Mayor: ‘Occupy’ Protesters Putting Atlanta on ‘Path to Escalation’
AtlantaCBSLocal.com
October 25, 2011
ATLANTA (CBS Atlanta) – Atlanta’s mayor is ready to put an end to the “Occupy” protests.
Amid rising costs to keep law enforcement present in and around Woodruff Park, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has urged an end to the “Occupy Atlanta” movement, a demonstration that began more than three weeks ago in response to “Occupy Wall Street.”
In a press conference Monday, Reed cited the additional $100,000 in beefed-up police presence for Saturday alone, as officers worked overtime in 12-hour shifts to ensure safety for the protesters — the same protesters he connected to a hip-hop concert in the park that same day. Reed called the behavior of some of the “Occupy Atlanta” the kind of actions that “puts them on a path to escalation,” he said.
“It drains important police resources from people who pay taxes in the city of Atlanta,” Reed said.
Some community leaders in support of “Occupy Atlanta,” however, are against the mayor’s stance.
“I’m very disappointed about his position,” State Sen. Vincent Fort told CBS Atlanta. “I think it’s unfortunate and wrong.”
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