The “Day Of Outrage”
A “Day Of Outrage” protester (Photo: Thomas Good)
New York, NY - December 21 The protests demanding justice for Sean Bell, gunned down by the NYPD on November 25, 2006, continue - and are getting more militant. A “Day Of Outrage” protest, called by the December 12th Movement / Black Men’s Movement for “Black Thursday” (December 21, 2006) drew several hundred angry participants. Responding to the call to “Shut Down Wall Street”, activists from a wide array of organizations gathered at Liberty and Nassau Streets in lower Manhattan’s financial district - meeting there to protest what organizers’ called “the police murder of unarmed Sean Bell and attempted murder of his unarmed friends Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman.”
“No more business as usual. Our demands are clear. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly must go! The head of the Organized Crime Bureau, Anthony Izzo must go! The cops involved in this murder must be indicted, prosecuted, and go straight to jail,” declared event spokesman Omowale Clay.
SDS New York fielded a contingent and marched with members of the New York Metro Alliance of Anarchists (NYMAA). Several members of the John Brown Caucus (SDS) joined the anti-authoritarian contingent.
For SDS, the day started at 100 Centre Street where Brian Kelly and John Cronan entered a plea of Not Guilty to the charge of Obstructing Governmental Administration (OGA, a misdemeanor) and Disorderly Conduct. Kelly and Cronan were arrested at Pace University in November for demonstrating on their own campus. NLG attorney Martin Leahy represented the Pace SDS members and several SDS New York members were in the courtroom. In addition, Roger Salerno, a Pace faculty member came to the hearing to support his students. The next court appearance is scheduled for March 18, 2006.
The SDSers made their way to the protest site - Chase Plaza, in Manhattan’s financial district - around noon. Nassau Street had been transformed into media alley - metro area television crews had parked their broadcast vans all along the west side of Nassau. Police were everywhere - there was a sea of light blue community affairs jackets, a large number of uniforms sporting stacks of nylon handcuffs, white shirted bosses (lieutenants and up), mounted (horse) police and scooter cops. The protest area filled quickly with activists who formed a long column that started on Cedar Street, extending north on Nassau. Print media was on hand, per usual, but radio (1010 WINS, WNYC and others) was also visible as were numerous video crews from the Associated Press (AP), 5 (Fox), 7 (ABC), 9 (UPN) and New York 1. Fox reporter Linda Schmidt was heckled as she did her setup. The protester yelled “Rupert Murdoch violates my civil rights”. Media interviewed numerous protesters as they filed into the area.
SDS and others stood four abreast in a long column - chanting in response to calls from an organizer with a bullhorn. A short time later, Brooklyn councilmember Charles Barron spoke, calling for the resignations of Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and the deputy chief of the Organized Crime Bureau (OCB). Despite widespread outrage and disgust over the shooting - police fired some 50 rounds at the three unarmed men - Mayor Michael Bloomberg refuses to appoint an independent investigator to replace Queens District Attorney Charles Brown and continues to support Kelly. During the chanting and Barron speech the column continued to expand as workers on their lunch hour joined the action. The turnout was surprisingly good given it was held on a workday in the financial district.
Marchers eventually proceeded south on Nassau Street, marching between rows of metal police barricades. As the SDS contingent neared Wall Street the march halted and organizers called for the column to change direction. It was learned later that police had refused to allow protesters to march beyond Wall despite an earlier agreement to allow the use of the sidewalk for this purpose. The column reversed and proceeded north up Nassau, turning east on Liberty. Police followed and flanked the march - many with bundles of nylon “flexcuffs”. National Lawyers’ Guild observers buzzed about watching for signs of trouble. The column turned south on William and then east on Wall, essentially circling the Chase Plaza. Once at Wall some organizers spoke briefly and then called for the protest to disperse. There were no arrests. Organizers indicated that the protests for justice in the Bell shooting will continue, with the next action to occur at the United Nations in January. As the crowd dispersed a number of protesters chanted to police flanking William Street: “Don’t shoot me…don’t shoot me..”
Original post by Thomas Good and reposted by Radical Blogs
