More police brutality at the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations
By Madison Ruppert
Editor of End the Lie
Previously, the NYPD has wildly assaulted crowds, attacked activists with pepper spray, and used questionable tactics to conduct mass arrests but today they have bested their own record of brutality against the Occupy Wall Street protesters.
No less than two incidents occurred today:
A video has emerged of an individual being assaulted by an NYPD white shirt (which designates the officer as either a lieutenant, captain or inspector) for apparently no reason.
While some people have been saying that this was a female, it was in fact a male former dancer named Felix Rivera-Pitre.
Astoundingly, Rivera-Pitre managed to escape arrest after activists overwhelmed the police in response to the unprovoked attack.
Rivera-Pitre says that his only offense was that he “shot the cop a look” yet the NYPD supervisor found this reason enough to hit him so hard that it ripped his earring out.
“The cop just lunged at me full throttle and hit me on the left side of my face. It tore my earring out. I remember seeing my earring on the ground next to me and it was full of blood. I was completely dumbstruck. I’m HIV positive and that cop should get tested”, Rivera-Pitre told Gothamist.
The following is a video of the incidents that directly preceded the assault on Rivera-Pitre.
A National Lawyers Guild legal observer was run over by a police scooter, although some claim he was faking it (Credit: Associated Press via Gothamist)
In a second incident, a legal observer for the National Lawyers Guild, Ari Douglas, was run over by a police scooter, after which he was arrested and hospitalized.
Another legal observer for the National Lawyers Guild who witnessed the incident told the NY Daily News, “”His leg was stuck under the bike, and he kicked his leg to get the bike off his leg, and then the police attacked him and shoved him into the ground and put a night stick against the back of his neck.”
Unsurprisingly, the NYPD is saying that Douglas simply made everything up and the only injuries he received were scratches to his face because he was resisting arrest.
The spokesman for the NYPD, Paul Browne, had this to say about the incident, “Douglas had repeatedly disregarded lawful orders to get out of the street and onto the sidewalk, and then feigned being run over before kicking over the police scooter”.
Douglas has had a laundry list of charges brought against him, including resisting arrest, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and other charges, according to Browne.
A photographer for the NY Daily News apparently agrees with the NYPD’s account, saying that while Douglas was hit by the scooter, he just stuck his legs under it to make it seem like he was being run over.
Yet, another photographer who witnessed the incident indeed says that Douglas was run over. This is the image captured by Marino of the incident:
(Photo Credit: Joe Marino/NY Daily News)
Watch the two videos below and decide for yourself.
Gideon Oliver, an attorney and member of the National Lawyers Guild had this to say to Gothamist about the incident with Douglas, “It’s absolutely outrageous he was assaulted in the first place, it is outrageous that he was arrested, and outrageous he was assaulted after he was arrested—he has injuries to his face. It’s an example of the police putting charges against someone just to cover their ass. We ask that the NYPD releases him without charges immediately after he’s treated.”
We will keep you updated as more details on this story emerge.
UPDATE: Today (October 15th, 2011) over 20 protesters were arrested for attempting to close their bank accounts at a local Citibank. Dozens of others were arrested later in the day. It seems that the NYPD is unrelenting in their quest to lock up all activists on behalf of their overlords sipping champagne in corporate boardrooms, banks and in the private Federal Reserve.
There have also been reports of censorship in the largest Occupy Wall Street chatroom. People are being banned and harassed for pointing fingers at the private Federal Reserve or even mentioning “end the Fed.”
This is a dangerous precedent and represents the slow co-opting of this movement. We must refuse to allow this to happen and continue to point to the fact that the private Federal Reserve is playing a large part in the robbery of America. It is not only corporations, it is the collusion between the corporations, the banking industry and our corrupt, criminal government in Washington.
Only looking at part of the picture will allow small concessions to be made in an attempt to pacify the people and stifle the movement before sweeping, meaningful changes are made.
Madison Ruppert is a Los Angeles-based independent journalist and researcher as well as the founder, owner, administrator and editor of EndtheLie.com. He has no affiliations with any government agencies, political parties, non-governmental organizations, or economic schools. He is available for freelance writing assignments and appearances or interviews in any format. He can be reached by emailing
The officers behind both incidents need to get arrested and charged for their crimes just like anyone else would.
the 2nd guy might have been faking but you can’t fake getting punched the fuck out by a cop infront of tons of people
Fascist pigs doing what fascist pigs do best.
These NYPD cops are breaking the law by conducting some random arrest of demonstrators without cause and denying them the right to peaceful assembly.
The NYPD gratuitous violence are felonies. We have to make sure that all those involved in these violence get prosecuted. Keep all the videos.
The crime of saying “Don’t hit me” is punished with being hit. The John Yoo philosophy runs most of the establishment, media, and operations these days. What don’t you want to happen? The law is…make that happen! That’s law enforcement! Everything informational is a river of deception and psychological warfare. Not the mainstream, or lamestream, really the slimestream and the liestream. If you want to work and function in this world and earn a paycheck you’ve got to swim in the slimestream and spread it around thick.
This video is shocking and disturbing, this is America (freedom, democracy, liberty, justice…). The police in America only have one job, to surve and protect its citizens, state and local. WE ARE THE 99%
These police are enjoying this to much. Beating and hurting people. They need to be abused like in the same ways they are doing it. They want to gas me. They and their families need to be gased. They want to beat me with there sticks and tasers for just walking down a street. How about when there family members walk down the street. They should receive the very same treatment of abuse that is being dished out in the streets buy these thugs. Eye for and eye and it will stop.They want to fight then join the Army and have at it. You job here is to protect and serve the public. You are low life thugs. Shame on you all. You all sicken me…..