Lord of the flies: Fights erupt among Occupy Wall Street protesters

lord of the flies:

Report: Fights erupt among Occupy Wall Street protesters

By Melanie Eversley, USA TODAY

Updated 14h 11m ago

Fights are erupting among Occupy Wall Street protesters, so much so that one corner of Zuccotti Park has emerged where protesters say they won't go for fear of their safety, the New York Daily News is reporting.
Police officers also have been warned of "dangerous instruments" being concealed in cardboard tubing, the News says it has been told by unidentified police sources.
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"There is a lot of infighting in the park," a police source told the news organization. "There is one part of the park where they won't even go at night."
Meantime, Ed Mullins, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, is warning protesters at Zuccotti Park in Manhattan that he will pursue civil suits against anyone who assaults a union member.

"New York's police officers are working around the clock as the already overburdened economy in New York is being drained by 'occupiers' who intentionally and maliciously instigate needless and violent confrontations with the police," the News reports Mullins said in a statement.

But protesters tell the News they have been the victims of police brutality, not the other way around.

"We have been brutalized and mass-arrested by the NYPD," said protester Jen Waller, 24, of Brooklyn. "They can threaten us all they want. We've got lawyers, too."