IMF protests turned hot and heavy on April 25. Before protesters could even deploy, two banks and a condo got their windows smashed. Hours later, protesters took the streets but were unable to hold barricades against IMF delegates. Cops responded by pepper spraying 30 and breaking one person's leg. Even an armored vehicle was used!
WSQT-TV video:includes footage (clip from CNN coverage) of cops pepper spraying protesterswith own footage of the protests as a whole.
At first, many small groups deployed in multiple marches all over the city, converging on a street blockade on 21st st. This blockade was on the route of delegate convoys from the hotels to the IMF/World Bank meetings.
The barricades didn't hold up long enough for reinforcements to arrive. There were too many in the marches, not enough in the blockades these were meant to protect.
The police armored vehicle(the "tank") took the bait, showing up at the Law Enforcement Memorial where one of the anticapitalist marches began. Enough cops ignored the anticapitalist march and other blocs, though, to forcibly remove the barricades.
When the marches converged with the remnants to the blocked and the dance party, they all joined into a confrontational march that suceeded in taking the streets over resistance from the cops.
For quite a while the march continued-but at 21st an Penn the police suddenly attacked, using force and pepper spray to push the entire crowd OVER A FENCE and into a park.
An estimated 30 people took hits from the pepper spray,and the Washington Post is claiming that one cop was also hit by return fire from a pepper spray armed protester. Yet another protester was arrested and charged with kicking one of these pigs during the melee.
In the process of pushing the crowd over a fence, one person received a broken leg, and later was transported from the scene by ambulance.
weiteres Video der Medien-Aktivisten von "Flux Rostrum": IMF Block Party Beat Down in A Sharp http://fluxview.com/USA/IMF-WorldBank-BeatDown