Letter: Sheehan, Hawkins right to clear South Station protestors
to the editor
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FILE. Letter writer says, Protests and occupations are not synonymous. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)Lori Van Buren
Protests and occupations are not synonymous. Protests are legitimate exercises of our First Amendment right as Americans to peaceably demonstrate and call attention to injustice. Occupations are the illegitimate seizure of public space by individuals for prolonged periods of time who commandeer that space exclusively for themselves until their “demands” are met.
Recent events at the Albany Police Department’s South Station where protestors morphed into occupiers highlight the difference in stark detail. The First Amendment is not a license to defecate, urinate and set fires in the street nor to deface and destroy public property nor to defy law enforcement’s requests to peacefully disperse. Those who engage in such actions only damage the legitimate causes
5:06
Activists, organizers and community leaders recently came together for what they called an emergency community conversation about the actions of Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, Police Chief Eric Hawkins, and the command staff of the South Station.
Lauren Manning, Assistant Director for the Center for Law and Justice, characterized the online session Thursday as an emergency meeting of all of the organizations to provide a platform for those who are directly impacted. Obviously, the Center was quite concerned about the incidents and you know, the systemic racism that drives such actions and such decisions as this.
Activist Lex Figuereo from Saratoga Springs was one of the main organizers of the occupation outside the police station in the South End, which lasted six days until protestors were cleared April 22nd.
1:22
Civil rights leaders in Albany are calling for changes following the forced removal of protestors outside a city police station last week.
Center for Law and Justice Executive Director Dr. Alice Green calls the decision to remove demonstrators who had camped out for six days a mistake, and says it’s troubling that officers covered their badge numbers and beat seated protestors with batons after they were given 15 minutes to clear out.
“The brutal removal of the protestors was roundly criticized by many city officials and community leaders,” Green said. “Yet, the mayor and others persist in defending the mayor’s removal and her refusal to meet with demonstrators.”
Dismantling of protest camp has created a crisis spectrumlocalnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from spectrumlocalnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Lucas Willard s report from the cleared protest site.
Albany Police cleared protestors from an encampment outside South Station Thursday afternoon in what became a tense scene. South End streets had been blocked off for several days following a clash between protestors and police April 14 that city officials labeled a riot.
Just after 3 p.m., Police Chief Eric Hawkins tweeted it was time for demonstrators to go after six days. A few minutes later, police starting moving through the camp. WAMC’s Southern Adirondack Bureau Chief Lucas Willard was on the scene.
Dr Alice Green is here, says city is making it worse for people to come together says 15 min warning to move was too short a time @WAMCNewspic.twitter.com/k3jTKhtsII