NYPD Deploys Counter Terrorism Unit To Protect Wall Street in Response To
Gamestop Protests
The NYPD decision comes amid a growing online movement aimed at punishing
wealthy hedge funds who have spent enormous sums betting on the demise of a
number of companies.
by Alan Macleod
Mint Press
February 01st, 2021
By Alan Macleod
FacebookTwitterRedditEmailMore15
The Charging Bull statue in Manhattan's Financial District has become the
sight of protests amid a wider financial rebellion happening online. On
Friday, a handful of activists were seen in Bowling Green Park, posing with
the bull, and holding signs that said "Tax Wall Street Trades." A thin band
of tape was also placed on the statue's head and rear end, featuring slogans
like "Hold the line" and "WSB" - both allusions to the GameStop insurrection
against hedge funds organized by Reddit's "Wall Street Bets" community. A
similar fate befell the new Fearless Girl statue, which faces the New York
Stock Exchange building. Both the bull and the girl are meant to symbolize
the power, bravery and daring of the city's financial traders.
In response, the New York Police Department (NYPD) mobilized its
anti-terrorism unit, sending masked, blad clad police officers wearing armor
and carrying assault rifles to protect and secure the area. "The Stock
Market has had an interesting week to say the least. We are happy to report
that the Wall Street Charging Bull is secure and continues to preside over
Bowling Green for the foreseeable future," it announced. The bull was
covered in a blue tarp to prevent further vandalism.
The decision to deploy counter-terrorism officers on the streets of
Manhattan was not well appreciated, at least judging by replies left on the
unit's official social media pages. "Perfect example of how police exist to
protect private property and not people," was the highest rated response.
Other popular replies included, "You brought out the automatic rifles and
body armor. for tape," "Good ad for defunding the police right here," and,
"If this was a shot in a movie, I'd think it was too on the nose."
The NYPD decision comes amid a growing movement aimed at punishing wealthy
hedge funds who have spent enormous sums betting on the demise of a number
of companies, including video games retailer GameStop, movie theater chain
AMC and Finnish telecommunications company Nokia. Organized primarily on
Reddit community /r/WallStreetBets, small scale investors have caused
GameStop's stock to rise from $35 per share two weeks ago to over $300 on
Friday, in the process causing hedge funds to lose an estimated $19 billion.
In response to mounting losses, ironically-named trading app Robinhood
banned the purchase of a number of well-performing stocks, including
GameStop, and even forced users to sell their shares against their will.
Messaging platform Discord shut down the Wall Street Bets server, while
Google wiped almost 100,000 negative reviews of Robinhood from its app
store, restoring its good rating.
The NYPD has been the subject of considerable scrutiny of late due to its
heavy-handed tactics. During the summer, its vehicles were caught plowing
through dozens of people demonstrating in support of George Floyd,
ironically protesting against police brutality.
In June, the NYPD brutalized 32-year-old African-American hospital worker
Rayne Valentine as he was leaving his job, kicking and beating his head in
until he lay unmoving in the fetal position. Valentine had to go back to the
same hospital he just left for treatment, his co-workers putting seven
staples in his head and attempting to stop the bleeding. Valentine suggested
that his attackers may have only stopped after they noticed his bloodied
hospital identification. The organization also deployed a number of fake
yellow taxi cabs in order to arrest protestors breaking the city's curfew
laws.
Going further back, the department's behavior during the Occupy Wall Street
protests of 2011 is often cited as a reason for the movement's growth, with
scenes of mistreatment of peaceful demonstrators, such as officer Anthony
Bologna wantonly pepper-spraying sitting protestors, or the mass arrest of
more than 700 people on the Brooklyn Bridge triggering outrage nationwide.
The NYPD killing of Eric Garner in 2014 also helped spur the movement for
black lives.
With more than 50,000 uniformed officers, the NYPD dwarfs the police
departments of other cities in its sheer size. It also boasts double the
police per capita than urban centers like Phoenix and Dallas. The
department's $6 billion annual budget is larger than the total GDP of over
40 countries and eats into the far smaller budgets for underfunded essential
services. Current New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has overseen the great
expansion of the force, both in budget and in number. Thus, while the city
appears unable to help poorer residents survive a pandemic, there still
seems to be ample resources to protect the interests and the property of
Wall Street, including an expanding and ever-more militarized police force.
