First Friday Pepper Spray Incident
In Downtown Phoenix this past Friday, a whole crowd of people were hit with pepper spray when a team of police vastly over-reacted to Occupy Phoenix presence at the Friday Art Walk. While police claim “someone not affiliated with Occupy Phoenix hit an officer with a skateboard” this does not match eye-witness reports, nor does it explain the radically excessive response and police action.
What do we mean by excessive? The Phoenix Urban Health Collective reported on their page that, at said event, “police pepper sprayed a young man who was already handcuffed in the back of a patrol car. We at PUHC try not to use emotionaly loaded words lightly. But given the fact that this child clearly posed no threat to anyone, we welcome a dialogue about whether such malicious acts seem to meet the legal definition of torture.”
Several occupiers and protesters also mentioned bystanders, most notably children, being present and that the police did not seem to be targeting a single individual or group, but instead were spraying “up, not out” in order to spread the spray into the air.
Here is a video of several occupiers who were willing to share what they saw of the incident. Thank you to them, and to AZ-Resist-ALEC for the raw footage that is available.
This is just one event of several where Occupy protesters, both in Phoenix and nationwide, have experienced excessive force from the police. Please remember to mark your calendars for December 9th and December 10th, Occupy Phoenix’s Days of Action for Victims of Violence. Please read the tentative schedule on Facebook and keep checking the Occupy Phoenix calendar for more information.
10 Comments on “First Friday Pepper Spray Incident”
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Go back to high school if you want to gossip about a bunch of shit you know nothing about. You should not talk trash about a victim of police brutality that was helplessly grabbed and assaulted by police while supporting your movement
January 12, 2012 at 3:49 pm.
Just world hypothesis + Horatio Alger myth = people like you.
December 14, 2011 at 10:30 pm.
While unemployment is down, “get a job” makes you sound like you are incredibly out of touch. So do such gems as “cry baby,” and “get a life.” You like many others exist with a world view held up by just world phenomenon and the Horatio Alger myth. If you really aren’t as ignorant as you sound, and are aware of how much the income gap has grown over the past 30 years, and the political ideologies and vehicles responsible, you are a sociopath. Though it is far more likely that you are just especially ignorant. Or maybe I’m wrong, and we should alert the media and the world that any popular movement is always do to everyone in the following being “cry babies.” Brilliant observation, really and truly.
December 14, 2011 at 10:21 pm.
What a bunch of hippie, free loading crybabies!!! The 18 year old man, not boy, hit an officer with a skateboard and then ran like a little baby. If you dont want to get sprayed with pepper, dont assault an officer, and dont act like an idiot. Its a shame and a waste of our taxpayers money to have to have officers working these worthless events. You should all be ashamed and embarassed to be such winey babies! Get a life and get a job!
December 8, 2011 at 7:54 pm.
you’re kidding me right? First of all, need I address that a lot of people are occupying places because they WANT job and are not able to find work ?
An officer should have enough control/brains to NOT pepper sprain a crowd of people when one idiot acts out of line. Who are the police working for? Yes, the government, but I would hope they could realize they are people meant to protect the people too.
December 9, 2011 at 4:23 am.
I agree that it’s a waste of taxpayer $ to have such an extreme police presence at these events, but they are certainly NOT worthless. The occupiers are representing the 99%, which I’m sure includes you, whether you realize it or not. If you are lucky enough to have a job, it could be gone very quickly, especially in a state like AZ. You should be grateful that someone is looking out for your interests but it sounds like you’re oblivious to what’s going on around you. Wake up.
December 9, 2011 at 1:10 pm.
Occupy Phoenix Protesters Get Pepper Sprayed for Crossing Street says:
[...] http://occupyphx.org/news/media/the-first-friday-incident/ [...]
December 8, 2011 at 5:02 pm.
Day 1 Occupy Phoenix says:
[...] http://occupyphx.org/news/media/the-first-friday-incident/ [...]
December 7, 2011 at 2:19 am.
Thank you for publishing this article, I will write Phoenix officials and complain.
Stephen Nash
Denver CopWatch
December 5, 2011 at 9:29 pm.
good luck and get a life
December 8, 2011 at 7:59 pm.