Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez held a press conference on the steps of City Hall this morning to discuss his arrest during the NYPD raid on the Occupy Wall Street encampment at Zuccotti Park. Councilman Rodriguez said he was thrown to the ground by arresting officers, held for more than 12 hours and prevented from speaking with his attorneys during his time in custody.
He was joined by his lawyers and a slew of other elected officials including Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Comptroller John Liu, Councilman Jumaane Williams, State Senator Adriano Espaillat and Councilwoman Tish James who condemned the arrest and Mayor Bloomberg’s overall handling of the Occupy Wall Street eviction.
“It is simply outrageous that City Hall felt it necessary to swoop in on Zuccotti Park under cover of the dark of night and to show up with such an incredible show of force somewhat similar to the shock and awe that was employed in Iraq,” Comptroller Liu said.
Councilman Rodriguez, who held a march in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street earlier this month, said he went to the protests to observe and had no intention of getting arrested. He said he was frustrated with the way he was treated, as well as the way police treated protesters and multiple members of the media who were arrested trying to cover the raid.
Councilman Rodriguez said he drove to the park from his home in Upper Manhattan after receiving a late night text from one of the protesters informing him of the raid. He said he was arrested on Broadway about three blocks away from Zuccotti Park.
“I was walking by and I saw a group of protesters and NYPD officers. I knew that it was tough for me to walk to the park, so I crossed the street, and when I crossed the street, I was suddenly taken down,” Councilman Rodriguez said.
He accused the arresting officer of pushing his head against the curb. A small scratch was visible on his face during the press conference. “I have also a scratch in my–this area,” Councilman Rodriguez said pointing to the side of his head.
Councilman Rodriguez said he was did nothing to get in the way of the officers who were evicting protesters from the park.
“I was walking in an area that the police didn’t have to be–they were not involved in controlling a crowd. I even crossed the street to the left side of Broadway to be sure that I was not interfering with the work that the NYPD was doing,” Councilman Rodriguez said.
Councilman Rodriguez said he identified himself as a Councilman and that there were high ranking police officers nearby at the time.
“NYPD cannot say, ‘We didn’t know who that person was.’ It was that–it’s another practice where some police officers, NYPD, they are not doing the right work. And unfortunately, it affects the image and also the relationship that we would like to continue building because we need to work closely with the NYPD,” Councilman Rodriguez said.
Speaker Quinn told Councilman Rodriguez she was “sorry this happened” and said his arrest raised a series of “troubling questions” for the city.
Comptroller Liu said he was there to “support” Councilman Rodriguez. He also criticized several other aspects of Mayor Bloomberg’s handling of the Zuccotti Park raid.
Councilman Williams, who was himself arrested at the West Indian Labor Day Parade in September, said the situation reminded him of a dictatorship.
“This kind of reminds me of a fascist dictator. So, you have the press being arrested and not allowed to be on scene to see what’s going on. You have elected officials who are outspoken being arrested and denied the ability to see an attorney, even denied the ability to seek medical attention,” Councilman Williams said.
Councilman Rodriguez’s attorneys, Andrew Stoll and Leo Glickman said their were two prior complaints against the officer who arrested the Councilman. They declined to release the officer’s name.
“A crime was committed here, but it was not by Ydanis Rodriguez. It was by a police officer who felt it necessary to falsely arrest Ydanis Rodriguez, grind his face into the ground, use excessive force conduct a false arrest … the decision to perjure himself in charging instruments against Ydanis Rodriguez thats the crime that was committed here,” Mr. Stoll said.
The attorneys said they will fight the case to the finish but that, in the meantime, they’re calling on the District Attorney’s office to investigate the circumstances of Councilman Rodriguez’s request, to dismiss the case and to take action against the arresting officer.
It’s not the police officer, he was only following his orders..the persons RESPONSIBLE for this are the ones who gave the orders to do this… That is who is responsible for this and that is who needs to be HELD RESPONSIBLE for this….
if you told me to shoot somebody and I did, your responsible? NO, I am. Officers have the choice to listen and obey. They EVEN have the choice to listen. so your logic is wrong.
He is not above the law nor is he a hero. He broke the law and should be punished. It’s sad how self-righteous jack asses rationalize their bad behavior.
how did he break the law??? Learn to read much?
Councilman Rodriguez said he was thrown to the ground by arresting officers, held for more than 12 hours and prevented from speaking with his attorneys during his time in custody.<—that really shouldnt suprise anyone considering 99% of police officers are corrupt power grubbing thieves. I was in the same position as the councilman once. They tried to charge me with felony burglary in to my own home, cuffed me tightly and never let me speak to a lawyer or anything for at least 12 hours. when I was released, and never ever charged with anything, the officer who aressted me was fired. THEY DONT CARE!