Police reopened the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday evening after more than 700 protesters were arrested for blocking traffic lanes and attempting an unauthorized march on the bridge.
"Over 700 summonses and tickets have been issued in connection with a demonstration on the Brooklyn Bridge late this afternoon after multiple warnings by police were given to protesters to stay on the pedestrian walkway, and that if they took roadway they would be arrested," a police spokesman said.
"Some protestors came together and took the walkway without being arrested. Others proceeded on the Brooklyn-bound road.
Most of those who were arrested were taken into custody off the bridge, issued summonses and released.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene on the famous suspension bridge as police officers surrounded the protesters using orange mesh netting.
Some protesters tried to get away as officers started handcuffing members of the group.
The march started about 3:30 p.m. from the protesters' camp in Zuccotti Park in downtown Manhattan near the former World Trade Center. Members of the group have declared to stay at the park through the cold winter.
According Reuters, friday evening, more than 1,000 demonstrators, including representatives of labor organizations, held a peaceful march to police headquarters a few blocks north of City Hall to protest what they said was a heavy-handed police response the previous week. No arrests were reported.
According to Reuters A police commander doused a handful of women with pepper spray in an incident captured on video and spread via the Internet, galvanizing the loosely organized protest movement.
Similar protests is catching fire in other cities, including Boston, Chicago and San Francisco.The arrests took place when a large group of marchers, participating in a second week of protests by the Occupy Wall Street movement, decided to breakaway from others on the bridge's walkway and headed across the Brooklyn-bound lanes.
No comments:
Post a Comment