The U.S. Conference of Mayors, a nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more, is holding regular discussions about Occupy protests nationwide. In recent days, protests that sprung up as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York, Oakland, Portland, Denver, and some others were targeted with police crackdowns. In a recent interview with BBC news, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan stated that she had been in discussion with other mayors in the days before police raided Occupy Oakland.
The following is a statement issued by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
“As with many other issue areas, The U.S. Conference of Mayors has facilitated regular conference calls with interested mayors to discuss issues of concern and exchange ideas about the Occupy Wall Street Demonstrations.
“Two of those calls have been a round robin discussion and provided a forum for mayors and police executives to discuss the impact of the demonstrations on their cities and how they are responding to it.
“Included in the discussions have been efforts cities have made to accommodate the demonstrators and maintain public health and safety. Other topics discussed include the costs cities are incurring as a result of the events and the impact on other city service and activities.”
Unclear at this point is whether federal agencies have also been involved in discussions held prior to the recent series of crackdowns. During protests held in Oakland last year decrying the fatal shooting of BART passenger Oscar Grant, there were federal agents mixed among police who were stationed in the streets.