Donna Lieberman said that her group has been concerned for years about police tactics, but that the response to the Occupy movement shines a light on them in a way that “engages and offends a new sector of the public.” She predicted there will be other lawsuits about excessive force, civil rights violations and mostly likely people’s rights to get back into Zuccotti, which she said police have blocked from public usage with their pens.
Donna said: “I think what’s been happening with Occupy is so reminiscent of what happened during the Republican National Convention in 2008, as people get together to engage in that most American of pastimes — protest — it almost always generates a defensive and repressive response from law enforcement. Occupy is no exception.”
Gene Policinski, executive director of the First Amendment Center in Nashville, Tenn., said police overreacted to the Occupy movement in some cities, which probably earned protesters some new support. Still, he noted, protesters’ First Amendment rights are not without limitation. Gene said: “We’ve always had to balance our rights. No one can really claim you have an unfettered unlimited First Amendment rights. The courts are there to say, wait a minute, that goes too far, or that’s OK. It is part of that give and take. Of course we all wish our rights were never intruded upon.”
Note 1: You may read https://adonis49.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/one-sided-non-violent-revolution-even-in-democratic-systems/
Note 2: Article reported by Niedowski from Providence, R.I. Associated Press writer Deepti Hajela in New York contributed.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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