The following is a first-hand account written by Josh Davis, a master’s student at UNC’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Davis was at 419 W. Franklin on Nov. 13 when demonstrators were arrested for trespassing in an unoccupied building. Davis was quoted in the reesenews story here (
http://reesenews.org/2011/11/13/demonstrators-arrested-at-vacant-auto-dealership/26897/)
and live-Tweeted the night from his personal Twitter account. He does not work for reesenews.
https://twitter.com/#!/joshablaQuestioning police response to nonviolent protestshttp://reesenews.org/2011/11/13/column-my-first-hand-account-of-todays-arrest/26969/Just after 4 p.m. I received a call from a source from the Occupy Durham demonstration urging me to head to downtown Chapel Hill at once. Details were scarce, but I learned that an offshoot of the Occupy Chapel Hill group had moved into a vacant former Chrysler dealership at 419 W. Franklin St. Saturday and that a police raid was imminent.
As a graduate photojournalism student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, I have been independently covering the Occupy Movement on Twitter and Flickr. So when I got the call I put down my coursework, picked up my press pass and camera, and headed over.
About 20 young people were hanging out around the building when I arrived. Its garage door had been pried open and balanced on a long wooden beam. Inside stood a small shelf full of books, handmade banners and a few ‘Occupiers’—the only details in an otherwise dusty grey and empty space.
(snip)
Without warning or orders to the crowd to disperse, the police stormed the building. From where I stood in public space outside the building, I could see police in riot gear and green army fatigues aiming automatic rifles at anyone in the vicinity.
more at linkthanks to Greg Mitchell for the find
http://twitter.com/#!/GregMitch
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