ATLANTA -- Atlanta taxpayers will pick up a $451,691 tab for more than two weeks of tug-of-war between the city and Occupy Atlanta protesters, with nearly three-quarters going to police overtime.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the cost estimate, released Wednesday by Mayor Kasim Reed’s office, covers the period between Oct. 7-25, leading up to the day before police officers arrested 52 people for staying beyond Woodruff Park’s 11 p.m. closing time. Prior to that, Reed had extended, and then revoked, an executive order allowing the protesters to stay in the downtown park around the clock.
“That costs a bit more, but I would rather have that expense than be ill-prepared,” Reed said. “At the end of the day, the overall expenditure by the city of Atlanta will compare favorably to other major American cities that are dealing with Occupy protesters.
It figures, it's always the people hard at work earning a living and paying taxes that have to pay for what the idle are doing. Of course the Occupy Atlanta movement is trying to deny this. "In a statement released Thursday, Occupy Atlanta said, '...The truth is the mayor spent the people's money on an extreme excessive police presence...' "
Thankfully for the citizens of Atlanta, the mayor made the necessary provisions to contain potential violence and destruction.
According to xfinity news reports of the Oakland, CA protests of yesterday/last night: "A day of demonstrations in Oakland...ended with police in riot gear arresting dozens of protesters who had marched through downtown to break into a vacant building, shattering windows, spraying graffiti and setting fires along the way." "About 3000 people converged on the Port of Oakland...swarming the area and blocking exits and streets with illegally parked vehicles and hastily-erected, chain-link fences." "City officials released a statement describing the spasm of unrest. 'Oakland Police responded to a late night call that protesters had broken into and occupied a downtown building and set several, simultaneous fires', the statement read. 'The protesters began hurling rocks, explosives, bottles and flaming objects at responding officers...' "
I don't think stepped up security was so extreme, once a mob mentality takes over, things can get ugly quick.
The Occupy movement is totally out of control. I'll bet its costing American citizens billions of dollars nationwide to contain these people.
In Manhattan, small business owners are suffering and laying off workers.
Rapes are being reported nationwide. Rapes of minors included.
Folks supplying food to them are ceasing citing that the protesters are just moochers looking for a free handout (well, we KNEW that already!)
STD testing of occupy members is rampant.
Violence in Oakland, Seattle, etc.
Nothing but a bunch of hippie-wanna-be's, socialists, communists, paid protesters and govt union moochers with nothing to lose and nothing else to do.
Quite a contrast to the massively effective Tea Party Protests.
augusta citizen. And these protesters would be the first to complain if there weren't ENOUGH police to protect them.
Boy I would never associate myself with a movement like this. Not in a million years.
Now that there is so much violence erupting from these protests, why are our elected officials, think Obama and Pelosi in particular, who praised them early on, not saying anything? They should be retracting their praise and calling for an end to the lawlessness.
It could be worse. Note what is happening today in Oakland CA.
OAKLAND (AFP) – Clashes broke out between masked protesters and police here early Thursday after a day of peaceful anti-Wall Street protests shut down one of the United States’ busiest ports.
"The demonstrations were mainly peaceful until around midnight, when dozens of protesters in the city center hurled rocks and bottles, briefly occupied a vacant building and torched a barricade. Riot police responded with tear gas.
......."
Bet Reed just loves spending that money on constituents and supporters.
“That costs a bit more, but I would rather have that expense than be ill-prepared,” Reed said. “At the end of the day, the overall expenditure by the city of Atlanta will compare favorably to other major American cities that are dealing with Occupy protesters. THAT REMINDS ME OF "BUT MOM, EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING IT!"
I totally believe this is being orchestrated behind the scenes. It just doesn't have the feel of the late 60's and early 70's.
Ya know, they just might have better results if they occupied a place in line at an employment agency. Either state or private.
Forget that last comment. That would mean they might have accept a paycheck from one of those nasty millionaires.
Love the one that allowed me to take care of my husband after he had surgery, despite the limited sick leave policy. I put in extra, she gave me extra back.
KSL. You are 100% right. This has been orchestrated behind the scenes. Van Jones, Union Leaders, etc have been saying for over a year that October 2011 was the month the protests would start. It's no coincidence that they did.
I posted this before. Here is a partial list of organizations & politicians who support the occupy movement.
Communist Party USA
The American Nazi Party
Revolutionary Communist Party
Black Panthers
Nation of Islam's Louis Farrakhan
CAIR
President Barack Obama
Vice President Joe Biden
FORMER Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
Iran's Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Khamenei
Hugo Chavez
Revolutionary Guards of Iran
The Govt of North Korea
Communist Party of China
Hezbollah
Teachers Unions
Planned Parenthood
Acorn
Michael Moore
Bottom Up (happening). Top Down (starting). Inside Out (soon to come).
Beware America!
I know, Chillen. Didn't know all of the nefarious sponsors, but you can't help but know the obvious ones.
I wonder how much disruption at these gathering is genuine and how much can be traced to conservative or police agent provocateurs?
“The 'agent provocateur' who infiltrated Occupy Wall Street”
http://news.yahoo.com/agent-provocateur-infiltrated-occupy-wall-street-1...
I liked the protestor who said he was mad at the wealthy because those big buildings wouldn't let people come in and use the bathroom.
So you get a pass because you are incited? We are supposed to fall for that?
I like the protester who said that he wants a country where "People Have the Right to Print Money".
I also love the protesters who all but ignored an "employment table" set up with real job opportunities and applications.
Said the organizer of the employment drive. "Our ‘headhunters’ were treated to every excuse as to why these jobs aren’t good enough for them."
These people do not want to work. They want everything given to them. You know, they want the wealth spread around - without having to work for it.
The occupation of the Occupy Wall Street movement; this is funny.
“At Occupy Wall Street central, a rift is growing between east and west sides of the plaza”
“The Wall Street protesters determined to ‘Occupy Everything’ now find themselves, in a sense, occupied”
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/occupy-wall-street-central-a-rift-gro...
Our enemies worldwide are using this to prove even our own people want U.S. put out of their misery and people like Chavez, Castro, Aminajab etc, are happy to oblige. Look for something terrible to happen which may lead to the deaths & injuries of a bunch of people because of these Occupiers.
It’s getting cold; I wonder how long these kids can keep this up? Do they have the metal, especially in places like DC, NYC, Boston, etc.?
Occupy Movement:
- folks who bring attention to the greed in this country, the worship of the corporation and the belittling of the poor
- they demonstrate against the severe income equalities in this country
- they protest against the social injustices where the rich are glorified and the poor demonized
- they demonstrate against the influence of corrupt money in our government
In other words, they are fighting against the inequalities that have ripped this country in the camps of the "haves" and the "have-nots".
Contrast this with the Tea Partiers":
- They are worried about Roe v Wade
- They think too much attention is paid to black folks problems
- They think immigrants are the blame for this countries ills
- They don't care about the environment
- They carry guns and hate messages to their protests
- They "just don't like" President Obama
Seems like one movement (Occupy) is to actually help folks that have been crushed by the greedy corporations, to decrease racial and social inequalities, and to bring attention to the corruption of government by big money.
And the other movement (Tea Partiers) are blaming immigrants, ethnic folks, environmentalists, and the Supreme Court (Roe v Wade) for their supposedly "hard life" of oppression.
Wow specsta. Did you just make that stuff up?
I'll address your allegations one at a time. But please, feel free to provide the evidence. I can back up 100% of the occupy negativity.
"They are worried about Roe v Wade" The Tea Party is about fiscal conservatism. Not religious politics.
"They think too much attention is paid to black folks problems" - more accusations of racism. Seriously?
"They think immigrants are the blame for this countries ills" That is a new one on me. Illegal immigration is a problem but that's about all I've EVER heard discussed.
"They don't care about the environment." They do. They just don't want 1/2 billion wasted on "green" political obama favorites like Solyndra. You must balance fiscal responsibility with environmental responsibility. Otherwise US manufacturers (and the jobs they provide) will cease to exist.
"They carry guns and hate messages to their protests" Not true. Guns are banned from public gatherings. I've been to several demonstration. I never heard or saw any hate messages (only hate messages from the seething left who were concerned about their agenda being disrupted).
They "just don't like" President Obama. Correction - They just don't like President Obama's policies. He is destroying our nation and our economy.
I hope this helps you some. But again, I beg you. Please. Back your accusations up with facts.
Someone needs to teach these people that the easiest and quickest way to get money from the rich is to get a job.
The overwhelming police presence is what is costing the city money, not the protests themselves.
Occupy Atlanta has been very non-violent, and in two weeks the city decided to use police force to arrest these peaceful protestors.
The only cost that should ever be considered is any direct damage that the protesters may have done.
The police were successful at keeping the peace and therefore weren't needed?
No wonder we have a problem.
Here's a news break: The Unions are complaining that the OWS are insulting them with their behavior, they are demanding more out cry and stronger demonstrations. "Get ready folks", It is going to get real bad and that is what our socialist liberals are praying for - (Ops) - hoping for.
Chillen - Do a web search for "what the Tea Party believes" and you'll see tons of information from reputable sources, such as CBS News (which actually took a scientific poll) and you see the "facts" that you so desperately seek.
Not only are the Tea Partiers anti-anything-that-helps-the-common folk, they are the wackos in the Birther Movement, the ones who cry "socialism" anytime a poor person is helped, and they are the ones who love fringe fanatics like Glenn Beck and Michelle Bachmann.
As far as the guns that show up at these Tea Party events, maybe you didn't see any locally, but there were plenty of angry, gun-toting miscreants at other rallies. And plenty of hate signs. You might not have seen them published in the US but they certainly came over the news wires. You might want to broaden your news feeds beyond the Augusta Chronicle and see what is really happening in the world.
specsta. Provide the links. Provide the proof. I've done my research on the occupy movement. You do yours if you are going to make the accusations.
Video or picture proof only please.
Despite what you believe, I read about 10-15 news sites per day. Other than the Chronicle, all alternative news sites. In fact, I even went to the beloved Huffington Post today to see what the communists are up to.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012. All Rights Reserved.
