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Better, Longer Video Shows Activists Arrested For Yelling About NDAA In Grand Central
By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 6, 2012
Modified Jan 6, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 6, 2012
Modified Jan 6, 2012
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On Tuesday, several protesters with Occupy Wall Street were arrested during a demonstration in Grand Central Terminal. The first to be arrested was Lauren Digioia, who like the others was yelling in protest of the National Defense Authorization Act, which contains an amendment authorizing the military to detain American citizens indefinitely without due process. This new video shows her arrest in much greater detail, with the videographer following along as MTA police lead her downstairs. Once she disappears from sight in the basement, her boyfriend, Zach Kamel, raises his voice, along with other protesters, to express his outrage. Care to guess what happens to him?
Digioia was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Kamel, a student at the University of Amherst who has been participating in Occupy Wall Street since October 15th, was advised by his attorney not to comment on his charges, but he confirmed they were misdemeanors. He also told us he was bitten by a K9 Unit police dog after he was already in custody (you can glimpse the dog briefly right at the end of the clip) Reached by phone today, he tells us:
I find it extremely disturbing the way that protesters are being treated in the United States, especially considering how this country was founded. You have the founding fathers like Thomas Jefferson, who is always quoted as saying that if you don't like what the government is doing in America, you can change it. And when we try to do that, look what happens: we're getting beaten. Lauren was beaten by several police officers at Zuccotti Park on New Year's Eve, and she still has bruises.
I don't blame the officers, even though there are a lot of bad ones out there who are clearly enjoying this. I saw the look in one of the officer's eyes while I was in custody at Grand Central, and I could tell he was shaken. And I took that as an opportunity to talk to him, and I could see he was ashamed. I told him that I understood he has his family to feed and he's following orders, and he said, "You know I can't talk to you." So I said, "Just listen, then." Because I know it's not his fault; it's the fault of the white shirts, the higher-ranking officers like Lieutenant Lakeram, who you can see shoving me in that video. It's the fault of Ray Kelly and Mayor Bloomberg, who sees the police as his personal army.
Honestly, I'm scared for my unborn children and their unborn grandchildren, because the United States is no longer the bastion of freedom it's been purported to be. This American myth is all bullshit, and what's going to happen to our country as we start to turn into what we hate? I'm sure it's been happening for a long time, but now we're seeing it out there in the open, in places like Grand Central Station and Zuccotti Park. You can't turn away from things like this.
[Thanks to the collective OWS Media Working Group Occupytvny.org, which produced the video.]
Tagged
cops
first amendment
grand central terminal
ndaa
nypd
occupy wall street
protesters
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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