Hours after
Boston police shut down the Occupy Boston protest in Dewey Square, dismantling
tents and arresting dozens of demonstrators, Mayor Thomas M. Menino said he
thought the operation had turned out “real well.” At the same time, he said he
felt the movement included “a lot of good people” with “real concerns.”
“From Day
One, I was sympathetic to the movement because they had issues working people
cared about,” he said in an interview with The Boston Globe. “The rich get
richer. ... The other folks lose ground.”
“America
has to get a hold of itself and change the way we operate,” said Menino, who
was in constant contact with police and his staff during the operation early
this morning.
Menino said
he hoped that protesters would coalesce as an organization, choose leaders, and
focus on a central issue, saying, Occupy “could be one of the most powerful
organizations in the country.”
He said
that the protesters who had camped out in Dewey Square since late September had
the “wrong leadership.”
“The leadership
changed every hour and twice on Sunday,” he said.
Menino on
Thursday set a midnight deadline for protesters to move out of their
encampment, but police did not move immediately. Instead, they waited through
Friday night until early this morning.
Menino said
he was pleased that after he issued the deadline many protesters had left,
estimating that three out of four left the camp.
“We wanted
to give them the opportunity to move out,” he said.
After that,
he said, “It became evident we had the hardcore there.”
Menino said
he had continuous evaluations of the camp done by the police, as well as city
health and homeless shelter officials. He said he was determined not just to
rely on police action, knowing that a number of homeless people had come to
join the camp.
“I think we
did better than most [cities]-- because we took into account the social
factor,” he said.
The mayor
indicated that social service agencies and the police had good lines of
communication into protesters, and they had some help from the Service
Employees International Union in that regard.
“I have to
give my police department credit for having relationships. People trust them,”
he said. “It does work to develop relationships.”
Despite his
conciliatory words, Menino said that protesters, who have scheduled another
general assembly at 7 p.m. this evening on the Boston Common to discuss next
steps, will not be allowed to take over any city parks.
“They’re
trespassing. Any park they go into now is trespassing. The Parks Department has
strict rules and regulations about sleeping in the parks,” he said.
“It’s
over,” he said. “We have got to figure out how to channel their energies to be
positive ... I feel like they have an opportunity.”
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Police
evict Occupy Boston protesters, 46 arrested
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