Medical Tent Destroyed at Zucotti+*
I'll keep this one short and sweet.
Nurses and union staff from NNU, along with other volunteers, have been operating a medic tent at Zucotti park since early in the occupation.
The following is a series of emails, sent by a union staff member, reporting on the raid and destruction. It offers one more perspective.
The day started with more of a police presence than we have seen in other days. NYPD was running a police check point just above the park all day.At 5:50pm short lived violence broke out between the police and protestors. There were arrests. Spontaneous marches started around the park. The whole thing lasted about an hour.
8pm Our RN volunteer left the park. I stayed until approx 9pm with the medics and a volunteer doctor.
1am received a call from Maria Fehlig that I was needed at the park, the police were raiding the park.
I ran back to the park and was stopped by police across the street from the camp. They were in full riot gear.
The bystanders started to push back against the cops—The cops then started to push back against us. They pushed us back a block. I tried to come up another side street but a 1 block perimeter around the park was created by the police.
Chaos ensued. Met up with a medic who was asleep when the raid began. He got out with only his backpack and the Medic dog. No one else made it to the safe meeting spot. For an hour we tried to get closer to the park. Police are everywhere. We got pushed back to 2 blocks away.
Some of our patients from the last few days found us. They reported night sticks and pepper spray being used.
Most of the protesters are making their way to city hall—we saw trucks following them with riot control. Those left in the park are being loaded on buses. They have arrested at least 1 reporter, 1 city council person. One city council person has been injured.
Right now, my hotel room has become a meeting point for medics and Mary, the chaplain. We have heard from other medics-most are safe. The police are tearing down everything we built. All of our supplies are gone we think. Personal belongings all thrown out. Many arrests and injuries reported. From my room we can hear the yelling and sirens. They have shut down all of the subways into Lower Manhattan. Not sure when people will be able to get in or out.
A little later:
New info: the NYPD took knives and shredded our clinic/tent. Everything is gone.
And a little later still:
All of our patient records were destroyed. Medics are asking if there is something legal that could be done about it.
And that's the story from the land of the free.
