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Occupy drops suit over Zuccotti Park NEW YORK. Occupy Wall Street
protesters have dropped a lawsuit that argued sleeping represents a form of free speech after the NYPD dismantled their encampment in Zuccotti Park. Protesters were forced from the park on Nov. 15. The park was reopened to the public after the eviction, but was
new york
NYC’s #1 FREE DAILY EMILY ANNE EPSTEIN/METRO
still surrounded by police barricades. After the barricades were removed, protesters changed their minds about pursuing the suit, according to Alan Levine, an OWS lawyer. Levine said protesters are no longer interested in returning to Zuccotti. “Nobody seems to care about that anymore,” he told Reuters. “We’re not about to try to litigate that issue in the abstract.” METRO/CG
No sleeping rules
OWS in its heyday
Brookfield Properties, the company that owns Zuccotti Park, maintained that its rules prohibit camping or sleeping and the use of tents and sleeping bags. The company’s attorneys also claimed the generators brought into the park by protesters presented hazardous conditions.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2012
Four CT cops accused of racist policing Accused of illegal searches at Latino businesses Claims they handcuffed victims, assaulted them Four East Haven, Conn., police officers were arrested yesterday on charges of racial profiling, excessive force and conspiracy against Latinos in their community, prosecutors said. The men — Sgt. John Miller and officers David Cari, Dennis Spaulding and Jason Zullo — are accused of routinely injuring, threatening and intimidating Latinos with false arrests, false reports and harassment, according to the federal indictment. “They behaved like bullies with badges,” Janice Fedarcyk, assistant director in charge of the FBI New York field office, told a news conference in Bridgeport. “The officers have damaged the reputation of their department. The residents of East Haven don’t deserve to need protection against those sworn to protect them,” she said. Known as “Miller’s boys,” the four men are accused of extending their conduct to anyone who complained about their behavior, including fellow police officers and members of the East Haven Police Commission. “Miller led by example,” the 18-page indictment states. The indictment accused Miller, Spaulding, Zullo and another unnamed officer of using unreasonable force
Accused harassment EAST HAVEN. The police
conducted unreasonable and illegal searches at Latino-owned businesses and parked patrol cars in front of those businesses, the indictment alleges. They also regularly conducted traffic stops of Latino customers entering or exiting those same businesses, towed their vehicles and arrested or detained them. The indictment states that the cops prepared false reports to support their false arrests. Two officers are also accused of blocking citizens from videotaping police conduct, something that is legal to do. REUTERS during lawful and unlawful arrests. “In some cases, the victims were handcuffed with their hands behind their backs when they were assaulted by officers,” it stated. “Some of the victims were particularly vulnerable because they were undocumented aliens.” REUTERS