RALEIGH — Call it a pricey camping trip funded by local taxpayers: The city of Raleigh spent more than $40,000 through Tuesday to police anti-Wall Street demonstrators bivouacked in downtown.
Mirroring a larger protest in New York City’s Financial District, members of Occupy Raleigh established camp on the sidewalk near the Capitol grounds in mid-October and haven’t budged since. Similar “camp-ins” have cropped up in cities across North Carolina and the nation.
Officially launched Sept. 17, Occupy Wall Street is built on opposition to corporate bailouts, greed, and income inequality. Participants have embraced a number of unofficial aims as well, among them forgiveness of all debt, devoting $1 trillion to “ecological restoration” of the country, and erasing national borders so that anyone can immigrate to the United States.
In Raleigh, city government spent $26,300 for additional police protection during a kickoff rally the weekend of Oct. 15, according to estimates from the Raleigh Police Department. Since then, the additional tab for policing protesters lined up on the sidewalk near the Capitol grounds has been $1,500 per day.
The public costs aren’t confined to the Tar Heel State. Occupy Seattle already has cost the city an estimated $105,000. In Boston, that figure was expected to be more than $2 million by the end of October. New York City puts the cost of overtime for police at $1.9 million.
Of course, what you fail to mention, is that the occupy movement didn’t ask the pols to spend money on cops. The cops serve no function except to threaten people who are exercising free speech rights. The ‘camping trip’ is not being funded by taxpayers; only the intimidation is being funded. And today’s news shows that Oakland’s goon squads have critically injured a 24 yr old Iraq war veteran. Happy Veteran’s Day.
why don’t you talk about the governor spending $50,000 on a trip to china? or is that not a big deal?
It is worth pointing out that cops are in this park all the time anyways these numbers are skewed to make it look like it’s the occupiers fault. I haven’t been there but I don’t think they asked for cops to be down their necks 24/7