Occupy Wall Street: NYPD attempt media blackout at Zuccotti Park

Journalists report

aggressive treatment, such as the media during a protest blocked surprise, police camp RAID

NYPD tried to impose a news blackout as they cleared the Wall Street Occupying protesters Zuccotti Park last night.

As police burst into the park in the early hours of Tuesday, the city closed the airspace in southern Manhattan to prevent new helicopters to take aerial photos of the scene. Vans were used to hide overlooking the park and a police cordon blocked the media accredited to the site. Some members of the press who were in the park or were able to do this say they were arrested, sprayed with pepper spray or aggressive treatment.

one of the few journalists on the scene when police stormed the Harkinson was Josh, a writer for the magazine Mother Jones. As police used tear gas to dislodge the protesters in the park last Harkinson identified as a member of the media and was physically dragged out of the park. He said journalists had to stay in a "press pen."

Reporters

tweeted frustration with the hashtag # mediablackout and said that the police do not know, and even confiscation of press cards.

a New York Post was "beaten", according to Stelter The New York Times Brian. " Lindsey Christ, local cable news channel NY1 said on the radio this morning that "the police took over, he kept everyone and not let the media has been planned as well."

• In a press conference after the raid, Mayor Mike Bloomberg defended the decision to raid Zuccotti Park as "mine and mine alone." He said the decision to remove the media was "to protect members of the press. We need to protect and we did exactly that. " He said the decision was taken "to prevent worsening of the situation."
Bloomberg, said that "since the beginning, I said that the city had two main objectives. To ensure the health and safety, and ensure the rights of the demonstrators of the First Amendment, but when the two objectives of impact, health and safety of the public and our first responders should be the priority. "

The NYPD did not return calls for comment.

While most media are struggling to catch up with the raid at midnight, surprise, some sectors of the local media seem to have had knowledge of what the police were planning. The New York Post, a persistent critic of the occupation, was able to splash in the news, even though it happened after most newspapers went to press. The New York Times was also able to get coverage on their website early in the attack happened.

"Maybe Mayor Bloomberg was watching Syrian TV or maybe take Assad. Their tactics are similar to something seen in Damascus would be expected in the country claiming the democracy and freedom of expression, such as the United States, "said Karanja Gaçuça, a member of the Wall Street Occupy a working group to the press.

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