"Occupy" protesters start march from NYC to DC

NEW YORK - Flanked by police scooters, about two dozen Occupy Wall Street protesters started a two-week walk from New York to Washington on Wednesday.

The activists left Manhattan's Zuccotti Park, marched past the World Trade Center site and boarded a ferry to New Jersey. They plan to walk through Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland and arrive in Washington by Nov. 23 — the deadline for a congressional committee to decide whether to keep President Barack Obama's extension of Bush-era tax cuts. Protesters say the cuts benefit only rich Americans.

Michael Glazer, 26, an actor from Chicago, smiled as he boarded the ferry across the Hudson River, cheered by supporters shouting, "Thank you!" Walking in well-worn boots, he said: "I've had these for years and years, and they've served me well for many miles of marches."

Squeezing profit out of Occupy Wall Street
VIDEO: Politics of "Occupy Wall Street"

They hope to pick up other participants along their 240-mile march and have likened the effort to long-distance walks during the civil rights era. They say they'll overnight by camping or at volunteered accommodations.

Among those seeing off the Occupy marchers was Rabbi Chaim Gruber, 42, the self-appointed "resident rabbi" of the New York protest.

"Anyone need a sleeping bag?" he asked the group, handing over two — along with a bag containing shampoo and extra socks.

On Tuesday, a shorter Occupy Wall Street 11-mile march that spanned almost the length of Manhattan was led by New York City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez and State Senator Adriano Espaillat. According to the New York Observer's Politicker blog, about 400 people joined the walk.

Some other developments in the Occupy protests:

CALIFORNIA

An Oakland man says a police officer shot him with a rubber bullet or beanbag while he was videotaping last week's standoff between law enforcement and a small group that took over a building and lit fires after a day of peaceful anti-Wall Street protests.

Experts in police use of force who reviewed the footage Scott Campbell captured say it appears the volley was unprovoked and inappropriate, the Oakland Tribune reported Tuesday.

In the video posted on YouTube, Campbell, 30, is heard calling, "Is this OK?" to a line of riot gear-clad officers. He told the newspaper that he was asking if his distance from them was adequate because an officer had asked him to step back. A firearm held by an officer then is seen going off, followed by Campbell's yelps of pain.

The Oakland Police Department also has been criticized for wounding an Iraq War veteran during an Oct. 25 skirmish. City spokeswoman Karen Boyd said Tuesday that anyone who thinks they witnessed improper police conduct is encouraged to make a report with the police department's Internal Affairs division or Oakland's Civilian Police Review Board.

Officer Johanna Watson, a department spokeswoman, said Campbell's allegations already are being looked into.

TEXAS

Eight protesters at a downtown Houston park were detained Tuesday evening after an altercation with police.

Police spokesman Victor Senties said six people refused to remove a tent that violated a city ordinance and were advised by their lawyer to comply with the police request but said they wanted to be arrested.

Two more protesters confronted officers, ignored orders to step back and were charged with failure to comply with a lawful order.

BRITAIN

Police cleared away more than 20 tents set up in Trafalgar Square as thousands of students marched through central London to protest cuts to public spending and a big increase in university tuition fees.

The march was not directly linked to the Occupy movement, but participants had planned to link up with a protest camp outside St. Paul's Cathedral. They were stopped by lines of police in riot gear.

Police said more than 2,000 people took part in the march, which set off from the University of London at midday with chants of "No ifs, no buts, no education cuts." Organizers estimated the crowd at 10,000.

About 4,000 police officers were deployed along the route.