Over 500 protesters arrested Oct. 1 on Brooklyn Bridge

By Ray Sanchez

1 of 10. Police officers reach into a crowd of protesters to make an arrest on the Brooklyn Bridge during an Occupy Wall Street march in New York October 1, 2011.

NEW YORK | Sat Oct 1, 2011 9:37pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Police reopened the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday evening after more than 500 anti-Wall Street protesters were arrested for blocking traffic lanes and attempting an unauthorized march across the span.

The arrests took place when a large group of marchers, participating in a second week of protests by the Occupy Wall Street movement, broke off from others on the bridge's pedestrian walkway and headed across the Brooklyn-bound lanes.

"More than 500 were arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge late this afternoon after multiple warnings by police were given to protesters to stay on the pedestrian walkway," a police spokesman said.

"Some complied and took the walkway without being arrested. Others locked arms and proceeded on the Brooklyn-bound vehicular roadway and were arrested," he added.

The bridge was reopened at 8:05 p.m. EDT after being closed for hours.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene on the famous suspension bridge as a sea of police officers surrounded the protesters using orange mesh netting.

Some protesters tried to get away as officers started handcuffing members of the group. Dozens of protesters were seen handcuffed and sitting on the span as three buses were called in to take them away, witnesses and organizers said.

The march started about 3:30 p.m. EDT from the protesters' camp in Zuccotti Park in downtown Manhattan near the former World Trade Center. Members of the group have vowed to stay at the park through the winter.

CELEBRITY SUPPORT

In addition to what they view as excessive force and unfair treatment of minorities, including Muslims, the movement is also protesting against home foreclosures, high unemployment and the 2008 bailouts.

Filmmaker Michael Moore and actress Susan Sarandon have stopped by the protesters' camp, which is plastered with posters with anti-Wall Street slogans and has a kitchen and library, to offer their support.

On Friday evening, more than 1,000 demonstrators, including representatives of labor organizations, held a peaceful march to police headquarters a few blocks north of City Hall to protest what they said was a heavy-handed police response the previous week. No arrests were reported.

A week ago, police arrested about 80 members of Occupy Wall Street near the Union Square shopping district as the marchers swarmed onto oncoming traffic.

A police commander doused a handful of women with pepper spray in an incident captured on video and spread via the Internet, galvanizing the loosely organized protest movement.

The group has gained support among some union members. The United Federation of Teachers and the Transport Workers Union Local 100, which has 38,000 members, are among those pledging solidarity.

The unions could provide important organizational and financial support for the largely leaderless movement.

Similar protests are sprouting in other cities, including Boston, Chicago and San Francisco.

Police: Hundreds of Wall Street protesters arrested at Brooklyn Bridge

Police arrest demonstators on the Brooklyn Bridge during the Occupy Wall Street protests on Saturday.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Bridge is expected to reopen soon
• The group says it is protesting the economy, among other things
• Rep. Charles Rangel speaks to the group
• Police say protesters blocked lanes to Brooklyn Bridge

New York (CNN) -- Hundreds of chanting Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested Saturday for blocking traffic at the Brooklyn Bridge, police said.

Traffic heading to Brooklyn from Manhattan was still not flowing at 7:15 p.m. Saturday evening, but officials said it was expected to resume soon. Manhattan-bound traffic was moving.

Protesters banged drums and chanted, "The whole world is watching" as police moved in to make arrests for disorderly conduct and blocking traffic.

About 400 people were arrested after they failed to comply with police orders to stay on the bridge's pedestrian walkway, said Paul Browne, deputy commissioner for the New York Police Department.

Saturday's incident came during a campaign against what protesters call social inequities resulting from the financial system.

Protesters held a rally at Zuccotti Park and then marched toward the Brooklyn Bridge, blocking traffic lanes, police said.

U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-New York, spoke to a large crowd of boisterous protesters, who shouted, "This is a peaceful march."

Over the past two weeks, demonstrations have addressed various issues, including police brutality, union busting and the economy, said the Occupy Wall Street protest group.

The group, taking its inspiration from the Arab Spring protests that have swept through Africa and the Middle East, has taken up residence in the park in New York's financial district, calling for 20,000 people to flood the area for a "few months."

The protest campaign -- which uses the hashtag #occupywallstreet on the microblogging site Twitter -- began in July with the launch of a simple campaign website calling for a march and a sit-in at the New York Stock Exchange.