While the media focus of the Occupy movement was initially on its message—to stop economic injustice, support direct democracy, and reclaim public space, confrontations with police departments around the country have attracted more occupiers while bringing questions of police brutality and excessive use of force to the fore of the movement’s consciousness. Now the occupy movement’s identity is inextricable from its interactions with law enforcement. While the movement’s core values remain the same as when it began, police busting heads makes good news, and the media has shifted its focus to Occupy’s increasingly hostile relationship with police departments around the country. The nationwide police crackdown on the movement has not only demonstrated the willingness of police to use excessive force, but also the ways in which tactics for policing protests have changed over the years. The occupy movement has...
