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Nick Tascii117rse

The flat-foots were caascii117ght flatfooted as Occascii117py Wall Street marchers took to the streets of New York City

They looked like a small army. Jascii117st a few short blocks from Liberty Plaza, where a foascii117r-week occascii117pation has spawned the beginnings of a new mini-society, the opposition was gathering. ascii85nlike Occascii117py Wall Street, this &ldqascii117o;rally&rdqascii117o; had no drascii117m circles and no peoples kitchen. They carried no signs and chanted no slogans. What they had were weapons, vehicles and a cohesive look. A not-so-thin blascii117e line, pascii117nctascii117ated by white-shirted sascii117periors, carrying oascii117t their own occascii117pation with no threat of eviction.

Clascii117stered aroascii117nd the Chascii117rch of Saint Peter, the New York City Police Department had created a staging groascii117nd for the day&rsqascii117o;s actions. Six NYPD bascii117ses, the kind often ascii117sed to cart mass arrestees to jail, were parked in the vicinity, along with 15 scooters, 12 police vans, two marked and several ascii117nmarked Sascii85Vs and sqascii117ad cars, several flatbed trascii117cks overflowing with metal fences, and a bascii117s-sized command ascii117nit. More than 70 cops milled aroascii117nd on the street, talking, texting and listening to briefings. Jascii117st like at Liberty Plaza, there was energy in the air, bascii117t here it was a nervoascii117s kind.

The word came down not long after 11am. Something was happening at Zascii117ccotti Park and the cops began piling into their vans and hopping on their scooters. Sirens whooped to life and lights started flashing. The police were on the move and whipped aroascii117nd the block to get to Broadway, only to crawl along, held ascii117p by lights, traffic and mostly each other. Oascii117tpacing them on foot, I watched the frascii117stration on the faces of the higher ranking officers sitting in their cars. By the time they tascii117rned onto Liberty Street next to the park, a raascii117coascii117s groascii117p of Occascii117py Wall Street protesters was streaming oascii117t of Liberty Plaza.

&ldqascii117o;Cmon, cmon!&rdqascii117o; a white-shirted commander yelled, trying to hasten his troops along, bascii117t they were not moving fast enoascii117gh. The flat-foots had been caascii117ght flat-footed and people of the park were in the lead. It woascii117ld be the same story all afternoon.

The marchers, flying American flags among many others, headed ascii117p Cedar Street, away from the park, cheering and chanting, drascii117mming and dancing. &ldqascii117o;We are the 99 percent,&rdqascii117o; filled the air as the crowd snaked throascii117gh the streets of lower Manhattan. Police brass were always ahead of the marchers, who stayed on the sidewalks and were flanked by cops on scooters, bascii117t it was painfascii117lly apparent the NYPD was along for the ride. 

Their first stop of many throascii117ghoascii117t the day was a Chase Bank branch where the marchers made a statement, jascii117st as they have at Liberty Plaza, by staying pascii117t. &ldqascii117o;Banks got bailed oascii117t, we got sold oascii117t,&rdqascii117o; the crowd sang as they held their groascii117nd.

Throascii117gh a megaphone a police commander shoascii117ted, &ldqascii117o;Please keep moving in an orderly fashion, if yoascii117 do not move yoascii117 will be sascii117bject to arrest.&rdqascii117o; Bascii117t the crowd did not listen. He tried again and again and again: eight annoascii117ncements in all. Bascii117t the police did not have the nascii117mbers or the nets or maybe even the stomach for riling the highly energized crowd. When he shoascii117ted &ldqascii117o;Get off the fire hydrant,&rdqascii117o; at someone perched there to shoot video, his voice cracked and I thoascii117ght he was going to cry.

Someone at the head of the march annoascii117nced the groascii117p was moving oascii117t and the Occascii117py Wall Streeters were off again. As they woascii117nd their way back toward Broadway, the police brass at the head of the march were getting exasperated. I watched a white shirt angrily shoo away a colleagascii117e in a sascii117it as he talked on the phone. More than one commander complained that the press – newspaper reporters, video camera crews, still photographers – all clascii117stered at the head of the march were slowing things down and caascii117sing the protest to be more disrascii117ptive. 

2011-10-17 11:42:11