Oakland Police Clear 'Occupy' Tent City
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- About 100 protesters cleared their tents and belongings from a vacant lot and park in Oakland's uptown neighborhood Sunday morning under police order, a police spokeswoman said.
Shortly after 8 a.m., officers surrounded the new encampment near the corner of 19th Street and Telegraph Avenue, which included some 20 to 30 tents, and used bullhorns to demand the demonstrators dismantle their tents, according to Oakland Police Department spokeswoman Johnna Watson.
KCBS' Chris Filippi Reports:
In less than 30 minutes, demonstrators there had dismantled the
tents and removed their belongings without incident, Watson said. "Everybody was very cooperative," she said.
Sunday morning's dispersal order came after an estimated 700
protesters marched throughout Oakland on Saturday.
About 400 demonstrators ended the march at the vacant Uptown space belonging to the city's redevelopment agency, where some broke down the lot's perimeter fence and began assembling tents.
As of 1 a.m. Sunday there was only a small police presence around the lot and park. Watson said the department received numerous noise complaints Saturday night and early Sunday morning from surrounding Uptown residents.
"Throughout yesterday's events, there were no arrests and minimal
reported incidents of vandalism or violence. I want to thank the men and women of the Oakland Police Department, who put their lives on the line everyday, for their commitment and service," Mayor Jean Quan said in a prepared statement. "The actions this morning were necessary and underline my commitment to move Oakland forward. We remain open and available to meet with protesters."
As of 9:45 a.m. Sunday, some 60 protesters and an undisclosed number of officers remained around the vacant lot and park, but police had made no arrests, Watson said.
Police have closed Telegraph Avenue between West Grand Avenue and
19th Street and closed 19th Street between Broadway and San Pablo Avenue while workers clean up the vacant lot and park, according to a statement released by city officials.
Watson said Oakland police do not have plans to order a smaller group of campers at Snow Park to leave, following a city decision allowing them to stay there even though the camp violates city law.
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