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Showing visible signs of injury on his left temple and hands, New York City Councilmember Ydanis Rodríguez described, during a press conference at City Hall, the details of what he termed his “improper” arrest in the early morning hours of the eviction of Zuccotti Park protesters.
Councilmember Rodriguez has been charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. Chief New York Police Department spokesperson Paul Browne said Councilmember Rodriguez tried to push past a metal police barricade and resisted being handcuffed.
Flanked by New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Councilmember Robert Jackson, New York State Senators Adriano Espaillat and Gustavo Rivera, New York State Assemblymember Guillermo Linares and other fellow members of the Council, Rodriguez disputed those allegations and called on Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the NYPD to conduct a thorough investigation of the events that took place in the pre-dawn hours of Tues., Nov 15th.
Claiming that his intention was never to get arrested, Councilmember Rodriguez said that he traveled down to park around 1 am on Tuesday morning when he received a text message that a police-led eviction was ensuing from a protestor stationed at the park.
“What happened yesterday morning was not something I had planned,” said Rodriguez, who said his wife warned against heading down to Zuccotti Park that morning because the couple had a meeting at their daughter’s school the next day.
“I have been arrested before [for] civil disobedience, but that was not my intention that night,” said the Councilmember, who has been an outspoken supporter of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement.
Councilmember Rodriguez was arrested around 2:30 am, two blocks north of the park as he attempted to cross Broadway. According to Rodriguez, he encountered a group of police officers who, despite his identifying himself as a City Councilmember, began pushing against the crowd using their nightsticks.
“There were high-ranking police officers, about 50 feet from where I was, who saw what was going on, and did not act,” said Councilmember Rodriguez, who alleges his face was pressed to the ground, and that he was beaten on his back. “I identified myself as a Councilmember not to receive special treatment, to be treated with the rights I know I have as a citizen.”
Those rights, according to Councilmember Rodriguez and his lawyers, were violated.
Following his arrest, Rodriguez was first held in a van for two hours where he was not allowed to speak to an NYPD supervisor, and then moved into One Police Plaza where he was held for 12 hours without being allowed to speak to a lawyer.
The issue was taken up by Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who said there were a lot of questions regarding Rodriguez’s arrest.
“We want to know, why he was arrested a number of blocks from the park; why was he charged with resisting arrest, and why was he pushed to the ground and injured?” Quinn asked. “Why was Councilmember Rodriguez held in a van outside One Police Plaza for two hours, alone, when other individuals who had been arrested and in the van were processed? There are very troubling questions.”
Reiterating Rodriguez’s claim that he intended that night to serve as a legal observer, Speaker Quinn said she and the entire New York City Council expected to get answers. According to Councilmember Quinn, she had already spoken with NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly on Wednesday morning, and had outlined a list of questions.
The arrest of Councilmember Rodriguez comes just four months after the NYPD faced criticism over the arrest of another New York City Councilmember; back in September Councilmember Jumaane Williams, of Brooklyn, was arrested during the West Indian Day Parade and later released without charges.
Elected officials who gathered at the press conference also took the opportunity to voice support for OWS and condemned the actions of the NYPD during the eviction of the park early Tuesday morning.
Councilmember Jumaane Williams said the events of that night reminded him of “the worst fascist state.”
“We have the press being arrested, and not [being] allowed to see what’s going on,” Councilmember Williams said. “And we have elected officials denied the ability to see an attorney or seek medical attention; the tremendous show of force under cover of night while people are sleeping is troubling.”
Senator Espaillat reminded listeners that, only a week ago, he had stood beside Rodriguez during the 11-mile march that was held from Washington Heights into Zuccotti Park.
“We were accompanied by many police officers and many supervisors during the march. Rodriguez is not a stranger to anyone in the political community, the enforcement community, or the media,” said Senator Espaillat.
Among those who were also arrested that same morning and held with Councilmember Rodriguez was Randy Credico, who claimed he’d been arrested 4 times in support of the OWS movement.
“Rodriguez was cool and collected when they brought him into the cell,” said Credico, who had been arrested earlier that morning and was placed in the same holding cell as Rodriguez. “There were people in there who were bleeding; people who had bad injuries and needed medical attention they did not receive right away,” he said.
Anticipating a strong turnout for a planned march on Thurs., Nov 17th, the two-month anniversary of OWS, Councilmember Rodriguez said he will continue to support the movement, which, he argued, reflected the larger concerns of his own constituents.
“We have to create better schools, we have to create more jobs,” Councilmember Rodriguez said.
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