‘TAKEOVR’
courtesy of ‘jasonepowell’

This past Friday evening, four pedestrian protestors were struck in the street near the convention center by a driver trying to leave the area that had been surrounded by the protest.  Three of them were issued citations for blocking the roadway, one of which was served at the hospital.

Yesterday, a hastily called press conference was delayed when Chief Greene was late to arrive, and under-informed concerning the situation.

Today at 12:15pm at the Convention Center Skywalk (between 7th and 9th on Mount Vernon Place) the Occupy DC protestors will hold a press conference concerning the incident and will demand a full investigation into the incident. I would bet good money on a march to depart from McPherson Square around 11:30 or so, on foot to the Convention Center.  If you’re intending to drive through the area at that time, 1) DO NOT hit the protestors with your car. Your hurry isn’t that important, or you’d have a motorcade, 2) Plan on roving road closures in the area.

Overall, MPD has largely kept a respectful distance from the protests, not behaving as, say the Oakland PD (who’ve sent protestors to the hospital), or the NYPD (who are reported to have directed misbehaving vagrants to Zuccotti Park), but Friday’s incident was certainly a case where they don’t seem to have given the protestors a degree of respect they deserved. The MPD owe an explanation in full to the city for what happened, and why the driver was allowed to leave the scene uncited. You can’t just run into people, even if they’re in the street you need to cross.

Tom Bridge

I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.