Occupy MN protester slammed by Hennepin County security [VIDEO]
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| An Occupy MN participant moments after being knocked to the ground. |
At about 4:15 a.m., Hennepin County Sheriff's deputies and plaza security officers began rousting the sleeping occupiers and dismantling the tents.
As the camping gear was being trucked away, however, one occupier chased after it and was met by a Hennepin County security guard.
The officers were already agitated after occupiers stood in front of a truck that was carting away the tents, tarps and other Occupy equipment. Eventually, the guards and cops began physically pushing protesters out of the truck's path.
When the road was clear, the truck started rumbling away. But a couple of protesters chased after it and began tugging at the tents in the truck bed.
It appears from video captured of the incident that a Hennepin County security guard takes a flying leap at one of the protesters. The occupiers say she was "tackled." What's more, they're claiming on their Facebook page that the person was actually just a kid.
"The unlawful assault last night was on a girl named Mattie, daughter of a local AFSCME 3800 member," the post says. "Mattie around 15 years old."
"It was really incredibly violent. I don't know what else to say," says Ben Egerman, one of the Occupy MN participants. "It's not like a football field where there's grass and people have helmets."
But Kirk Simmons, head of Hennepin county security, says the guard actually slipped on some ice. He says the guard injured himself.
"He feels bad because he knows he ran into her," says Simmons.
The video is very shakey, but take a look and judge for yourself:
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