200+ Arrested at Occupy Los Angeles, 50 in Philly

200+ Arrested at Occupy Los Angeles, 50 in Philly


Protester sit and lock arms at the Occupy Los Angeles encampment outside City Hall in Los Angeles Wednesday
Nov. 30, 2011. Police have moved in on the Occupy Los Angeles encampment arrested protesters who defied an
eviction notice. (Lucy Nicholson/Pool/AP Photo)

By CHRISTINA HOAG and KATHY MATHESON Associated Press
LOS ANGELES November 30, 2011 (AP)

More than 1,400 police officers, some in riot gear, cleared the Occupy Los Angeles camp early Wednesday, driving protesters from a park around City Hall and arresting more than 200 who defied orders to leave. Similar raids in Philadelphia led to 52 arrests, but the scene in both cities was relatively peaceful.

Police in Los Angeles and Philadelphia moved in on Occupy Wall Street encampments under darkness in an effort to clear out some of the longest-lasting protest sites since crackdowns ended similar occupations across the country.

Beanbags fired from shotguns were used to subdue the final three protesters in a makeshift tree house outside Los Angeles City Hall, police Cmdr. Andrew Smith said, describing it as a minor use of force incident. No serious injuries were reported.

Police Chief Charlie Beck praised the officers and the protesters for their restraint and the peaceful way the eviction was carried out.

Officers flooded down the steps of City Hall just after midnight and started dismantling the two-month-old camp two days after a deadline passed for campers to leave the park.

There were no injuries and no drugs or weapons were found during a search of the emptied camp, which was strewn with trash after the raid. City workers put up concrete barriers to wall off the park while it is restored. As of 5:10 a.m. PST, the park was clear of protesters, said LAPD officer Cleon Joseph.

The raid in Los Angeles came after demonstrators with the movement in Philadelphia marched through the streets after being evicted from their site. Over 40 protesters were arrested after refusing to clear a street several blocks northeast of City Hall, said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey. They were lined up in cuffs and loaded on to buses by officers. Six others were arrested earlier after remaining on a street that police tried to clear.

"The police officers who were involved in this operation were hand-picked for this assignment," Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said. "They're highly trained and disciplined and showed a tremendous amount of restraint and professionalism in carrying out this morning's operation."

Nutter said the eviction had been planned for several weeks and went off without largely without problems.

Ramsey said he would have preferred to evict the protesters without making arrests, but some refused orders to clear the street and had to be taken into custody. Three officers had minor injuries. One protester was injured when a police horse stepped on her foot, Nutter said.

The Philadelphia protesters were ordered to clear their encampment in part because a $50 million renovation project was due to start at the City Hall plaza this fall.

"Dilworth Plaza was designated as a construction site," Ramsey said. "They had to vacate. They knew that from the very beginning."

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa raised public safety and health concerns in announcing plans for the eviction last week, while Philadelphia officials said protesters must clear their site to make room for a $50 million renovation project.

Continued at http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/la-police-raid-occupy-camp-city-hall-15053635

 

It was great to hear that, in this economic downturn, my son had been offered a job.

"That's great news boy" I said "what are you going to do?"

"Borrow a tenner off you dad and go back and see her"

Fucking hearing aid. ...

 

From other articles, some police wore biohazard suits as they cleared "Solidarity Park."

 

I thought Villaraigosa was in full support of them staying for as long as they want. Maybe he got the screws applied from somewhere in DC like the other city mayors to try to get it out of the news before 2012?

I hope they stay around and are still in our (and the media's) face until the election. I hope they are able to remind America of the type of behavior O and the Princess embrace, and weighs on their necks like an anchor.

 

Can “an occupation movement survive if it no longer occupies a space?”

I seriously doubt it, said L. Gordon Crovitz in The Wall Street Journal. From Oakland, Calif., to Portland, Ore., to New York City, this so-called movement of entitled and sometimes violent young people “has worn out the patience of even the most liberal cities.” Local residents and businesses have wearied of the tent cities and their all-night drumming, people defecating into buckets, drug use, and crime. Free speech is one thing; sleeping in parks and downtowns is another, and defying the law and police is yet another. If these protesters can’t get attention without disrupting law-abiding citizens, “their message must not be very persuasive.”
http://cirklenews.com/?p=4187

 

They are supposed to be planning a disruption of the Rose Parade on January 1st. And, there is supposed to be some sort of a march in the spring. I hope they are carrying "Re-Elect Obama" signs by then. If the Republicans were smart they would print up some Obama signs for them and hand them out.

 

S 1867

We are fucked.....