Reliable & Impartial Witnesses

I think it is safe to trust the perspective of a retired supreme court justice, when they are acting as a legal observer in a public space.  In this case, it is New York Supreme Court Judge Karen Smith, who worked as a legal observer Tuesday morning in New York after the police raided the Occupy Wall Street encampment: (links here and here)

"I was there to take down the names of people who were arrested... As I’m standing there, some African-American woman goes up to a police officer and says, 'I need to get in. My daughter's there. I want to know if she’s OK.’ And he said, 'Move on, lady.' And they kept pushing with their sticks, pushing back. And she was crying. And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, he throws her to the ground and starts hitting her in the head," says Smith. "I walk over, and I say, 'Look, cuff her if she's done something, but you don’t need to do that.’ And he said, 'Lady, do you want to get arrested?' And I said, 'Do you see my hat? I'm here as a legal observer.’ He said, 'You want to get arrested?' And he pushed me up against the wall."

Really?  A middle aged woman, who is a supreme court justice, wearing a fluorescent green "Legal Observer" hat, being pushed around by NYC paramilitary police?  Do we live in Egypt, Bahrain, China, or Myanmar, when paramilitary police in riot gear are beating up non violent citizens?