Another video of Saturday's showdown between cops and anarchists, watch for the conflict to begin about 4 minutes in
As the debate roils online about the pepper-spraying incident at Saturday's anti-Arpaio march, more video is being posted to the Internet, and so far, the video does not back the anarchists' account of events.
One person sent me a link to a Facebook video, which was later yanked down. (At least, it no longer appears to be up.) If you could watch it, you might see why the individual -- who was apparently sympathetic to the anarchists -- would have had reason to pull it.
It showed a cop driving a green Polaris vehicle, which looks like a go-cart, slowly down one side of the road. I'm told by a source in the Phoenix PD that the Polaris was supplying bottled water to the officers and carrying cop bicycles. Some protesters, who seem to be of the anarchist variety, get in front of the Polaris with a long red banner, blocking it. Other demonstrators bunch near the Polaris, walking a little too close for comfort.
The video above shows a similar situation, though there's no clear footage of the female cop on horseback responding to the protesters. You do see a male cop on horseback come down in front of the Polaris, apparently to keep demonstrators clear of it. At one point the Polaris driver steers the vehicle up onto the sidewalk to avoid the protesters.
You also see arrests being made, some with the assistance of undercover officers. I know some out there are decrying the use of undercover cops, but considering the circumstances, the presence of such officers is to be expected. Some anarchists are now claiming these undercover cops provoked the incident, but the video does not show this. It seems to be a mostly self-serving statement.
The anarchists seem to believe that they can do no wrong. That the police are evil, and that they are brave fighters against the establishment. But as the steady drip, drip, drip of video emerges, it seems to show that they may have provoked a conflict with the PD that ended in arrests and innocent children being hurt by pepper spray.
In saying this, I'm making no observations regarding those arrested, who are innocent until proven guilty, obviously. I still want to see more video, and hear more accounts of what transpired, but needless to say, it doesn't look good for the anarchists, as one of their supporters told me off the record last night.
For those waiting for my account of what the march was really about (i.e., not the anarchists), I'll have something up later today, unless another shoe drops.
