Wall Street protests enter 14th day

Protests to draw attention to the power of Wall Street firms in the United States and world economies will continue for a 14th straight day Friday in New York City.

Demonstrations are addressing various issues including police brutality, union busting and the economy, said Occupy Wall Street protest group.

The group, taking its inspiration from the Arab Spring protests that swept through Africa and the Middle East, has taken up residence in a park in New York’s Financial District, calling for 20,000 people to flood the area for a “few months.”

Social media fueled those uprisings in places like Egypt and Libya and organizers are hoping it will work in the United States too.

Organizers say they had as many as 600 demonstrators in the area over the weekend, but the crowds have dwindled to about 200 people in recent days.

About 100 people have been arrested during the protests, police said. People were apprehended for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration and assaulting a police officer, said New York City Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne.

Most of the arrests came Saturday. There were no arrests Sunday and Monday, organizers said.

Demonstrators have accused police of using excessive force after the release of a video from Saturday that shows an officer pepper-spraying several women.

Police have said they are investigating the incidents.

The protest campaign – which uses the hashtag #occupywallstreet on the microblogging site Twitter – began in July with the launch of a simple campaign website calling for a march and a sit-in at the New York Stock Exchange.

Though the agenda of the protest has been posted on the website of the group Occupy Wall Street, protesters say there is no group leader and have spent several days trying to organize and create a unified plan.

“We are gathered here in this place to craft a mission statement, to shape a statement of what it is we want and how we’re going to get it,” said Robert Segal, one of the protesters.

CNN’s Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.