Earlier today, cops and Occupy Wall Street protesters clashed at Zucotti Park, when protesters learned that they would not be evicted from the park– just yet. However, an HIV positive man is speaking out and saying that an NYPD officer should be tested because when the officer punched him in the face and made him bleed. Smooth NYPD, real smooth. Read more details and watch the brawl after the jump!
(HP)–Having just learned they would not be evicted from Zucotti Park Friday morning, emboldened protesters marched on Wall Street where they clashed with police.
One man was caught on video being punched in the face by an officer.
Gothamist reports:
[Felix] Rivera-Pitre, who is HIV positive and used to be a dancer, tells us he was walking a little bit in front of the police on William Street, and admits he “shot the cop a look.” But then, according to Rivera-Pitre (and this is in line with what we witnessed), “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.
Rivera-Pitre said because of the blood, he feels like the police officer should get tested for HIV.
He did not get arrested, however. “The cops were pulling me by my feet and the crowd was pulling me by my hands, and I was suspended in the air,” Rivera-Pitre said. “But there were more people than cops, and they pulled me out.”
Gothamist said police were seen searching for Rivera-Pitre but did not catch him.
Police haven’t said how many people were arrested this morning, but did admit multiple people were taken into custody.
The Associated Press reports that 14 people were arrested.
One man was arrested when he was knocked to the ground, and kicked a police officer’s scooter after it ran over him (see video below).
It’s now confirmed that the man was a legal observer for the National Lawyer’s Guild. He is currently in police custody in the emergency room where he’s being treated for injuries.
Most of the confrontations with police were from the hundreds who began marching towards the New York Stock Exchange, and not from the group who remained at Zuccotti Park.
According to reports on Twitter, police are now requiring people show work IDs to move down Wall Street.
