NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly had some strong words for “Occupy Wall Street” protesters Thursday, blaming participants for starting skirmishes which led to more than 20 arrests on Wednesday.

“What they did is they counted.  They actually had a countdown — 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 — they grouped together, they joined arms and they charged the police. They attacked the police. They wanted to get into Wall Street, they wanted to occupy Wall Street,” Kelly told reporters.

Kelly said that if demonstrators targeted the police, authorities would respond with “force.”

“They’re going to be met with force when they do that — this is just common sense,” he said.

The commissioner said protesters were told to stay within the barricades that police had erected and when they crossed over them they began hassling the cops.

“These people wanted to have confrontation with the police for whatever reason.  Somehow, I guess it works to their purposes,” Kelly said.

The commissioner told reporters that the protests have cost the city about $2 million in overtime for officers assigned to cover the demonstrations.

Despite the clashes and arrests, Kelly stressed that as long as protesters followed the rules, there would be no issues.

“We are accommodating peaceful protests.  We are proud of the fact that we do that in this city. People are going to be here for an extended period of time. We’re going to accommodate them as long as they do it peacefully and in accordance with the laws and regulations,” he said.

(Source: WCBSTV)