As protesters continue to occupy a section of land in front of the State Capitol, fees for police supervision continue to add up.
A statement by Jim Sughrue , director of public affairs for the Raleigh Police Department, said the cost of officers monitoring protesters is $1,500 per day.
The cost to the department was approximately $26,300 during the opening weekend of protests.
Austin Moss, an Occupy protester and former student, explained that though police officers were put in place to keep peace, it is a matter that is out of protesters’ hands.
“We have not asked them to be here,” Moss said. “It is not a request of ours that has ever been put out.”
Moss explained that police officers were not complaining about protests, and in some cases, police officers had come to protect protesters while off duty and in uniform.
“Every single time that we have talked to a police officer that I know of, we have been met with nothing but cordial remarks and friendliness,” Moss said.
Occupier Lynn Dupree said police officers are not getting paid overtime and they are fulfilling normal police duties.
“Whenever any group assembles, it costs the city money, whether it is a kid’s activity, whether it is a religious function or whether it is a huge Christmas parade,” Dupree said: “I’m not a Christian but I have to pay for that anyway.”
“The police are a service that we provide to all of our citizens. We are no less deserving than any other civic group,” Dupree said.
Though there have been no cases of reported violence by or towards Occupy Raleigh, police officers have arrested 28 protesters since protests began October 15.
On Thursday, Governor Bev Perdue requested protesters to keep the sidewalk in front of the State Capitol passable.
“The action does not require those gathered on the sidewalk to leave,” Perdue said in a published statement.
Perdue said boxes and chairs used by protesters had made it difficult for others to use the sidewalk.
According to Chief of Capitol Police Scott Hunter, the sidewalk was not passable at 3:30 p.m . on Thursday. Eight of those reported to be blocking the sidewalk were arrested and charged for maintaining ground on the sidewalk.
Margaret Shucker, a protester who has completed graduate work at N.C . State, was among the eight people arrested. Shucker, who is 57 and receiving money for a disability, can be seen in a YouTube video being taken out of her chair by police officers and then arrested.
Protesters running the Occupy Raleigh website showed several pictures of Shucker being arrested as well as the video. The organization additionally posted pictures of the sidewalk, which they believe to be proof the sidewalk did have a clear path.
In Sughrue’s statement two days before the sidewalk protesters were arrested, instructions were basic, allowing protesters to sit on the sidewalk with no mention of chairs, boxes or other items.
“I’ve said they could stand or sit, depending on individual preferences,” Sughrue said. “The only requirement is that the sidewalk remains open enough to accommodate pedestrian traffic.”
In other parts of the world, violence has escalated at protests as in Oakland last week, where paint and other objects thrown at police by protestors were met with tear gas. In addition, almost 100 protestors were arrested and more than 20 injured in a violent protest in Melbourne, Australia October 22.
Occupiers don’t have plans to stop despite nearly 30 arrests and increasing violence at other Occupy movements around the country and world. On Occupy Raleigh’s official website, protesters stated they were still seeking more people to occupy the Capitol sidewalk.
