Police Raid Occupy Denver After Order by Governor

By Sara Burnett, Weston Gentry and Kieran Nicholson, Denver Post

14 October 11

We know the intent of the arrests was to quell the protests. The Police moved in after the Governor signed an executive order. One thing that struck me however were the charges: "suspicion of unlawful conduct on public land." Really? In America one can be arrested for suspicion? It's worse than I thought. SMG/RSN

fter 23 people were arrested at the Occupy Denver camp in front of the Colorado Capitol this morning, things were much calmer along Broadway through lunch.

Fewer than 30 people stood holding signs on the east side of Broadway, encouraging drivers to honk in support. "Join Us," one sign said.

About a dozen state trooper monitored the protesters.

Behind them, maintenance workers washed down the park - which is closed - with a hose.

The only structure left was a cardboard box on the sidewalk being used as a table for donuts, water and other refreshments.

The scene was altogether different early this morning when the Colorado State Patrol said 23 people were arrested as police in riot gear moved into the camp to dismantle tents and remove debris.

The initial order to disperse came shortly before 3 a.m., but arrests weren't made until after 6 a.m.

Cpt. Jeff Goodwin of the Colorado State Patrol said troopers arrested 21 people for suspicion of unlawful conduct on public land. He said that number could increase later today.

Two others were arrested by Denver police, Goodwin said. One of whom was arrested for simple assault, the other was arrested for impeding traffic.

No injuries were reported and no names were immediately released.

Around 6:25 this morning, police marched lock-step through the camp, moving protesters into the street.

"The whole world is watching," chanted some protesters.

A core group of about 25 people remained around a makeshift structure that served as the camp's kitchen and medical tent, dubbed by protesters the "thunderdome."

Some of the core protesters who refused to leave were physically lifted by police, moved out of the immediate area and then allowed to disperse on their own.

"I don't know why I'm being detained," said Patricia Hughes, a nurse, as she was dragged from the area on her knees.

Once police reached the perimeter they had established, they allowed Hughes to leave on her own.

The protesters who would not leave were isolated by police, read their Miranda rights, restrained with plastic ties and then taken into custody.

Vince Lopez, 24, was among the protesters who had his Miranda rights read to him.

His wife, Chelsea Champ-Lopez, 22, said they are college students and have been there for days. She was crying as they took her husband into custody.

Through her tears, Champ-Lopez said she would "stay here until I find out what's going on with my husband."

She said it has been peaceful for days and they had been thankful when police would come by, but that all changed early this morning.

By 7 a.m., only about a half dozen protesters remained.

By 7:30, officials had dismantled the "thunderdome."

Chris, a 21-year-old student from Naropa University in Boulder who refused to give his last name, was among the final protesters. He said police gave him the option to leave or be arrested. He decided to leave.

"I don't want to pay a fine to finance more billy-clubs and tear gas to be used to repress my brothers and sisters," Chris said.

Casey Childers, a 27-year-old student from the University of Colorado at Denver, said she was kicked off a median in the middle of Colfax where she was holding a sign with a blue peace sign on it.

"They showed up in full riot gear and all we have are signs and slogans," Childers said. "I'm very concerned we are not able to protest peacefully and freely."

As lines of officers in riot gear stepped up onto the sidewalk on the west side of Broadway, many stood toe-to-toe with protesters who screamed profanity at them.

Peter Ericson, 27, of Douglas County, tried to calm protesters and encouraged them not to scream.

"Police are part of the 99 percent," Ericson said.

Tensions eased when officers broke their lines and moved across Broadway. After two orange CDOT trucks, filled with remnants of the camp drove off, officers lined up on the edges of Lincoln Park, leaving the sidewalk open.

Protesters crossed Broadway and lined up along the sidewalk on the west side of the park. Some danced as they crossed the street, others screamed "We won!"

People walking down the street offered encouragement, cars continued to honk horns as they passed.

Initially, a kind of calm standoff formed, with Colorado State Patrol officers and Denver police inching through the park and surrounding streets, usually in groups of a dozen or more, as protesters yelled at them, waved signs and at times stood or sat in the street surrounding police vehicles.

Police closed the area to cars and buses but Broadway was reopened about 7:20.

By 8:25 a.m., protestors had gathered back on the east side of Broadway, chanting and holding signs, under a close, watchful eye of police in riot gear.

"Whose street? Our street," chanted the protesters.

One held a sign that read "Jail Wall Street Crooks."

Officers gathered all of the salvageable belongings left behind at the camp and put them into one truck, while all of the garbage was put into a second CDOT truck.

The protesters - who were told Thursday afternoon they had to leave the park by 11 p.m. - had hoped that if they held their ground until 5 a.m., when the park typically reopens, they would be able to resume their protest.

But the Colorado State Patrol announced this morning that the park had been closed indefinitely, by executive order.

Around 5 a.m., police also announced that the group had 30 minutes to remove personal belongings and makeshift structures they have built.

Many protesters began packing upon hearing the news, saying they were moving gear to "safehouses" so they could rebuild either at the same place or elsewhere.

The Occupy Denver movement has mirrored similar movements across the country that started with New York City's Occupy Wall Street, which protesters say is a response to frustration over what they view as the country's inequitable financial system.

There have been no reports of Occupy camps being forcibly evicted in other cities, but more than 100 people were arrested this week when they tried to expand Occupy Boston.

In Denver, the encampment at its height had about 70 tents, a kitchen with free food, library, school, worship tent, security detail and nurses station.

On Thursday, Gov. John Hickenlooper held an 11:30 a.m. news conference, along with Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, demanding the protesters disperse by 11 p.m. or face arrest for violating state laws that forbid camping on those grounds.

Speaking at a 9:30 p.m. news conference forced indoors by chants and a crowd that surged onto the Capitol steps, State Patrol Chief James Wolfinbarger said that troopers could take action including issuing citations or making arrests between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.

"We want people to go home," Wolfinbarger told a small group of media, his voice sometimes drowned out by people outside pounding on the Capitol doors and yelling. "We want this to end well so people can come back tomorrow and continue."

He also expressed concern that the original Occupy Denver protest has been "hijacked" by people whose goal is civil disobedience.

"The concern is this group that is out there in large part is not representative of the group out there at the start," Wolfinbarger said.

Authorities didn't appear at the park until approximately 2:40 a.m., when a State Patrol captain drove an SUV to the corner of Lincoln and 14th Avenue and announced via loudspeaker that the crowd had until 3:15 to disperse.

As he repeated the warning several times over the next 40 minutes, crowds formed around the SUV, yelling at police to let the peaceful gathering continue.

Around 3:15 a.m. rows of squad cars parked on Lincoln and Colfax, and officers began walking into the park. Others stood on Broadway. Dump trucks were brought in for tents and other trash that authorities picked up and threw away.