A
group of protestors say police used aggressive physical force and
“chemical weapons” to break up a march, even though, they say,
the officers hadn’t asked anyone to disperse.
An
informal group of protestors – not an Occupy Rochester contingent,
as police and some media erroneously reported – held an
anti-capitalism march Saturday. The procession went through much of
the Park Avenue area and the east side of downtown, although
police began arresting people near Union Street and East Avenue. In
total, 18 people were arrested and charged, several of whom were not
from Rochester.
Lynn
Giglio, who spoke during a press conference this morning, said she
was arrested as she was leaving the group. She and other protestors
said that police had escorted them through most of the march, but at
Union officers had lined up holding batons and shaking canisters of
pepper spray.
“It
felt like we were attacked,” Giglio said.
Other
protestors said they were tackled, and some said they were either
pepper sprayed or exposed to airborne pepper spray.
The
Rochester Police Department says it will provide a response to the
allegations later today. In a release sent out over the weekend, a
department spokesperson said protestors were blocking vehicle and
pedestrian traffic on East Avenue near the Inner Loop.
“The
protestors refused to disperse and were arrested for disorderly
conduct,” the release says.
Giglio
said that the RPD’s behavior follows similar repressive tactics the
RPD has used in the past. Specifically, she cited a 2009 anti-war
protest that ended in several arrests and injuries; two people had to
go to the hospital.
She
also pushed for changes civilian review process of police complaints,
including a civilian review board with subpoena power.
This article appears in Jul 18-24, 2012.
