January 21, 2013

Bloomberg: Occupy Wall St assaults on Police officers will not be tolerated

Mayor Michael Bloomberg held a press conference at Bellevue Hospital this afternoon, targeting any protesters guilty of assaulting police.

NEW YORK — New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly spoke outside Bellevue Hospital today, referring to the protesters that “deliberately pursued violence” at the Day of Action rally held by Occupy Wall Street protesters.

The location, at one of Manhattan’s downtown hospitals, was chosen because an injured police officer was admitted there due to a wound sustained during the protests. According to Kelly, the unidentified officer is 24 years old and has been on the job for about a year. He was injured when a glass object was thrown, and he blocked it with his hand.

He has been admitted to Bellevue for lacerations to the hand.”Make no mistake about it, if anyone’s actions cross the line…we will respond accordingly,” Bloomberg told reporters at the conference.Bloomberg said that while everyone has the right to protest and will be allowed to do so, if the protests continue to get rowdy, police officers have the right to respond as they see fit.

“Those that break the law, those that try to assault people, particularly our first responders, will be arrested,” said Bloomberg at the conference. “It will not be tolerated.”

Kelly said that there are now 177 reported arrests, mostly due to resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. However, of those 177, five were arrested for second degree assault. Seven police officers have been injured, five due to an unidentified liquid thrown in their faces and the sixth currently at Bellevue. The officers doused with liquid said it caused a “burning sensation to the face,” and it was immediately flushed out of their eyes at the scene.

Bloomberg also pointed out that the protesters were not as strong in numbers as had been expected. New York City public transportation will continue throughout the day, although some delays may occur on lines that run through downtown Manhattan. The mayor believed there are less than 1,000 people in total protesting, although it has been hard to officially determine since they are spread out in different areas.

Bloomberg and Kelly only allowed about five questions from the media before ending the conference. They did not reference the injured protester who left the scene with a bloody head, as reported by both The New York Times and New York Daily News.

“It is not an overwhelming number, the police were able to handle it and people were able to go about their business,” said Bloomberg. “The NYPD has trained for this kind of event, they will keep the city safe.”

 

Source: https://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/111117/bloomberg

Comments

  1. Micky says:

    What about Police assaulting the peaceful people???? Who holds them responsible?

  2. Christy says:

    I don’t agree with violence on either side, but I find it sad that he will speak out to protect his officers, yet allow his officers to wage violence against PEACEFUL protestors. Where is the justice here?

  3. Court says:

    Well, anyone with eyes can see NY transportation is clearly disrupted, there is obviously more than 1000 protesters, and the cops (by orders) are over stepping their bounds with protesters they know will not fight back. How long do you think this will last mayor? You can only kick a dog so many times before it bites back. Oh and I like the tactic of targeting all the reporters to arrest and get off the streets 1st so the police brutality is not documented but the personal cameras are still recording and the internet is not under complete control yet. Foolish mayor, you are setting yourself up to be a target for an extremist. Be a leader and use your head for reason and compassion before some ex-military sniper anarchist uses it for a target. You approach is counter productive and the peaceful “hippies” cannot keep the aggressive whack jobs in check.

  4. David Ben Isaac says:

    So how is it that all this vitriol directed at “the establishment” is ok? I have seen so many death threats and calls for violence against working people; people that have worked hard so that these leaches can camp out for months, living off the hard work of their parents, and taxpayers. Free Americans have died to give these idiots a voice that they are too stupid to know how to use effectively. Has any of them taken a single moment to feed the homeless? No! They complain that they are leaching off them! Ha. I have not seen a single coherent suggestion or demand from them. Something is wrong but they don’t have the vocabulary or intelligence to form a thought. WHAT IS IT YOU WANT!?? What changes do you propose to make things better? KILL KILL KILL.. then who will pay for your stuff? Why do I have to pay to clean up your feces so you can blah, blah, blah?? I know some of you,, You are damaged. You fear the world. You are helpless. You cannot manage your own sphere of reality. You have never had the ability to help your family or friends much less someone out side your sphere of influence because that sphere is miniscule. I know what you want.. a free ride.. we owe you because we birthed your sorry ass. Then we stepped on you so you could not excel.. RIGHT? We kept you from getting a good job because poly sci is not profitable? A garbage worker should get the same pay as a heart surgeon, right? You admire rich but worthless entertainers.Amy Winehouse is a hero to you? This country has a lot of problems, but the tools to fix it are all there. You just want to have it without effort. You have no sense of history. I know you, I have walked among you. Your helplessness makes you afraid. This is why lions eat their young… and why they stay strong. Someone should have aborted you. You are the lilies of the field.. Uh, I guess that one went over your head.

  5. David Ben Isaac says:

    I have some advice for all of you “Occupy this place or that place”. You want to make a difference? GO HOME!! Take care or your mom, your dad, your aunt or uncle or brother or sister or cousin who is debilitated. We all have these people in our lives. While you imagine you are doing something great, your children, your grandchildren your mother, your father, your BLOOD, suffers.. and you are fucking around with stupid shit that you cannot fix because you can’t. You never developed the tools for it. But you can go home and find that one that needs you right now. SO DO IT YOU SELFISH ASS..

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