New York City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez had arrived on short notice to observe the sudden raid of Zuccotti Park on November 14th. But witnessing the removal of Occupy Wall Street’s original encampment proved impossible. Instead, officers forced Rodriguez to the ground, cutting his face; “a senior NYPD official with whom he has worked in the past was nearby," the Village Voice reported.

At least ten journalists trying to cover that day’s events were arrested. Freelancers and people attempting to shoot video were threatened. Officers in riot gear hit demonstrators with batons, barring anyone from even approaching the park. Later, the New York Times general counsel wrote [...]

Oakland's police chief Anthony Batts resigned a couple weeks ago, because, when he wasn't busy applying for other jobs, he was busy trying to turn Oakland into a police state, and that mean old City Council wouldn't let him. His approach to policing was that crime would stop if you instituted a curfew for young people and if you could immediately arrest anyone found "loitering" anywhere in Oakland. Also, a decade on, he and his predecessors still couldn't enforce court-ordered changes to the police department arising from the sensational "Oakland Riders" trials, which also ended in zero convictions of police but a $10 million settlement to 119 different plaintiffs. [...]