Occupy Wall Street Cops: It's Better Than the Projects

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Police arrest demonstrators affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement after they attempted to cross the Brooklyn Bridge on the motorway on October 1, 2011 in New York City.

So what do the officers of the New York Police Department think of the protest?

I got to chat with a couple of police officers assigned to the protests today. They were surprisingly sympathetic to Occupy Wall Street.

"These are young people with nowhere else to go, no jobs, a broken economy. I feel bad for them," one of the officers said.

"Debt's a killer. You can't get out from student loans," another said. "Even if you get a job, they can garnish your wages."

They asked me about the food inside the park. Is it free? Is it good? I told them that it was indeed free, but that I hadn't been eating it. I'm not the intended recipient of food donations to Occupy Wall Street, so it would seem dishonest to accept the free food.

The cops said they didn't mind being assigned to the protest.

"Look. It's work. For me, it's either here or the projects. Where would you rather be?" one officer said.

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