Several days after Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced plans to evict Occupy L.A. protesters from City Hall Park, the Los Angeles Police Department moved in late last night to evict the protesters and tear down their encampment. At about 11 p.m., local television news channels aired pictures of LAPD officers deploying and setting up a perimeter. At around midnight, the LAPD issued a dispersal order to the protesters by loudspeaker from one of their squad cars. Several minutes later, hundreds of LAPD officers, in riot gear and with zip-tie handcuffs, moved in to clear out the protesters who refused to leave voluntarily.
A number of Occupy L.A. protesters who were interviewed last night asserted that, after two months of demonstrating, they would peacefully resist eviction from their encampment. Some protesters moved their tents from City Hall Park to nearby sidewalks, in an apparent attempt to comply technically with the park closure without abandoning their Occupy L.A. protest.
Earlier, both Mayor Villaraigosa and LAPD spokesmen stated that they had been working with the protesters to make sure that things remained peaceful. Indeed, the Mayor’s eviction announcement last Friday was a study in soft-pedaling and euphemism, even praising the protesters for their “commitment to social justice”.
The LAPD issued their first dispersal order pursuant to Section 409 of the California Penal Code, which prohibits people from remaining at “any riot, rout, or unlawful assembly, after the same has been lawfully warned to disperse”. The LAPD declared an “unlawful assembly” at the protest scene, possibly because, pursuant to Mayor Villaraigosa’s instructions last Friday, Los Angeles officials had closed City Hall Park as of 12:01 a.m. this past Monday. Many of the protesters remained in the area, linking arms and chanting slogans such as “we are the 99 percent.” Once protester told a television interviewer: “This is my First Amendment right.” The LAPD also required members of the media to pull back behind the police perimeter.
A short time later, an LAPD officer repeated the dispersal order, warning protesters that they could be subject to arrest. Subsequently, several dozen SWAT officers jogged into the area. Also visible on the scene were officials with the Los Angeles Fire Department, as well as officers dressed in white hazmat-type suits who were tasked with the removal of the tents.
Shortly before 1 a.m., the LAPD moved the Occupy L.A. protesters out of City Hall Park, and began dismantling the protesters’ tents. The police then began arresting non-complying protesters, at least one of whom screamed and pleaded with the LAPD not to hurt her.
At around 1 a.m., Mayor Villaraigosa released a statement, saying “we have taken a measured approach to enforcing the park closure”. The Mayor’s statement indicated that protesters had been given the opportunity to leave voluntarily, and added that “a First Amendment area” would remain open for the protesters to make their case.
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In its early stages at least, the LAPD eviction of the Occupy L.A. protesters was taking place very methodically. The LAPD tried to project a restrained image, perhaps cognizant of recent incidents, such as the University of California, Davis pepper spraying of peacefully seated protesters, which put the police in a very unfavorable light. At the same time, an apparent goal of the LAPD and Los Angeles officials was to complete their eviction and clear the area before the Wednesday morning rush hour in this busy part of the city. Indeed, Mayor Villaraigosa is scheduled to leave this Saturday for a trade mission to China, Japan, and South Korea. Some people speculated that the Mayor wanted to clear out the Occupy L.A. protest before leaving on his trip. In 2007, Mayor Villaraigosa had to cut short a trip to El Salvador and Mexico after the LAPD beat demonstrators during a May Day immigrant-rights rally in L.A.’s MacArthur Park.
© 2011 Matthew Emmer -- All Rights Reserved
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