DPD Chief Puts Officer Who Shoved Protester on Restricted Duty, Opens Investigation

This morning, Brantley spoke with ​Stephen Benavides, the protester who spent several days in jail on charges that he assaulted a police officer and resisted arrest. We also posted that video now making the rounds in which Benavides can clearly be seen being shoved off a planter by an off-duty Dallas Police officer working for Bank of America. Moments ago, on its Facebook page, the department addressed that video. Here is the statement in full:

Last night, the Dallas Police Department discovered a new video of the Occupy Dallas demonstration that occurred on November 5, 2011. The video shows a Dallas Police Officer, who was working off-duty for Bank of America, push a demonstrator off a planter in front of the building. Chief David Brown has ordered the officer placed on restricted duty and initiated a formal investigation into the officer's actions. The restricted duty assignment will also prohibit the officer from working off-duty employment until the departmental investigation is complete.

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City Hall Stephen Benavides, Protestor Accused of Assaulting Police, Says, No, the Cops Got Rough

Stephen Benavides, an organizer with the United Steelworkers, was one of eight arrested Saturday at the Occupy Dallas protest at the downtown Bank of America tower during Bank Transfer Day, aimed at encouraging the use of not-for-profit credit unions over for-profit banks.

But while the other protesters were jailed on the misdemeanor charge of "improper use of a sidewalk" (Schutze: WTF?), Benavides was charged with assaulting a public servant and resisting arrest. We first wrote about him back in 2009 when he served as the chair at UNT's ACLU student chapter, pushing to allow same-sex couples to run for homecoming court. He bonded out Wednesday on the felony charge, and he spoke Thursday afternoon with Unfair Park about what he says was supposed to be a peaceful protest gone very, very wrong.

"When we left that day, the intention was not to have a confrontation with the police," he says. "When everything happened, it was just a complete shock."

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Best Video of Dallas protestor being pushed by Dallas Police officer

Suhm's "Very Disappointed" By Turn of Events as Occupy Dallas, City Head Back to Courthouse

Below you'll find the original agreement the city of Dallas and Occupy Dallas entered into last month after that trip to the courthouse that was all fist-bumps and high-fives. Problem is, the agreement is affixed as an exhibit to even more legal docs Occupy Dallas's attorneys took to the courthouse late yesterday -- the protesters' response to the city's response to Occupy Dallas's treatment of the campsite behind City Hall, wherein City Manager Mary Suhm and First Assistant City Attorney Chris Bowers give the Occupiers till Saturday at 5 p.m. to straighten up or get out. So much for good vibes; the relationship's gone sour.

The Occupiers' attorney, Jonathan Winocour, wants a judge to keep the city from booting the campers come Saturday evening. Says the request for a temporary restraining order, "harm is imminent because the City has unambiguously threatened to take action to forcibly 'evict' Plaintiffs from an area their use of which is effectively licensed through the settlement agreement." Winocour reiterates what Occupy Dallas media contact Michael Prestonise told Unfair Park yesterday, insisting the terms of the city's agreement are "ambiguous."

Winocour tells Unfair Park that "what turned this around was the letter the city decided to release Tuesday night. It was always the understanding of the Occupants that the license the city granted us was to use this public park overnight. They expanded the contours of the ordinance. It was always our understanding that was unrelated to the exercise of First Amendment rights outside the park. So if they're engaging in protest outside Bank of America or Chase, it's protected speech, and the arrests that have taken place at these public protests are entirely unrelated to the occupancy, if you like, or to the physical location behind City Hall -- the camp. The sentiment from the camp is there's an artificial linkage ... to the arrests."

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Occupy Dallas Applies For Restraining Order Against City’s Eviction Threat

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Occupy Dallas took their defense to the courtroom Wednesday, seeking a temporary restraining order against the city’s ultimatum that they clean up their campgrounds by Saturday at 5 p.m. or face eviction.
On Tuesday, City Manager Mary Suhm and First Assistant City Attorney Christopher Bowers sent a stern warning to the group, threatening to sever Occupy Dallas’ settlement agreement with the city if it didn’t correct a number of violations.
That settlement allows the protestors to set up an encampment in a grassy area to the south of City Hall, and without it, police will move in and remove tents and “other obstructions” that protestors set up on city grounds.

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Occupy Dallas's Application For Restraining Order Against City