Union invites BPD to discuss Occupy protests with BU students

Boston Police Department officials and Boston University students debated the direction of the Occupy Boston movement, the suspicions of police brutality and the possibility of a Halloween Day march during an open forum on Friday in Sleeper Hall Auditorium.

The forum, hosted by the Student Union, involved conversations about the United States’ role in the Middle East, but quickly shifted into a series of questions and responses about communication issues between the movement and BPD.

“Occupy Boston has taken a lot of resources out of communities that need it more, like the gang unit and drug unit,” said Jay Walsh, director of Boston’s Office of Neighborhood Services. “As important as Occupy Boston is, I hate to see us neglect neighborhoods because of it.”

College of Arts and Sciences junior Brandon Wood, a member of BU Occupies Boston, among other students, raised questions about BPD funding and rumors of police brutality.

“I was one of the protesters arrested, and I saw some questionable things,” Wood said. “Not to be criticizing police institutions, but some officers were out of hand. One had put a protester in a headlock.”

As the forum turned to the arrests that occurred a few weeks ago, BPD Superintendent William Evans said the protesters are responsible for not having followed legal orders.

“That night turned ugly and that was the last thing we wanted . . . We had made it clear you can’t destroy that park which cost the city spending thousands of dollars for it,” Evans said. “We had a great dialogue up until then that they can do whatever they want but not to go on there.”

Evans said he asked Occupy leaders several times to return to a different section to protest.

“We repeatedly asked people to leave. Everyone knew we were coming. It was an unlawful assembly,” he said. “We told them if they didn’t move, they were going to be arrested . . . Unfortunately they dug their heels in and sort of gave us no choice.”

As far as claims of police brutality, Evans said that he saw “no such thing.” Officers separated people who locked arms, but nothing more, he said.

Walsh told students that BPD officers sympathize with the protesters and can also relate with protesters’ complaints about the high cost of tuition, as many of them are parents.

“We all up here have kids and tuition to pay. So in terms of college tuitions, we feel the same costs . . . We respect what you do, we just want you to respect what we do,” Walsh said.

Evans advised students to avoid marching with Occupy Boston on Halloween.

“I don’t know if you saw this, but Boston was named the second best city to go trick-or-treating last week, and I want to keep it that way,” Evans said. “We don’t want you guys to mask up and create problems on Monday. We don’t want you guys to go down there.”

College of Communication sophomore Caitlin Condon said that while she understood the significance of the holiday, students must make their goals a top priority.

“Well we have a lot of problems and a lot of things we want to change. That’s important too, just as much as trick-or-treating for little kids,” Condon said.

A number of students asked about the possibility of a shutdown by the police. Evans said, however, that the BPD would focus on public safety rather than politics as its primary concern.

“As you may know, the mayor is strongly behind this movement, as long as there is no threat to public safety. He supports your ideas and everything else . . . But believe us we’ll give you plenty of notice,” Evans said. “If the mayor says some day, through a mutual understanding, that time is up, the last thing we want is a big confrontation.”