Police pepper-spray pensioner aged 84 and pregnant woman as violence erupts at Occupy protest in Seattle



Doused in milk to counter the effects of the pepper-spray indiscriminately fired in her face, this 84-year-old woman was caught in the crossfire when an Occupy march descended into violence.

Dorli Rainey was carried away from the scene by friends as police moved in on protesters in Seattle. A pregnant woman, who gave her name as Jennifer, had to be treated by medics after she too was pepper-sprayed.



Members of the Occupy Seattle movement had marched in solidarity with those in New York who had been evicted from their camp in Zuccotti Park, Manhattan in the early hours yesterday.



Victim: 84-year-old Dorli Rainey is helped away by fellow activists and doused in milk to treat the effects of police pepper spray at an Occupy Seattle protest last night

Last night, protesters in New York had been allowed back into the square with around 1,500 showing up. However a judge had decided that protesters would not be allowed to camp in the park and demonstrators were searched for tents and camping materials on their return.



The crackdown by authorities came as it was revealed that many officials had been sharing tips on how to rid their cities of Occupy camps.

Across America, protesters have been faced with raids, often in the middle of the night, demanding they clear out immediately. On several occasions, police have been dressed in full riot gear armed with batons and pepper spray. After evictions, parks and public squares have been fenced off from protesters with 'rings of steel'.



Officials in charge have held conference calls and meetings on the best way to deal with protests.



Pain: A woman who gave her name as Jennifer and said she was two months pregnant is rushed to an ambulance after being hit with pepper spray at an Occupy Seattle protest

Riot police descended on Zucotti Park in lower Manhattan at around 1am on Tuesday, knocking down tents and arresting anyone who did not leave the park on their request.

More than 200 people were arrested as police raided the park after Mayor Michael Bloomberg finally lost patience with protesters. Some of them have been there since it was set up in September.

In the previous days, riot police swept through tented camps in Oakland, California and Portland, Oregon, employing many of the same tactics.



City mayors all cited worries about public safety and sanitation as the reason for dismantling the protests.



Doused: Police release canisters of pepper spray over a crowd of Occupy demonstrators in Seattle

Under attack: One protester grips his American flag as he tries to ease his stinging eyes from pepper spray (L) while a pregnant woman is treated by ambulance staff

However group calls had taken place on October 11 and November 4 between authorities in different states.



Chuck Wexler, director of the Police Executive Research Forum, the national police group behind the conference calls, told CBS News: It was completely spontaneous. This was an attempt to get insight on what other departments were doing.'



Among the issues on the agenda were safety, traffic and the fierceness of demonstrations in each city. There have been differing problems at each camp.



In Portland, the city's large number of homeless moved in, after many people battling with drug addiction and mental illness were attracted to the food, shelter and medical care the camps offered.

Lessons were shared after the protest in Oakland was shut down on October 25 and descended into violence. O ne protester, Iraq War veteran Scott Olsen, ended up critically injured.



Strength in numbers: Around 1,500 people had returned to Zuccotti Park by Wall Street in New York last night

The Oakland camp was finally shut down at the weekend after a 25-year-old man was shot dead last week in the Californian city.



New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told CBS the department had been in touch with police departments elsewhere, but that what works in one city may not necessarily work in another.

'We're sort of unique. I don't think you can look at one city . We have the ability to mass a large number of police officers,' he said. 'Some of these other cities quite frankly don't.'

At around 5.30pm, NYPD began letting small groups of people through the barricades as huge cheers went up. However anyone carrying large bags or personal items was turned away.



Presence: Police allowed people to return to Zuccotti Park in an 'orderly fashion', but without large bags or personal items, last night

Face down: A man is arrested as police clear the private park next to Juan Pablo Duarte square of protesters

A policeman used a megaphone to address the protesters in downtown Manhattan saying: 'Zuccotti Park is now open.'

The New York Daily News reported that the city vowed to haul out anyone attempting to sleep in the park.

In the hour before the barricades opened last night, there was general confusion among demonstrators who had surrounded the perimeter of the park during the day about whether they would be allowed back into Zuccotti Park, which has been the centre of the Occupy movement.



It followed a dramatic eviction of Zuccotti Park in the early hours of Tuesday by 1,000 riot police.

Mayor Bloomberg said the park was evacuated to 'reduce the risk of confrontation', but his move was undermined when a judge issued an order effectively allowing protesters to return.

Confrontation: An Occupy Wall Street protester was arrested near Zuccotti Park after the eviction began on Tuesday around 1am

Justice Lucy Billings said yesterday that authorities would not be allowed to evict protesters or enforce rules over tent use.

However Supreme Court Justice Michael Stallman took over the case because Justice Billings usually handles real estate cases - but she was chosen by protesters for her civil liberties background.

Following the ruling, organisers of the Occupy Wall Street movement used social networking sites to encourage protestors to return to Liberty Square.



Protesters who spoke to MailOnline after the ruling had mixed feelings about today's developments.

Jordan McCarthy, 22, who has been living in the park for around six weeks, said: 'I don’t think it’s a bad thing - it's forcing us to mobilise and move to other places in the city.

