Last night at 1 a.m., NYPD officers dressed in riot gear moved in to Zuccotti park, the first and largest location for the Occupy movement, and evicted protestors. There were many causes for concern during last night’s raid, one of which was the use of a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) on protestors, as reported by the New Yorkist’s twitter account. An LRAD is a device designed for use in Iraq and Afghanistan and can damage the hearing of entire crowds. Of course, the clearing of Zuccotti park was all in the name of “public safety,” according to an official statement by Mayor Bloomberg, but perhaps most telling is his statement that it was “at Brookfield’s request” that the NYPD cleared the park. Brookfield Properties, the corporation that owns the park, is one of the nation’s largest commercial real estate companies. Perhaps most concerning, however, is the deliberate and nearly total media blackout that the raid was carried out under. Continue reading →