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Old October 4th, 2011 #62
Kennewickman
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Join Date: Nov 2010
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Default Occupy DC Protest: Police Union Chief Says Cops Will Be 'Very Respectful'

"I think we're very respectful of people's rights to be there," Baumann said, adding that a primary concern is keeping the protesters safe.

But looming is the specter of the Pershing Park mass arrests from 2002, which resulted in lengthy and costly litigation in which the city agreed to pay $8.25 million to nearly 400 people detained during World Bank/International Monetary Fund protests, especially as a larger, but separate, protest is planned for Oct. 6 in Freedom Plaza.

That class-action payout came on top of a $13.7 million settlement with 700 protesters who were detained during World Bank/IMF protests in 2000.
"There was a time when we were very good at" managing demonstrations, Baumann said. "There was a time in the early 2000s when we weren't good at it. I'm hoping that we've come back around."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/1..._n_994815.html