Last night was the NLG training session, held at a good ol' lib church (Universalists?) on the Upper West Side. The attendees spanned a wide range of ages and ethnicities; some were dressed in suits, some in hipster garb.

CBS Sunday Morning showed up early on to tape the proceedings for a segment this Sunday.



The job of the Legal Observer (LO) is pretty interesting. Turns out our primary duties will be documenting police "incidents." We get the names of people arrested, try to photograph incidents as they take place, and relate that information to HQ so they can get legal help to people. LOs are encouraged not to be "active" participants in the protests; we watch the police and try to act as a deterrent to conflict. If that fails, we document as much as possible for future trials.

I feel totally comfortable in this support role. LOs facilitate protest and help to ensure that protestors' rights are protected. It suits me well.

LOs are identified in potentially tense protest situations by their green hats, pictured here:



I'll probably begin my own LO saga on Saturday. Too much to do until then. Sunday is the day that the biggest protests might take place. Check back often!