"i have worked with most of those cops in the pictures. they have no patience for protesters. impromptu events spring up all the time in union square. and these cops, especially the bosses, just want to squash them if they are not legal. it looks bad for the city if they are allowed to go on unchecked."
I can't even imagine the type of things that would go on if they were allowed to just set up shop where ever they felt like it.
I also have a hard time believing this person who organized this little protest or whatever didn't know exactly what he was doing by not getting a permit. He knew that the cops would shut them down and they could all scream, "Police brutality!"