Police make arrests, clear Occupy sites
- NEW: More than a dozen arrests made in Portland Sunday
- Salt Lake City police clear camp, arrest 19 protesters
- Denver police arrest 17 in clearing right-of-way
- Oakland police issue third order for protesters to vacate
(CNN) — Numerous arrests took place in several Western cities as police moved in to clear Occupy encampments over the weekend, authorities said.
In Portland, Oregon, unrest continued into Sunday morning as protesters defied a midnight Saturday deadline for the Occupy encampments to close.
Tensions abated later Sunday as police attempted to peacefully close city parks, but flared at one park when protesters refused to leave. Police said on Twitter those refusing to leave Chapman Square were being arrested.
Portland police Sgt. Pete Simpson estimated Sunday afternoon that more than a dozen people were arrested. Chapman Square was the last city park where protesters were gathered, as the others had been vacated as of Sunday afternoon, he said.
Video posted on the website of CNN affiliate KGW showed officers in riot gear holding batons facing off with protesters. Simpson said the officers were in the gear as a precaution, and were joined by other assisting agencies. “We needed the manpower because we used up a lot of resources yesterday (Saturday),” he said.
The operation was “pretty methodical,” although a few demonstrators had scuffled with officers, he said.
Once the parks are cleared, temporary fencing will be erected so repairs can be made, Simpson said. The parks are “pretty beat up,” he added.
One officer was struck in the leg earlier Sunday by a projectile thrown from a crowd, and was taken to a hospital, but the injuries were not life-threatening, authorities said. One protester was arrested in a separate incident overnight, Simpson said.
Another officer was struck but not injured, Portland police said on Twitter, and a fight broke out early Sunday between protesters.
Video from the scene showed masses of protesters on downtown streets. In the early-morning hours Sunday, police told demonstrators to leave the streets or face arrest. All but two of the demonstrators followed that order, retreating into several parks, KGW reported.
“A lot of people packed up and left today,” police Lt. Robert King said. But hundreds of people showed up in the early morning hours — some of whom have not been affiliated with the Occupy movement until now — apparently hoping to witness a police confrontation, King said.
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Early Sunday, Mayor Sam Adams praised police for showing professionalism in a “very tense situation.”
Police declared the parks closed as of midnight, Simpson said, “and they’ll remain closed. They’re not going to be open until they’re repaired.”
Police and parks department employees were on the scene for the closures, helping people and removing debris from parks, he said. Those who needed a place to stay were being referred to shelters, Simpson said.
“We’re going to be very patient,” Adams said earlier Sunday. “I’m prioritizing patience … In order for us to do this peacefully, we need the time and folks on the ground need the time to do their work right.”
One member of Occupy Portland, however, said demonstrators were not planning to budge.
“We’re talking about issues that matter to people’s lives,” Kari Koch told CNN. Authorities can order them to leave, but protesters have a right to assembly and a right to free speech, she said. “We’re not going to back down and leave the parks just because it’s inconvenient for the mayor to have us here.”
The Occupy Portland movement, on Twitter, was calling for additional protesters as camps were coming down.
Meanwhile, in Salt Lake City, police said on Twitter 19 people were arrested Saturday night as authorities moved in to clear an Occupy Salt Lake encampment at a downtown park.
Police had ordered protesters to leave the park after a man was found dead late Thursday night. The cause of death was thought to be carbon monoxide poisoning and a drug overdose, CNN affiliate KSTU reported.
“We can no longer tolerate individuals camping on our streets,” Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank told reporters.
However, “only camping is over,” Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker’s office said on Twitter — protests can continue at the park. KSTU reported authorities said protesters would be allowed to have a 24-hour presence and one building, but the tents had to go.
Since camping began at the park, Becker’s office said in the statement, “local law enforcement has responded to a dramatically increased amount of criminal activity in the park, and has made over 90 arrests in the area since early October.”
A melee involving 30 people on Wednesday night led to four arrests, Becker’s office said, and public safety “has become increasingly questionable. Additionally, the amount of human and animal waste, as well as drug paraphernalia, is an escalating public concern.”
As police moved in Saturday evening, according to video from the scene, protesters chanted, “This is what a police state looks like.”
“Our rights to assembly, which are embodied in the First Amendment, are still being violated,” protester Jesse Fruhwirth told KSTU. “Our forefathers are speaking to us, telling us that this is what assembly looks like. Not being able to camp here severely limits the ability of us to keep our coalition together.”
“Many thanks to all for a peaceful resolution,” Salt Lake City police tweeted late Saturday.
In Denver, police in riot gear arrested 17 people Saturday night as they cleared furniture and tents from an Occupy encampment near the city’s civic center, police spokesman Sonny Jackson told CNN. The main issue, he said, was that the items were blocking a right of way.
“People are welcome to come back and protest, but we don’t want them to do it in a way that’s not safe,” Jackson said.
In Oakland, California, police issued a third notice for demonstrators to vacate city parks on Saturday, police spokeswoman Officer Johnna Watson told CNN. The protesters had not complied with that order, Watson said.
A second notice was issued Saturday morning after a fatal shooting near the camp, according to CNN affiliate KCBS. A man in his early 20s was shot Friday. Authorities said one of the suspects has been “a frequent resident at the encampment over the past several days,” KCBS said.
Also Saturday, 27 protesters were arrested in St. Louis after defying an existing park curfew, authorities said.
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