You don’t spray people like they are insects. The police are going to be very sorry for doing things like this to people.
They rely on cooperation from citizens and when they ruin that relationship with Americans with Stalinish displays like this, their jobs will become a lot riskier.
They had every reason to remove the protestors from the sidewalk. They did not have the right nor the necessity to spray them like bugs in order to punish them. Courts punish. Cops arrest.
They did not spray them to punish. They sprayed them to force them to move.
How do you "remove" a crowd that has you outnumbered? How would you have done it?
“They had every reason to remove the protestors from the sidewalk. They did not have the right nor the necessity to spray them like bugs in order to punish them. Courts punish. Cops arrest.”
You’re right. I agree with you that this is a dangerous precedent. The police have a duty to arrest these folks. If they actively resist, then force is appropriate.
Arrest every damn one of ‘em, but do not hose them down when they are just sitting there - because next time it may be done for refusing to vote for Obama, or some other ridiculous infraction.
If something happened previously, they should have been not arrested at that time.
I hope you are....you seem to be taking huge leaps to make your argument and so your argument does not hold up, IMHO.
Not trying to be a hard*ss....okay, I was at first. But these “occupiers” are like street performers trying to agitate (instead of entertain) so they can say “look, we were behaving, we were following our rights and look what these “pigs” did.”
At least one policeman was cut up enough to require emergency service at another occupiers site with these peaceful jackass*s. These “occupiers” were trying to start trouble and so they resisted lawful orders to disperse from public right-of-way.
“Don't cry for me, Argentina, (I mean)occupiers.... ” SaraJohnson, forgive me for sounding like a personal attack on you. It isn't. I've just had permanent crowns put in and it hurts like a son-of-a-gun. My face is swollen and a nerve seems to have been bruised or severed or something so I just have to cowgirl up until it heals or its off to surgery for me...arghhhhh... My apologies. Its mostly the pain "talking." Remember, when the dentist says you might have a little pinch of pain, have a bottle of Jameson ready. Ha! I still think these jerks (not the dentists!) are a sign of the worse to come. Better to head them off of the pass now.
What makes you think they were trying to punish the squatters?
They were trying to get them to move.
In the old days, they used to just hit you with a baton or use it to pry your arms until you lost your grip on the next protester so they could haul you off. Pepper spray, or the threat of using it, has proven to be more effective.
guess disobeying a order to stop blocking the sidewalk and disperse is “peaceful protest “now