
Originally Posted by
cstone
Agreed, the lone protester was no worse than the other protesters. The issue is: Do the police have the right to move protesters to more acceptable areas to conduct their right to protest in a peaceful manner? The answer in most jurisdictions is "Yes." The cop told the guy to move over there. For the obvious practical reason, it is easier to move one protester than it is to move a large group of protesters.
When the one protester refused, the cop moved him. He resisted when he moved back to the area he was told to move away from, and at that point, the officer is justified in moving him into the back of a car.
My guess is the case was not papered or he was never even booked. Every jurisdiction handles these types of issues differently. Either way, I would guess that there will be no law suit filed by the lone protester, and there will be no settlement against the city. If it did go to court, it would be thrown out because most courts recognize the need for officers to maintain control to avert the possibility of harm to either side.
Hypothetically, let's say the lone protester remains where he was. The police pull back and the large group surrounds the lone protester so that none of the news cameras or on-lookers can see him. When the group finally disperses five minutes later, the lone protester is laying on the ground, bloody, bruised, and with that sign pole lodged in one of his bodily orifices. In that situation, the lone protester would be quite within his rights to sue the city and the police department for not doing their duty to protect him. Worst of all, unless one of the large group flipped and identified who actually assaulted him, there would be almost no chance that anyone would ever be charged.
Protests are wonderful when everyone agrees with one another and there is no tension. That almost never happens. Regardless of how the police feel about whatever issue being protested, the police have an obligation and are sworn to protect the peace. Sometimes the police can be over zealous in enforcing the peace, but in the short clip I watched, the officer did what he thought necessary to accomplish that mission. Without seeing what happened before, or after, or knowing what the specific laws are governing that location for demonstrations, that is all I can say about this specific situation.
Be safe.