Today, Occupy Louisville had planned to make a statement about Chase bank's practice of foreclosing on homeowners. Protesters and activists planned to gather outside of the Chase bank a Highland and Baxter avenue to share this message. They would "Mic Check" outside the bank, and present the bank with a mock foreclosure.
The plan was to protest, let their opinions be heard, and go home.
The Louisville Metro Police Department wasn't having it.
A sobbing woman can be heard in the video stating, "He hit her once before for no good reason."
Is this the same LMPD that stated they would do anything possible not to harm protesters? The same LMPD who told protesters that they understood the difference between a protest and a riot? Is this the same LMPD that not even 90 days ago stated, "We're all Americans, and we're all in this together?"
Evidently, the LMPD's respect for protesters has frozen over.
According to protestor Marcos Vallejo, "We didn't block a single person from going inside the bank." Vallejo shared that one Chase customer joked with the protesters that he planned to, "Occupy this bank," and was then denied entry by Chase bank's security.
Protesters stood on the sidewalk and many were asked to enter the bank. If they chose to enter, they were then arrested. If they didn't choose to enter, they were dragged inside of the bank in handcuffs or by their necks. Vallejo also stated bank security would not allow protesters to enter the building, until police began using the bank as a holding cell for their dirty work. Police were rough with protesters, calling them names, telling them to, "Get a job," and getting physical with protesters without reason.
At least eight protesters were assaulted by the police in various ways, including being shoved, punched and choked. Five of those people, mostly females, were arrested on ridiculous charges like resisting arrest.
At the time of publishing this article, five people who were arrested are presently in police custody, but are in the process of being released by the legal team representing Occupy Louisville.
Picture via above video
Louisville.com's The Arena section features opinions from active participants in the city's politics. Their viewpoints are not those of Louisville.com (a website is an inanimate object and, as such, has no opinions).
