Talk:New York City Police Department/Archive 2

This is an archive of past discussions about New York City Police Department. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page.

Archive 1

Archive 2

Archive 3

Archive 4

Salary and retention issues

Wikipedia is not the place for political speech, I don't see why this is the third section of the article.96.227.90.163 (talk) 03:53, 7 October 2011 (UTC)

Agreed. It is completely obvious that the entire section is merely there so someone can air his grievances concerning his pay. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.141.155.6 (talk) 19:50, 19 December 2011 (UTC)

I made "Salary and retention issues" a subsection of a new, more usual "Controversies" section near the bottom of the article. (I also corrected the spelling of this discussion section's title. -_-; )—DocWatson42 (talk) 06:32, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

Remove and/or replace photo by the sake of the own NYPD

The police SUV depicted in a photo of this article reveals a blatantly disrespect to the pedestrian in the New York City streets: the SUV is parked just above the pass-strip!

I suggest the replacement of this picture by a new one, where no transit law disrespect by its enforcers would be depicted. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 200.216.236.75 (talk) 14:59, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

R U serious? get a life.--Degen Earthfast (talk) 02:26, 2 August 2011 (UTC)

Split

This article is now 112 KB, which is far too large (see WP:AS). I propose splitting the 'Organization' section into a new article called 'Organization of the New York City Police Department'. Unless anyone has any major objections I'll do it in the next few days. There will need to be more splits after this as well. ninety:one 22:45, 14 February 2009 (UTC)

I also propose creating new Wikipedia articles for NYPD units(such as Aviation) that have alot of info on this article. This would allow us to remove much of the info from this article, and would shorten the article. Some examples of this is the Emergency Service Unit section, which now has its own article at New York City Police Department Emergency Service Unit, the Auxiliary Police section, which has its own article at New York City Police Department Auxiliary Police, and the School Safety Division section, which now has its own article at New York City Police Department School Safety Division. All those articles have alot of info on the respected unit, while this article just has brief info on them and a Main Article link referring users to each article. MOOOOOPS (talk) 23:08, 14 February 2009 (UTC)

Sure thing. I assumed that there was some other reason why this hadn't yet happened. I'll join you! ninety:one 23:12, 14 February 2009 (UTC)

After splitting to Organization of the New York City Police Department this article is still 81kb. Will split history as well. ninety:one 20:12, 15 February 2009 (UTC)

Having split to History of the New York City Police Department, Organization of the New York City Police Department and Medals of the New York City Police Department, it's down to 60kb. The obvious (and the last) section to split is the misconduct one. However, the title is likely to be contentious. Anyone got any opinions? ninety:one 21:02, 15 February 2009 (UTC)

Article post-split

While I agree that splitting sub-articles off was a good idea, the execution was flawed, as a short summary of the now sub-article should be left in the main article, not just a link, which should be included as well. I put one under the organization header, by taking some text from the introduction of the organization article. Those who helped with the split may be the best to put in any additional summaries, so consider this a request for help. oknazevad (talk) 18:18, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

I agree completely, especially for the History and Misconduct sections. There needs to be at least a summary. In the case of Misconduct, information on controversies of historical, social and national significance should be added, as in the case of ties to Mafia and surveillance of Muslims. A history summary should include police response on 9/11, since that is of national and global importance. I don't care about the fictional portrayals of the NYPD. Thats fine for a separate article. MechanusSunrise (talk) 18:49 ET May 5, 2012

Long Island

A disproportional amount of cops live on Long Island in comparison to cops who live in the actually precinct/neighborhood they police.

Do you have a source saying this? If so, I don't object to the info being put in the article. MOOOOOPS (talk) 00:29, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Many cops dont live in the command area or town where they work. Many of them are Irish Americans as well. I agree it should be included and there are thousands of articles someone will find one and place it in this article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.83.120.99 (talk) 16:53, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I recently read 'The Savage City' and it has fairly detailed information of the outmigration of police from the areas they serve out into the hinterland, and the effects this has on local policing (ie: the officers themselves no longer being local). I'll defer to someone more knowledgable rather than adding it, but it may serve as a source for you.Davepl (talk) 18:16, 30 July 2011 (UTC)

Psychological aspect

Control freaks? Power hungry? Megalomaniacs? Cops have a large array of psychological issues. Where it was because they becamse a cop or why they became a cop they have these issues. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.83.120.99 (talk) 18:46, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Line of duty deaths

What about suicide?

How is a police officers duty to kill themselves? Bertcocaine (talk) 23:06, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Harry Gross Scandal

should have its own page... however building that page based on a section here might help eliminate stubbage. here's some relevant links to info on the scandal.

http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/1997/01/29/1997-01-29_bookies_can_t_worm_out_of_re.html http://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/04/obituaries/harry-gross-is-suicide-bookmaker-in-51-case.html —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.102.13.47 (talk) 07:33, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

Ethnicity

I just reverted a generalization that someone had placed on the article about the Ethnicity of the NYPD. While officers are traditionally Irish, Italian, and other white ethnicities, There are also Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, and Latinos too. So to say that the NYPD is only a white police force is a factual error. Please see WP:AD. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cutno (talk • contribs) 01:04, 19 December 2009 (UTC)

Demographics

The percentages for the city population sum to well over 100; the police percentages do not. Also, the source is secondary. This needs to be sorted out. MayerG (talk) 01:45, 19 January 2010 (UTC)

LOD Deaths

"Since December 25, 1806, the NYPD has lost 768 officers in the line of duty"

NYPD was only formed in 1845 and last I heared, can't turn back the clock Gsp 8181 11:29, 14 March 2010 (UTC)

The stat comes from the Officer Down Memorial Page. They collect the LOD death information from agencies pre dating the formation of the NYPD. Watchman Christian Luswanger, New York City Watch, EOW: Thursday, December 25, 1806 Cause: Stabbed Read more: http://www.odmp.org/agency/2758-new-york-city-police-department-new-york#ixzz1eJeoPYpn

MegoDrDoom (talk) 05:49, 21 November 2011 (UTC)

Ethnicity data is obviously incorrect

The article's date for New York's ethnic breakdown cannot be correct, the numbers add up to 107%, which is impossible. The data for the NYPD itself appears correct, although one must wonder since it is from the same source. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.193.200.250 (talk) 05:51, 31 March 2010 (UTC)

Commissioner Ranks

The rank of Assistant Commissioner [1 Star] is not listed but there is at least one that I know of. Her name is Carol Ann Roeberson and this can be verified on the NYPD Website —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.42.106.154 (talk) 04:19, 3 October 2010 (UTC)

NYPD Flag

I presume that the 5 stripes on the flag represent the five boroughs of New York City, but what do the 24 stars represent? Axeman (talk) 23:49, 3 December 2010 (UTC)

The 24 municipalities (and the police forces that existed in most of them) that were absorbed into the modern city when consolidation occurred at the end of the 19th century, forming the modern Five Borough metropolis. It's a tribute to all of the NYPD's predecessor agencies. The summary on the flag image's page gives the details. oknazevad (talk) 06:57, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

Pay comparisons

Is this article solely to complain about how underpaid the officers are? Many metro agencies are paid less than the suburbs for a variety of reasons. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.8.148.98 (talk) 02:27, 12 January 2011 (UTC)

I agree (I added a comment above). To someone on the other side of the country it looks weird. Like I said, I'm sure its an important issue locally, but it belongs on the editorial page somewhere, not in the encyclopedia. I think the article would be well-served by changing this to a brief factual (and sourced) statement about pay relative to other departments and the fact that other departments actively recruit from NY (if sourceable). Beyond that the long diatribe on how poorly paid they are doesn't belong here, and looks like a union rep partied on the article. Davepl (talk) 18:22, 30 July 2011 (UTC)

Memorial

I can't find a mention of the NYC Police memorial, as shown in this photo http://www.panoramio.com/photo/45929565. Where is it, who commissioned it, when was it erected etc. John a s (talk) 23:51, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

broken link?

Link to History.com website (ref # 3) doesn't really support the statement in the article it just points to results of a search, which are completely irrelevant. Also, the Reference #s start with 2 for some reason. Zima3000 (talk) 02:05, 1 August 2011 (UTC)

You're right about the link. It may be that the intended info is buried somewhere in the long list of facts at the link. If so, it's a lousy choice for a source.

As for the refs starting with 2, ref #1 is in the infobox on the right. As infobox coding comes before the body text of the article in the edit window, any refs in the infobox get the first numbers. As refs are rarely read in order, as readers will click on the ref link, it doesn't really matter. (But it's another reason why no one should assume that a prior reference will be noticed when reading an article). oknazevad (talk) 23:28, 1 August 2011 (UTC)

NYPD vs USAF

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0926/NYPD-can-shoot-down-an-airliner-Experts-troubled

Add this? And for Goddess sakes, don't buzz the mayor! Hcobb (talk) 23:23, 26 September 2011 (UTC)

R.N.C. Intelligence Squad

"...teams of undercover New York City police officers traveled to cities across the country, Canada and Europe to conduct covert observations of people who planned to protest...From Albuquerque to Montreal, San Francisco to Miami, undercover New York police officers attended meetings of political groups, posing as sympathizers or fellow activists, the records show...In hundreds of reports stamped “N.Y.P.D. Secret,” the Intelligence Division chronicled the views and plans of people who had no apparent intention of breaking the law, the records show. "City Police Spied Broadly Before G.O.P. Convention nytimes.com March 25, 2007.--Nemissimo (talk) 11:23, 8 October 2011 (UTC)

Two NYPD officers called "Tubby" by Men's Fittness

Men's Fitness is making fat jokes about people including NYPD. http://www.mensfitness.com/sites/mensfitness.com/files/imgs/101411_mf_nycc14.jpg Here they called two NYPD officers "Tubby" : http://www.mensfitness.com/lifestyle/entertainment/ny-comic-con-flabby-versions-of-your-favorite-superheroes?page=2 --8.25.226.66 (talk) 06:13, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Seems a bit trivial for using in the article. oknazevad (talk) 16:58, 27 October 2011 (UTC)

Major bias and errors in corruption section

In the corruption section, specifically within the part discussing the "Occupy" protests, I think that there is too much bias and misinformation. For example, NYPD is described as a "corporate army." In addition to the bias, it has poor grammar and a few spelling errors. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.161.133.154 (talk) 06:45, 18 November 2011 (UTC)

I'll be editing the page later today. Aside from the bias and misinformation, there are better places for that type of addition.

MegoDrDoom (talk) 05:52, 21 November 2011 (UTC)

I think I'll help as well. It's a big job.--Nowa (talk) 02:04, 22 November 2011 (UTC)

I got caught up with work for a couple of days and couldn't get around to editing the page. Thank you for your hard work! Excellent job MegoDrDoom (talk) 23:27, 23 November 2011 (UTC)

Parking lot for corruption section removals

These are assertions on the corruption section that need better references. Please locate reliable secondary sources, or edit text to better reflect what sources are saying.--Nowa (talk) 02:40, 22 November 2011 (UTC)

Pages dedicated to images from he history of the New York City Police Department are populated by images of brutality and messages from the protesters. [[1]] (removed because Mitra is a circular reference to Wikipedia. See [2])--Nowa (talk) 02:41, 22 November 2011 (UTC)
Commentators on the NY Police action claim that the surprise attack on Occupy Wall Street is a blatant attempt to stifle public expression. The attack entailed the use of chemical weapons, beatings, arbitary arrests, and the confiscation and destruction of personal property. Like previous abuses of police power undertaken on the orders of Michael Bloomberg, it is an incendiary act, which will only force more people to come into the streets to demonstrate their discontent with the financial system and the American Police State to the world. [[3]] (The WNYC article is a reliable secondary source, but the blog comments are not. Furthermore, the text is a copy of one of those comments and therefore is either a copyright violation or a self citation.--Nowa (talk) 02:27, 22 November 2011 (UTC)
Most commentators say that the violent reaction of the Police under orders of the Mayor proves that the Occupy Movement is going in the right direction, as it is creating a direct reaction from the people who are being accused of controlling the country and destroying the economy for the sake of their own profits. Commentators claim that Bloombergs decision should backfire, at a moment when the movement wa losing its momentum, the eviction should add fuel to the protesters as the prepare for a major manifestation on November 17th, called [N17][[4]][[5]] (references are reliable secondary sources, but do not support assertions. There is no mention of anything "backfiring" for example.)--Nowa (talk) 02:39, 22 November 2011 (UTC)
Bloomberg's refusal to comply with the law when it does not agree with the interests of the economic elite that he represents has been acknowledged as grounds for a process of impeachment and for legal intervention and criminal investigation of the relationship between New York City Police Commissioner [Raymond Kelly] and [J.P. Morgan] CEO and Chairman [Jamie Dimon]. [[6]][[7]]At around 6 AM on November 15, 2011, attorneys associated with the New York City Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild working as the Liberty Park Legal Working Group obtained a temporary restraining order against the City of New York, various City agencies, and Brookfield properties directing that occupiers be allowed back on the premises with their belongings. [[8]] At 12:20am on November 15th, 2011, Lawyers from The National Lawyers Guild claimed that the police, the mayor and Brookville Properties are currently in violation of court orders by not allowing protesters back into the park, according to Margaret Ratner Kunstler, an attorney with the National Lawyers Guild, the group representing the protesters. The temporary restraining order signed at 6:30 a.m. by New York Supreme Court judge Lucy Billings allowed for the protesters to return to the park with their tents, but the city filed a response within the last half hour indicating that they disagree with the decision to allow the tents to come back to the park, according to Kunstler.[[9]] [[10]]Throughout the day Occupy Wall Street protesters locked in legal battle with New York's Michael Bloomberg. [[11]](none of the references mention impeachment)--Nowa (talk) 21:56, 22 November 2011 (UTC)

After the eviction of [Occupy Wall Street] some protesters are focused on The Inpeachment of Mayor Bloomberg;Impeachment in the United States for creating a Police State, transforming The New York police into a Corporate force to protect the interests of the 1% richest and persecute popular manifestations against these same corporations. [[12]] On November 15, 2011, immediately after the eviction of Occupy Wall Street by the New York City Police Department, the National Lawyers' Guild's Liberty Park Legal Working Group filed a lawsuit and emergency motion for injunctive relief against The City of New York for violating the Constitutional First Amendment rights of the Wall Street protesters in Liberty Plaza by effecting the pre-dawn eviction. The National Lawyers Guild obtained a court order allowing the protesters to return with their tents to the park, where they have camped for two months. The guild said the injunction prevents the city from enforcing park rules on the protesters who are now looking for squatters rights, despite park rules banning camping overnight. [[13]] At a morning news conference, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the evacuation was conducted in the middle of the night "to reduce the risk of confrontation in the park, and to minimize disruption to the surrounding neighborhood." Hundreds of police officers surrounded the park overnight in riot gear, holding plastic shields and batons which were used in some cases on protesters. Police flooded the park with klieg lights and used bull horns to announce that everyone had to leave. About 70 people were arrested overnight, including some who chained themselves together. Others chanted or shouted angrily at police and vowed to march in protest. Bloomberg said the city knew about the court order but had not seen it and would go to court to fight it. Reported on Fox News.[[14]](likewise, none of the references mention impeachment.--Nowa (talk) 22:00, 22 November 2011 (UTC)
Legal protection for violent acts perpetrated by the Police has been part of its history, Section 1656(975) of The Law of Municipal Corporations was written to protect the Police in cases when slaves was killed in the course of Police action. Political activists claim that the unconstitutional and unethical consequences of this code need to be addressed. Commentaries on the law of municipal corporations, Volume 4 By John Forrest Dillon(interesting point, but it needs a citation)--Nowa (talk) 22:03, 22 November 2011 (UTC)

I've removed the section entirely, for it in no way passes NPoV. There's value in including some of the history, but it needs to be entirely re-written. From the ground up. The passages so fail NPoV, I cannot assume good faith in their addition, and would consider any attempt to re-add them without a through, proper rewrite as vandalism. oknazevad (talk) 01:06, 23 November 2011 (UTC)

I just undid the delete of the whole section on Corruption in the NYPD.

Full delete of section is biased and I consider THAT to be real vandalism.

I have been contributing for some time, I am just using a different identity here, as I am indeed biased (one's opinions may be shaped by experience) and I am indeed afraid of the NYPD.

I haven't been able to afford enough time to work on this. I understand that the text needs to be improved and there are editors working on improving it. These are facts that we all know are true. Of course the original authors are biased, there is a political intention in registering a historical moment, but to ignore the facts is also a biased attitude; it's the same bias that the mainstream media has been a victim of. Sometimes accepting the cold facts forces one to take sides, as contributors to the encyclopedia sometimes we need to take sides, we must take sides with the truth, we must take sides in not ignoring facts that are so important from an ethic point of view.

I have witnessed the brutality of the NYDP in dealing with the peaceful protesters. Though I cannot be quoted as a "reliable source", there are plenty of videos and articles in the internet to support the facts. To ignore these facts would be the equivalent of writing an entry on Nazi Germany and not mentioning extermination camps.

We must stand for the truth. We must stand for keeping the information alive. Certain facts in history represent revelations of who are the real villains, so the mere stating of a fact may seem biased, but we must not suffer from the same blinded biased that the mainstream media suffers. I believe are not taking pay for that.

I have compiled info about the destruction of the People's Library by the NYPD. This is the most outrageous fact of all. It is beyond my capacity to have a NPOV right now. I witnessed this destruction. I won't post this draft just yet, I'll try to find a calm moment for a more encyclopaediac style. The NYPD destroyed books, shelves, laptops, in an action that indeed brings to mind Nazi Germany. They destroyed the work of librarians who volunteared to catalog the books. That was the only library in the neighborhood, it was providing a service that the city itself had failed to provide. Everything else may be justifyed somehow, but the destruction of The People's Library cannot be justifyed. There's a moment when we must indeed realise that a NPOV is the point of view of the Truth. We must stand for freedom of information and the truth, or else the whole purpose of our contributions here becomes null.

(btw: wikipedia has much in common with the Occupy movement, both are horizontal structures where decisions are made based on a form of consensus... both are favorabole to freedom of information... both are providing some free service to communities...I could write an essay about that, maybe I will, at some point.)

Thank you all who have been helping to improve this text, especially Nowa.

Also: I found a pdf of the book Commentaries on the law of municipal corporations, Volume 4 By John Forrest Dillon available online, public domain.

Anonymous9912345 (talk) 01:14, 27 November 2011 (UTC)

Anonymous9912345 (talk) 01:14, 27 November 2011 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Anonymous9912345 (talk • contribs) 00:51, 27 November 2011 (UTC)

Corruption in The New York Police Department (Draft)

This draft of "Corruption in The New York Police Department" needs significant clean up and reliable secondary sources. Additional or alternative drafts are welcome.--Nowa (talk) 00:41, 27 November 2011 (UTC)

Corruption is part of the history of the NYPD.^[1] Cases of corruption were reported since 1844. Most notable investigations happened in 1913,1930 and 1950. In 1970 officers Frank Serpico and David Durk denounced systemic curruption to the NY Times in an article that forced Mayor Lindsay to creatye the Knapp Comission in 1971.^[2]

Since the NYPD's founding in 1845, great police scandals have convulsed the city every 20 years, like clockwork. Each has conformed to the same pattern: Popular outrage sparked an official investigation that culminated in a trial or public hearing and a series of ineffectual reforms.^[3]

From 1992 to 2008, nearly 2,000 New York Police Department officers were arrested, according to the department’s own annual reports of the Internal Affairs Bureau, an average of 119 a year.^[4] In November 2, 2011 The New York Times published an article Titled "Experts Say N.Y. Police Dept. Isn't Policing Itself. " in it "Seven narcotics investigators are convicted of planting drugs on people to meet arrest quotas. Eight current and former patrol officers are charged with smuggling guns into the state. Another is charged with making a false arrest, apparently as a favor for his cousin. Three more are convicted of robbing a perfume warehouse."^[5] "There is a tiny city agency responsible for monitoring the Internal Affairs Bureau: the Mayor’s Commission to Combat Police Corruption. But it has no subpoena power — it must rely on the department’s good will, and its modest budget and staff of five are spread thin. A new study by the Citizens Crime Commission in New York, provided by Richard Aborn, its president, shows that other major municipal police departments are overseen by agencies that do have subpoena power and can focus more broadly on misconduct. Commentators claim that the size of the Mayor's Comission indicates that Bloomberg has personal interest in keeping NY Police under a veil of impunity.^[6]

Commentators denounce that corruption is now found legal means to influence the action of the NY Police Dept. It has become embed in the system, as the law allows for large donations from corporations. Beginning in 2010 NYPD received $4.6 million donation from JP Morgan, press release (mirror) states “the largest donation in the history of the foundation” ^[7] A law that causes a sweeping change to how NYPD officers of all ranks are disciplined by the police commissioner sailed through the City Council, the state Legislature and the governor s office without careful consideration, public comment or press attention. This law removed a powerful tool in fighting corruption and breaking down the blue wall of silence. As a result, police officers found guilty of serious misconduct or criminal charges will keep their full pension. Only if an officer is convicted of a felony must the officer forfeit the pension. No longer can a police commissioner, charged with disciplining NYPD s officers, exercise discretion to dismiss a corrupt or brutal veteran officer from police service without a pension.^[8]

Corruption allegations are nothing new to the NYPD. However, the city has not seen system-wide corruption since the plain-clothes officer Frank Serpico testified to an investigating commission in 1971 that his fellow officers were taking millions of dollars in pay-offs from criminals.^[9]

In a time when corporate corruption is being denounced by popular movements such as Occupy Wall Street many protesters and commentators find that accepting such large sums of money from entities that are being accused of financial crimes against the population constitutes a form of state corruption that needs to be investigated, persecuted, dismantled and criminalized. ^[10] New York City Police Commissioner [Raymond Kelly] sent CEO and Chairman [Jamie Dimon] a note expressing “profound gratitude” for the company’s donation. ^[11]

The Occupy Movement repeatedly denounced NY Police brutality over peaceful protestors. A video of A police official using pepper-spray on female protesters received wide attention and force the Department to investigate and punish Officer Bologna, who was further removed to Staten Island.^[12]

A video on youtube of United States Marine Corps. Sgt. Shamar Thomas from Roosevelt, NY denouncing the New York Police Department dishonorable use of force against unarmed civilians has reached close to 3 million views. An activist in the Occupy Wall Street movement, Thomas voiced his opinions of the NYPD police brutality that had and has been plaguing the #OWS movement. ^[13] Websites displaying images of NY Police brutality have populated the web.^[14] His speech helped inspire the formation of Occupy Marines.^[15]

The notion that law enforcement is there to protect a wealthy elite from the rest of the population is not news to those protesters from deprived and ethnic minority backgrounds, many of whom have been subject to intimidation in their communities for years, but for those from more privileged backgrounds, the first spurt of pepper spray to the face is an important education in the nature of the relationship between state and citizen in the west. "Who do you guys work for?" Shouts one Manhattan protester, as police load arrestees into a van. "You work for JP Morgan Bank!".^[16]

Commentators have repelled the notion that the Police force should be at the service of protecting the interest of a minority in the economic elite. Equal justice is a basic underpinning of a healthy capitalist system. Without prosecutions for the financial crisis, that principle is being eroded. Since the start of the financial crisis, Americans have wondered why, if laws were broken, none of the occupants of Wall Street or other financial centers have been arrested. Now arrests are starting to happen with growing frequency. To date, an estimated 2,511 people have been arrested on Wall Street and elsewhere for activities related to the crisis. Unfortunately, it’s the protesters who account for these arrests. So the tally to date: 2,511 people arrested for disturbing the peace and related activities; no arrests for any of the financiers who broke the law and plunged millions into untold misery.^[17]^[18] "Equal justice under the law" is a cornerstone of the American Republic. In statues, Lady Justice is blindfolded to symbolize that justice is blind to the differences between the powerful and the weak, the rich and the poor. At [Occupy Wall Street] almost 3,000 people have been arrested for activities that caused minimal, if any, injury to our society. At the same time, no financiers have been arrested for blatant legal violations, probably including extensive fraud, which have led millions of people to suffer and have practically brought our great nation to its knees.^[19]

The [Lawyers Guild] denounces that Police destroying [OWS] property constitutes a legal problem. There have been numerous reports of property destruction either at Zuccotti Park or off site. On November 16, 2011 the destruction became wholesale when the police, under direct orders from Mayor Bloomberg (the 12th richest man in America) silently surrounded Zuccotti Park at 1 am, blocked off the entire area to prevent media from entering and announced new rules banning all tents, sleeping gear,etc. (see media, Countdown & YouTube clips of police violence)

The New York City in KGB-like fashion gave the Occupy Movement - which was exercising their First Amendment right to peaceful protest - little or no time to collect even their thoughts before descending on the groggy crowd with nightsticks swinging. Media were not welcome, in fact they were forcibly detained from photographing or transmitting reports as police snatched their gear from their hands.

Tme NYPD gave sleeping citizens less than 10 minutes to gather their belongings and vacate the park. All belongings: tents, bedrolls, computers, printers, generators, books, clothing etc. were summarily scraped clean from the park into waiting dumpsters and sanitation trucks.[When the protesters' legal team later demanded the return of protesters' property Mayor Bloomberg claimed all items were "safely stored in a sanitation garage."]

Six news reporters, all from different newspaper and TV stations and wearing press credentials who were found inside the barriers which had been erected while protesters slept were physically abused and arrested. Mayor Bloomberg stated this was done "for their protection". (Bloomberg, 2011) Also arrested were over 200 persons: 140 from Zuccotti Park and the rest from 'sweeps' of surrounding streets. (NYPD arrest records, Nov 16,2011, Olberman,K,2011)

The police charged in dressed in full riot gear with dogs, horses and electric shields... with bulldozers standing by. They used L-Rad cannons on unarmed, peacefully sleeping protesters: cannons which were developed by the US military to deter armed terrorists. [These devices send massive waves of ear-piercing, disorienting & painful sounds that can cause permanent hearing loss.] Several reporters stated they saw the Occupy Movement's medical tent - which had sn estimated 18 ill persons on cots - literally shredded by police with the patients still inside.(Harkinson, J,2011) Medical records,valuable diagnostic & treatment equipment & medical supplies were destroyed and the ill persons summarily thrown out with the crowd without even being given time to don coats against cold night air. Several reporters stated police began pepper-spraying as soon as they reached the crowd, despite no resistance being seen. Most persons were still trying to get out of their sleeping bags or tents and were whipped out of their prone positions.

The park was jammed with both (unarmed) protesters and almost a thousand officers. To describe the scene as chaotic would be an understatement. A logjam occurred as protesters, trying to see and breathe through the heavily pepper-sprayed air were head-butted by a 10-deep line of helmeted police, shoved, struck and knocked to the ground & trampled by officers who had orders to use 'all force at will' [per anonymous NYPD officers]. City Councilmasn Ydanis Rodriguez, who was on foot on a street approaching the park to witness the goings-on in person as police began their push was struck, knocked-down, sustaining a head injury. He, a councilman, was unbelievably arrested simply for having come to see what was happening! Some 14 hours later he was released: the delay due mainly to the fact protesters - after strip searching, fingerprinting & photographing - had been jammed like sardines into holding cells and no provision for rapid processing of the arrestees had been arranged. Lawyers could not get to their clients, nor were judges awakened to hear pleas & set bail so those arrested were helpless until the courts opened at 8 am.

This all took place on the same day Syrian safety forces defected from their government positions citing too many civilian deaths, physical abuse and denial of personal freedoms. Instead of attacking their fellow citizens with tear gas, shock grenades and riot gear they sided with them: they turned their riot gear on their corrupt masters - blowing up tanks, assault vehicles, & government offices. Sadly, these foreign officers acted more humanely than the NYPD officers, all of whom have taken oaths to uphold the Constitution of the United States. The NYPD with its long history of corruption and abuse is more reminiscent of the former Soviet KGB than of the supposed 'peace' officers they claim to be.

When protesters tried to return to the park bearing documents from State Supreme Court justice Lucy Billings stating the protesters had been illegally evicted and their First Amendment rights violated, and that they were to be permitted back into the park 'forthwith' every police officer given a copy of the ruling refused to obey the orders and forcibly turned away any who attempted to enter the area around the park. Until they had orders from their superiors (Mayor Bloomberg) no court order was to be validated or followed.

This has not gone unnoticed by the New York Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. "It's on our radar," says veteran civil-rights attorney Daniel Alterman in an interview with The Huffington Post. Alterman says the middle-of-the-night police raid and eviction is a tactic that will back fire. He argues that Bloomberg's claim of health and safety concerns are "bogus." Aside from the generator issue, the activists at Zuccotti Park received no health-code warnings, citations or notices. "There's no health and safety issue," Alterman says. Alterman explains that the timing of the raid had everything to do with Thursday's protest. "That's what makes it bad for them," he says. "It appears to be pretextual and directly related... Why the rush? It's not like Typhoid Mary spreading cholera."^[20]