera moves south
13:30 – southbound lanes half police, half demonstrators; some police push a few demonstrators, other demonstrators mill around among police without incident
13:40 – officer with red cannister enters view (male, short brown hair, dark glasses), walking 45 degrees clockwise of southbound, two feet from outer stripe of center turn lane
13:42 – officer rotates left, then back right; approx 10 demonstrators link arms in semi-circle south of him
13:45 – officer deploys chemical weapon to his right, southbound, while looking to left, then turns can to left and sprays in front of him, to right and sprays third time; nobody attacked by this officer is advancing on him, displaying any weapon, or indicating any physical threat
13:51 – attacking officer turns, faces directly at short, dark complected officer who tugged on man under van who looks at him and waves hand at him, then steps around a bike and walks a few paces northbound
14:24 – crowd moves northbound, police back away; more people pour into street
14:50 – crowd continues slowly northbound, carrying signs and chanting, police continue backing away
15:03 – camera facing northeast toward Julia’s restaurant
15:05 – camera moves north, turns southbound, captures officer telling man “either get out of the street or get arrested”; man moves backward toward west sidewalk; officer gives thumbs-up and says, “excellent answer”
16:05 – camera rotates right to left and back from NW corner; intersection is empty; line of police facing south separate crowd from intersection
17:03 – camera turns north to reveal five motorcycle officers on cycles facing south
18:15 – camera still at NW corner of intersection; people sporadically walk across in northern crosswalk or in intersection, behind police who are still facing southbound at most of the crowd
18:24 – video ends

In my opinion, the use of the term “chemical weapons” to describe pepper spray is inappropriate and inflammatory. Yes, pepper spray is temporarily very irritating to the eyes, but it has no lasting effect, and can be very useful in situations where an aggressive individual or a mob is not responding otherwise to police directives.

Wow, this video really demonstrates what a bunch of assholes the protestors are. Its fine to stage a sit-in in the bank and get arrested to make your point. But the whole antagonizing the police seems so juvenile. Their whole confrontational nature, we are right and will fuck with everybody who disagrees with us is really offputting, regardless of whether they have useful thoughts on social issues.

83.3% of the crowd are antagonizing. At time codes XX:XX through XX:XX this is happening.

You pick and choose what you want to see but you are too caught up in this to be objective.

Bob, that does sound like antagonizing. That’s one person out of several hundred. I’ll concede that somewhere between 0.3% or 0.2% of the demonstrators in the video can be seen to be antagonizing police. Most are not. OneOfThe99’s statement is misleading.