Excerpt: "Police raided the Occupy SF camp early today, arresting 70 campers and protesters at Justin Herman Plaza and clearing out the two-month-old encampment, authorities said. Officers, sheriff's deputies, firefighters and public works crews converged on the camp at the foot of Market Street at about 1 a.m. today and gave protesters five minutes to clear out ... Most did, but 30 Occupiers did not, and another 40 were arrested when they blocked Market Street in protest. The 70 were arrested on suspicion of illegal lodging and camping in a public park."
Police and Occupy SF protesters square off in downtown San Francisco, 11/25/11. (photo: Far Out City/flickr)
07 December 11
olice raided the Occupy SF camp early today, arresting 70 campers and protesters at Justin Herman Plaza and clearing out the two-month-old encampment, authorities said.
Officers, sheriff's deputies, firefighters and public works crews converged on the camp at the foot of Market Street at about 1 a.m. today and gave protesters five minutes to clear out, said Officer Albie Esparza, a San Francisco police spokesman.
Most did, but 30 Occupiers did not, and another 40 were arrested when they blocked Market Street in protest, Esparza said.
The 70 were arrested on suspicion of illegal lodging and camping in a public park, Esparza said.
Two were arrested for felony assault on a police officer after they picked up and threw a metal chair at an officer, hitting him in his face shield and causing minor injuries that did not require hospitalization, Esparza said.
Kristopher Sullivan, 31, a camper, said most of the Occupiers didn't have time to retrieve their personal belongings, and police and protesters clashed for a bit. He pledged to reoccupy the camp and said a general strike was planned this week.
Public works crews worked in the frigid air before dawn this morning, power-washing the park while officers with riot helmets looked on. About two dozen protesters stood on the plaza watching it get cleaned.
Police Chief Greg Suhr said talks with the camp residents had broken down, forcing police to move in. He said a new crew of campers had taken over the place, and the individuals that officials had been working with were no longer there.
"Negotiations had broken down," Suhr said. "We weren't getting our e-mails returned."
Suhr told reporters, "Most of the people in this neighborhood are part of the 99 percent, and they needed some relief. So this part of the 99 percent removed that part of the 99 percent to give the other part of the 99 percent some relief."
On Thursday, tensions had surged up and down in the camp when police moved in but then backed off, leaving the camp sharply divided over whether it should move to a different location. The encampment at the plaza had been in place for about two months.
