The Occupy Newcastle camp came under attack at about 3am Saturday morning by 20-30 EDL/SDL/NF members who threw a brick(s) and held down protesters while beating them. Police took about 10 minutes to get there, but by the time they arrived the thugs had vanished. No statements or arrests were made.
None of the protesters were hospitalised, but several were punched repeatedly, while one was stamped on while lying on the ground and another was struck with a coffee cup. An activist "has suspected broken ribs but no ambulances were called", a member of the camp said.
Members of the Occupy Newcastle camp recognised their attackers from "the NF/EDL/SDL group seen earlier in the day", but said they were not wearing "insignias etc". "We do not know it was the EDL", and "we don't want to spark more trouble up by accusing the wrong group", one activist stated.
There area cameras in the area, but a protester said they were all faced away from the camp the whole time, "so it's very doubtful anything was caught on camera". Another person commented that police had said they were going to keep CCTV cameras faced towards the camp to keep them safe.
Conversations taken from Facebook. Names left out.
About two hours earlier an occupier was punched in the face by three men who hit him for no apparent reason. It's believed that these men were among those who attacked the camp later.
Police officer arrests a man with an axe.
Police arrested an EDL/SDL member earlier that day for carrying an axe at the scene of a fight outside a pub lose to Newcastle Station. He was charged with possession of a bladed weapon and a public order offence. There were no reported injuries and he was released on police bail.
The occupation also had trouble with the EDL last Saturday, when four or five members approached the camp. A protester was headbutted in the confrontation and police arrested an EDL member, according to the Occupy Newcastle blog.
The camp at night-time.
That led to residents of the camp contacting the EDL Area Commander "about why we were actually there". That discussion "led
to hugs, and a general point of agreement", and the Area Commander said he would "give the instruction to overlook divisions and not
to cause any trouble" with the occupation.
It was one hug "from [a] compassionate woman who sees everyone as God's creatures", Jack - who was present - stated. "We don't hug EDL", he said.
Occupy Denver says it's under attack by police and that chemical weapons and rubber bullets have already been used. This page will update rapidly, so remember to hit F5 to see the latest information.
Are you in Denver, or do you have information about what's going on?
Contact me by leaving a comment below, tweeting @fwalloe or emailing Occupy@fredrikwalloe.com.
Protester Al
Nesby confronts a Denver Police Officer during the Occupy Denver
protest in Denver, CO, Saturday, October 29, 2011. Craig F. Walker, The Denver Post
"Daniel Ellen, a
student of university of Colorado, is trying to protect camping area of
Occupy protester at Civic Center park on Saturday. Denver police have
ordered protesters to disperse this evening and are arresting protesters
in Civic Center Park. At about 6 p.m., they started sweep camping tents
in Civic Center park with riot gear and their gas masks. Hyoung Chang/
The Denver Post"
Notice the size of the magazine on rifle held here. Scroll down to find a video of it being fired at a crowd on Saturday. It fires rubber bullets, according to the video.
Denver police
have ordered protesters to disperse this evening and are arrested
protesters in Civic Center on Friday. At about 6 p.m., they started
sweep camping tents in Civic Center park with riot gear and their gas
masks. Hyoung Chang/ The Denver Post
19:20 Saturday (MDT) - Time in Denver, CO, USA Another picture of a man hit by rubber bullets. From the Occupy Denver website:
19:04 Saturday (MDT) - Time in Denver, CO, USA
You can listen to the 'Denver Police, Fire and EMS Live Audio Feed' here.
18:45 Saturday (MDT) - Time in Denver, CO, USA
Livestream from Fox 31:
Fox 31 has a live stream, but won't let me embed it here. Watch it here. Note that while this is marked 'live' on their website, they were showing a replay earlier - unclear whether it's live.
The 'Global Revolution' live stream has footage from Occupy Denver:
Police seen firing pepper spray and rubber bullets are protesters (footage from 9news)
18:08 Saturday (MDT) - Time in Denver, CO, USA
Description of video: Frank Roper touches back of a police motorcycle then gets tackled and arrested in Occupy Denver Protest:
17:50 Saturday (MDT) - Time in Denver, CO, USA
Here's some contact information that might be of interest - taken from this forum:
Twitter: @DenverPolice Chief of Police - 720.913.6527 Civil Liability Bureau - 720.913.6400 Chief of Administration - 720.913.6016 Deputy Chief of Operations - 720.913.6017 Police Activities League - 303.937.1223 Professional Standards Unit - 720.913.6710
Police Administration Building 1331 Cherokee Street Denver, CO 80204-4507 Phone: 720.913.6010
Division Chief Mary Beth Klee Police Administration Building 1331 Cherokee Street Denver, CO 80204-4507 Phone: 720.913.6023
Patrol Division: Division Chief David Quiñones Police Administration Building 1331 Cherokee Street Denver, CO 80204-4507 Phone: 720.913.6022
District 1: 1311 W. 46th Avenue Denver, CO 80211 Main - 720.913-0400 Fax - 720.913-0560 TDD - 720.913.0404
District 2: 3921 Holly Street Denver, CO 80207 Main - 720.913.1000 Fax - 720.913.1002 TDD - 720.913.1149
District 3: 1625 S. University Blvd. Denver, CO 80210 Main - 720.913.1300 Fax - 720.913.1199 TDD - 720.913.1196
District 4: 2100 S. Clay Street Denver, CO 80219 Main - 720. 913.0200 Fax - 720.913.0207 TDD - 720.913.0214
District 5: 4685 Peoria Street Denver, CO 80239 Main - 303.376.2300 Fax - 303.376.2275 TDD - 303.376.2306
District 6: 1566 Washington Street Denver, CO 80203 Main - 720.913.2800 Fax - 720.913.2806 TDD - 720.913.2805 Investigations - 720.913.6742
District 1 Cop Shop: Regis Square Cop Shop 5151 Federal Blvd. 720.865.2243 Decatur Place Apartments 1155 Decatur Street 303.260.7321 7-11 Store 1490 Perry Street
District 2 Cop Shop: Town Center COP Shop 7484 E. 29th Ave. 720.865.2356 Web Page
District 3 Cop Shop: Leetsdale Cop Shop 7150 E. Leetsdale Dr. 303.329.0500
District 4 Cop ShopS: Bear Valley Cop Shop 3100 S. Sheridan Blvd. Unit A-20 720.865.2146 Web Page
Broadway Cop Shop 1 Broadway #A105 720.865.2208 Web Page
West Denver Cop Shop 4200 Morrison Rd. Unit #4 720.865.2260
District 5 Cop Shop: Northfield Cop Shop 8216 E. 49th Ave #1348 720.865.2266
District 6 Cop Shop: Park Avenue Cop Shop 2263 Champa Street 303.865.2355
John W Hickenlooper, Governor 136 State Capitol Denver, CO 80203-1792 Phone (303) 866-2471 Fax (303) 866-2003
Contact Mayor Michael B. Hancock Mayor's Office Phone Number: 720-865-9000 Email: milehighmayor@denvergov.org TWITTER: @MichaelBHancock
Congressional Representative. The Honorable Diana DeGette up for re-election in 2012. Twitter @RepDianaDeGette United States House of Representatives 2335 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515-0601 DC Phone:202-225-4431 DC Fax: 202-225-5657 District Office: 600 Grant Street, Suite 202 Denver, CO 80203 Voice: 303-844-4988 FAX: 303-844-4996
17:42 Saturday (MDT) - Time in Denver, CO, USA There is an @OccupyDenver Twitter account, but it hasn't tweeted in 7 hours. Were those responsible for it arrested, or is there some other reason for the silence?
See the picture further down this page of a man who was hit by a rubber bullet
17:25 Saturday (MDT) - Time in Denver, CO, USA
First story in the local paper - you can read it here.
Occupation in its 4th week.
"Police confirmed they used pepper spray and either rubber bullets or
pepper balls to disperse the crowd in Civic Center."
Denver police says 7 arrests, which includes 2 for assault and 1 for disobedience.
Some received medical treatment, but none taken to hospital.
One officer was knocked off his motorcycle.
Other officers kicked by protesters.
"All day-shift emergency medical service and police units - including
officers from Denver International Airport - were alerted to keep
working past the end of their normal shifts. Lakewood police were
helping deal with Denver police calls."
Mike Korzen, 25, washed his eyes out with a bottle of water. He said
he was pepper-sprayed when officers used the spray and rubber bullets to
dispurse a swarming crowd."I was standing there with my hands behind my back," Korzen said.
Korzen said police were trying to get people out of the trees.
Up to 2,000 Occupy Denver protesters marched through downtown Denver.
Story by @jsteffenDP
(Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)
(Jordan Steffen, The Denver Post )
Police raise weapons while making an arrest
during the Occupy Denver protest in Denver on Saturday. (Craig F.
Walker, The Denver Post)
I saw the same type of rifle in one of the live streams. Might fire rubber bullets or pepper balls. Get in touch if you recognise if and have got a link.
17:03 Saturday (MDT) - Time in Denver, CO, USA
Mainsteam media (Fox 31):
At least 7 arrests, 2 for assault.
New police chief in Denver today, surname White.
Denver Police Department has been accused of police brutality in the past. White admits the reputation is at least partly deserved. Wants to make changes.
Every unit available in Denver has been called in.
Protesters are said to be tying their tents to trees.
16:52 Saturday (MDT) - Time in Denver, CO, USA
Picture from the Occupy Denver website - went up a few minutes ago:
People sitting down - from about 30 minutes ago (@thatmiddleway):
16:41 Saturday (MDT) - Time in Denver, CO, USA
From Occupy Denver website: Text message from Occupier Ryan H., 32, just after clearing his eyes from being maced by Denver Police:
[I]n my honest opinion, the police were not at all provoked. They shot a [kid] in a tree!
Text on Occupy Denver website:
OCCUPY DENVER RECLAIMS OCCUPATION - STANDING OFF WITH RIOT SQUAD
Occupy Denver wants you to send them unedited photo and videos of police violence here:
Oakland police may have violated its own crowd control policies in the recent crackdown against Occupy Oakland, which left war veteran Scott Olsen with serious injuries.
Police moved to break up the Occupy Oakland camp in the early morning of October 25th and alleged in a press statement that they came under attack by protesters
who threw "glass bottles, rocks, pots, pans, kitchen utensils and plates" at
them. The protesters also sprayed a fire extinguisher on the officers
and threw M-80 bombs, according to the statement. Police deployed tear gas, shot protesters with bean bag ammunition and arrested a total of 85 protesters.
This video shows a clash between police and protesters headed for the city jail to protest against the arrests made that morning. Police officers appear to have been hit by paint and a number of bangs can be heard.
Police Chief Howard Jordan said that up to 1000 protesters participated in the demonstration that evening. It was during this demonstration that Scott Olsen, an Iraq war veteran, was injured by a tear gas canister fired by police.
Olsen spent recent weeks sleeping outside after work as part of Occupy San Francisco, but would head off for work in daytime friends say. The 24-year-old also participated in the Wisconsin budget protests earlier this year.
His condition has been upgraded from 'critical' to 'fair', but has left him unable to speak. Doctors are optimistic about his recovery and no longer think brain surgery will be neccessary.
The video of Olsen being carried away is eerily reminiscent of scenes from uprisings in the Middle East. It is not clear why police fired a tear gas canister at those gathered around to help the injured man.
Seen from meters away:
Seen from across the street:
Seen from a helicopter, right at the 1.00 mark:
Oakland police said in a press statement that "a number of officers were assaulted, doused with hazardous materials and hit with large rocks and bottles". This led to"the declaration of an unlawful assembly and the order
to disperse".
The statement said the use of less lethal force was part of a tactic to disperse the crowds. But that tactic may have violated their own crowd control policies, Jim Chanin, a civil rights lawyer, told KCBS. Chanin won a 2003 lawsuit over the way Oakland police managed a protest against the Iraq war. The lawsuit led to $2 000 000 worth of compensation for injured protesters, and a redraft of police policies on crowd control.
The crowd control policy allows for the use of tear gas only "when all other means have failed," but
"they hadn't even tried marching forward" Chanin said, adding that his
review of the crackdown wasn't complete.
The policy
prohibits less lethal projectiles, like tear gas and bean bags, from
being fired into crowds - they must be used to neutralise a specific
threat, he said. "There's just no reason for this level of violence' he told KCBS.
Police admitted it had used bean bags against protesters, but said it was "to stop them throwing dangerous objects at the officers".
Chief Howard Jordan wrote in a message to the community
that the police had received reactions from around the world. He
promised that "all allegations of misconduct and excessive uses of
force" would be investigated by internal and external investigative
sources.
1) We understand that some members of Occupy Oakland want to meet with me and Chief
Jordan. We agree. We need to have direct communications between city staff and your
representatives.
2) We need you to maintain healthy and safe conditions where you gather.
3) We need our public safety employees to have access when there is an emergency.
4) We are asking you not to camp overnight. Frank Ogawa Plaza is open for free speech
activities between 6 am and 10 pm.
Occupy Oakland seems set to go on despite that fourth demand though, as about three dozen tents had appeared by Friday.
Police are looking for the person who threw a chemical bomb at the #OccupyMaine camp in Portland on Sunday morning.
The makeshift bomb was made up of chemicals poured into a plastic Gatorade
container and was thrown into the camp's kitchen from a moving car. Police responded to the incident at 4 am and investigators spent about two hours on scene to identify the chemicals.
Stephanie Wilburn, a 19-year-old occupier who was 10 feet away from the blast, said the chemical in the container was Drano. She lost her hearing overnight and got a sore throat from breathing in the chemicals.
Wilburn describes the experience here:
The container landed under a table which may have shielded those present. The table, which normally require two people to move, was lifted a foot into the air by the blast, according to a press statement from Occupy Maine.
Portland police Sgt. Glen McGarysaid the homemade bomb could have caused serious
injury.
"There was no fire . . . We had a good 20 feet of thick smoke rolling
out from under the table," Wilburn said. They could see the "G" on the
24-ounce bottle and its orange cap, as well as bits of silver metal, she
said.
Witnesses said a silver car had been circling before the attack, its
occupants shouting things like "Get a job" and "You communist." They
believe someone from that car threw the device, according to a statement.
"The target was the centre of camp where the overnight security team was," the statement claimed.
Acting Police Chief Michael Sauschuck said that detectives
don't necessarily believe Occupy Maine was the sole target because
another device was set off elsewhere that night. He described the device
as the type often associated with teenage pranks. But he said police
are taking it seriously because someone could've been hurt.
Many campers are fearful of another attack, according to the statement.
Read the original story here. Contact the occupation here: OccME.Media@gmail.com
Tour of the camp in wake of the attack:
Meanwhile in the UK, EDL News reported that a member of the far-right English Defence League has threatened to set fire to tents at Occupy the London Stock Exchange (#OccupyLSX). The man also threatened to murder an unnamed person within 36 hours.
A screen capture of the threats made on his Facebook page was published by EDL News and has been handed over to the Metropolitan Police.
The threat about setting fire to tents refers to a planned Facebook event next Sunday named "Get rid of the Lefties up town".
Three men are also being sought by police in New York over death threats made against a Occupy Wall Street protester, though this does not appear to be politically motivated.
This page is updated continuously - please leave a comment below if you know of any occupations that are not listed here. You can also reach me here or email me at occupy@fredrikwalloe.com.
If you're looking for a particular live stream, it's easier to search the site. In Firefox you press Ctrl+F to do this. If you're looking for, say, Moscow, you type in 'Moscow', or #OccupyMoscow. When you've found a stream you want to watch it's best to click the video and watch it on that website, as this page is quite resource-heavy.
Thanks to all who helped create this list, and to 'Riad' in particular, who got in touch with me early on. It's among the most comprehensive lists of live streams available. There is also a list of twitter handles used by occupations here.
Occupations in the UK:
The 'official' #OccupyLSX live stream:
Remember to press the red 'live' button at the top of the screen, or you might find yourself watching an older recording instead of the live broadcast.
