MINNEAPOLIS — Mayor R.T. Rybak agreed Monday to hold a
public meeting with Occupy Minneapolis activists about the arrests of a dozen
protesters over the weekend.
His staff agreed to meet Tuesday afternoon with the
activists after about 50 chanting protesters marched into Rybak's office to
demand he address what they said was police brutality on Saturday. They said
the mayor will take questions during the forum, which will be held at City
Hall.
Occupiers are demanding a plan from the mayor to ensure that
police brutality won't occur in the future, organizer Ben Egerman said. He and
others present Saturday said police roughly handcuffed protesters and threw
them onto concrete sidewalks.
KSTP-TV news director Lindsay Radford says the station
appreciates that police looked into the matter so quickly.
Egerman said the meeting is "a very small victory. I'm
still very upset and I'm still very angry over the actions that went down on
Saturday. Hopefully it will lead to a real dedication to accountability. I have
to admit I don't have my hopes set super high."
The mayor's spokesman did not immediately return a call
seeking comment.
A police spokesman, Sgt. Stephen McCarty, said he couldn't
comment on the protesters' claims because no direct allegations had been lodged
against any specific officer. He said any individuals who felt they were
mistreated should file a complaint through proper channels.
Earlier Monday, Police Chief Timothy Dolan acknowledged that
one of his officers may have gone too far during Saturday's protest by knocking
a video camera off the shoulder of KSTP-TV photojournalist Chad Nelson, who was
recording the arrests of protesters.
"From my preliminary review of the video regarding Mr.
Nelson, the officer's interference does not appear to be necessary. If that is
the case, I am a very disappointed," Dolan said in a statement. He said
the department's internal affairs unit was reviewing the incident.
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