US police ‘maced peaceful protesters’ in New York

The Occupy Wall Street campaign said police confined a small number of protesters before spraying them with mace. Clips of the alleged incident have appeared across social media – however, Channel 4 News cannot verify the footage independently.

The New York Police Department has so far not responded to a Channel 4 News request for its response to the allegations.

Protesters say they want to show their anger at, among other things, corporate greed and social inequality. So far, it is reported more than 100 people have been arrested.

A group affiliated to the US campaign and calling itself Occupy Manchester (@occupyMCR on Twitter) is planning to demonstrate against UK government cuts outside Manchester town hall during the Conservative Party conference on 2 October.

A legal source close to the protest has told Channel 4 News that some have been arrested for offences such as “using a bull-horn (megaphone) without a permit” or under laws usually used against the homeless such as the erection of an unlawful structure (protesters’ tents and tarpaulins).

The source said although dozens of arrests were made during a march on Saturday, it appeared others were made at “odd times”. For example in the early hours of the morning when many demonstrators were asleep, which the source said was also a time when there were no media teams present.

Police tactics have been compared to those used during the 2004 Republican convention when the NYPD made sweeping arrests of several hundred demonstrators before dropping charges against almost all of them.

Inspired by Arab uprisings

The “occupation”, which is a loose, apparently leaderless network of various activist groups including Anonymous, was instigated by the Adbusters campaign. The Adbusters website states the Wall Street action was inspired by the Egyptian Tahrir Square uprising.

Like the Egyptian democracy campaign, Occupy Wall Street has used social networks like Facebook to organise meetings and logistical help for the protest. It also uses Twitter hashtags which are similar to those used during the Arab uprisings (such as #september17) to generate awareness.

The group’s initial plan was for 20,000 people to set up an encampment in lower Manhattan and stay at the site for several months. Media reports say numbers have varied between one and several hundred, and supporters have so far convened at Zuccotti Park near New York’s financial district for several days.

The network hopes to stage a similar event in October in the US capital, Washington, to coincide with the tenth anniversary of US operations in Afghanistan.

The alleged mace incident is the latest clash between campaigners and police since the occupation began on 17 September. Over the past few days, police barricades have prevented protesters from reaching the United Nations where the general assembly has been meeting.

Campaigners have alleged the police have attacked protesters without provocation for transgressions such as filming police operations.