Portland Parks Fenced And Quiet After Day Of Protests, Arrests

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Update Monday, 6:30 a.m.:

Rebecca Roberts Galloway / OPB

Caution tape across fence at Occupy park.

Monday morning, two parks occupied by protesters for more than five weeks were empty, lit by rented lights powered by generators and groups of police gathered nearby.

Some evidence of the protest remained on the sites, a sweater, a cardboard sign.

But except for television news trucks, commuters and police, the area was essentially empty this morning.

The demeanor of the police was lighter Monday, with Sunday's confrontations behind them.

They stood in small groups around the two parks, drinking coffee and talking.

OPB's Kristian Foden-Vencil says about a dozen protesters gathered at City Hall nearby.

"There are more police than protesters," Foden-Vencil reported live just before 7 a.m.

Foden-Vencil said a few protesters remained and had spent the night wandering the streets.

They planned to meet later today.

Foden-Vencil said this morning in response to a question by Geoff Norcross about what will happen today:

"There are a lot of TV crews and people like myself, but my guess is nothing is going to happen until they come together at 7 p.m. tonight."

He said some were depressed by the closures. "There is definitely a feeling of 'well, is that it?'" he said. "It is really hard to know," he said. Foden-Vencil said, "It is really hard to know what will happen, but there is some pent-up frustration there."

Though police succeeded in clearing two Portland parks after a long standoff Sunday, protests continued late into the night and will likely continue into the early morning hours Monday.

There was a report late Sunday that some protesters were returning to Chapman Square after hours spent discussing next moves while meeting at other downtown locations.

OPB Radio will have reports Monday morning.

Oregonian: Occupy Portland: Mayor Sam Adams watches, waits and exhales as downtown squares are cleared

Occupy Portland Website: http://occupyportland.org/

Portland Police Website: http://www.portlandonline.com/police/

After police successfully closed Chapman and Lownsdale Squares, Occupy Portland protesters gathered at Pioneer Courthouse Square on Sunday evening and considered their next steps. The group discussed what to do for about two hours before disbanding, promising to gather again.

Police pushed ahead Sunday morning to clear two parks after a mostly peaceful night of protests. Police reports say that more than 300 officers assisted with enforcement operations, including several from outside agencies. As of early Sunday evening, police say that more than 50 arrests have been made, mostly of people who refused to leave Chapman Square.

6:30 p.m.: General Assembly is still deliberating, considering alternate parks and locations around to city to occupy.

5:40 p.m.: Live on Think Out Loud, Sgt. Pete Simpson says, "Our focus today was really to get Lownsdale and Chapman Squares cleared of debris and any people and we were successful at that. The parks are fenced in, and debris is cleared, and the streets are largely re-opened."

5:15 p.m Protesters gather in General Assembly, now at Pioneer Counrthouse Square. They discuss what to do and where to go. April Baer estimates that 500 people fill the square.

Rebecca Roberts Galloway / OPB

Caution tape across fence at Occupy park.

4:57 p.m.: April Baer reports that Portland police interrupted a GA vote and were met with boos. The group was told to disperse. A mass exodus was underway to Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Baer said it appeared the rest of the #opdx protesters were joined the group there.

4:46 p.m.:

Baer reports: The four locations on the table are Pioneer Courthouse Square, PSU, Tom McCall Waterfront Park, and Washington High School.

4:38 p.m.:

The General Assembly has voted to move the group to a new location. They are still working on where that would be, OPB's April Baer reported.

Occupy Portland

At 3:13 p.m., The Oregonian reported that officers from Salem and Vancouver had arrived to help officers.

2:46 p.m.: Mayor Sam Adams told Think Out Loud the arrests made so far Sunday had been relatively peaceful. He and Chief Mike Reese had a meeting today to discuss the day's events.

"Given the task, I think things went well compared to other occupies around the word. I think this one was relatively peaceful. I think the police were very professional," Adams said.

"Today was incredibly peaceful and I hope it ends up peaceful," he said just before 3 p.m.

"This doesn't end the movement. I hope the movement lives on," Adams said.

"We still have reforms to get done," he explained, saying Wall Street reforms were much needed.

"No group of people are all going to agree on anything ... there are moments of stress, but look around the country," Adams told David Miller.

Updated 2:30 p.m.:

April Baer told Think Out Loud's David Miller that not much had changed by 2:37 p.m. since 2 p.m., but that the street seemed to be "more full."

Several streets remained closed, she said.

Baer said it appeared as though a steam shovel or other heavy equipment was being used to clean up one of the parks by city workers.

"I think there is definitely a sense of folks not wanting to not lose too much ground on their watch," she said.

"It may be that some of the numbers we are seeing is some of the folks that had a long night and are returning," Baer explained.

Storify captures reaction to Sunday's events.

Callers to OPB's Think Out Loud at 2 p.m. said they were concerned about the changing tenor of the standoff.

1:55: Police are working to clear tents and debris from both squares as the police line holds back the protesters.

1:45: The police chief says that about fifteen people have been arrested.

1:30 p.m.: Police again advance into the crowd. Protesters have almost completely been cleared out of the intersection at 4th and Main.

1:15 p.m.: A group of about 50 were peeling off for the square but at least 100 remained, Baer said.

1:10 p.m.: The corner of Fourth and Main is in an uneasy standoff.

Proposal again has been floated to move to Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Crowd seems to be inching west.

12:58:

April Baer: Protesters rounding upa phalanx of bikes, trying to ride around and give police "something else to focus on," according to one rider.

Parks closed and quiet Monday.

Rebecca Roberts Galloway / OPB

Officers have moved protesters off Chapman Square, one slow step at a time. Fourth Ave. is filled with people. Police repeating recorded warning.

There is some talk in the crowd, Baer says, about moving to the Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Police are reopening Fourth Ave. soon.

12:54:

OPB's April Baer says as Portland police have moved into the crowd at Occupy Portland after warning them about possible use of "chemical agents."

Update 12:41:

OPB's April Baer says as the crowd at Occupy Portland chants "we are peaceful people," police tell them to leave or risk exposure to chemical agents.

12:31:

Baer reported:

Police have cleared Lownsdale Square. General Assembly at Champman. Ordering crowd to leave via loudspeaker.

Police taking formation to clear the park.

Crowd declines to move. Fists raised in solidarity.

Crowd chants "we are peaceful people." Police telling crowed to leave or risk exposure to chemical agents.

Police make contact with the crowd.

Update 11:45 a.m.: According to the Oregonian, police have now cleared two downtown parks of Occupy Portland protesters.

They encountered almost no resistance, according to the report.

After a long and mostly peaceful night, crews began dismantling the camps at about 11:30 a.m., according to the newspaper's website.

Police took advantage of a much thinned-out crowd Sunday morning and some protesters stood stunned while the camps were dismantled, the report said.

OPB will have updates later today on air and online.

Update: By 7:30 a.m. Sunday the streets were cleared and protesters were once again staying within Chapman Square. Mayor Sam Adams said that the park closure would be enforced at some point, but that his priority would be to keep interactions peaceful.

Only one arrest was made overnight.

Amanda Peacher / OPB

This Portland protester was prepared for tear gas. The Portland police did not use chemical agents in the protest.

OPB reporters Kristian Foden-Vencil and Amanda Peacher tweeted from the scene @OPBNews.

On its website, the Occupy Portland group was asking supporters to attend a Monday Portland City Council meeting and to contact city leaders.

The site was promoting a live video feed of events and recent tweets.

Protesters, police, onlookers and the media all remained at the scene through the night and into the morning hours.

Flickr: Kristian Foden-Vencil's photos

Dozens of anti-Wall Street protesters are defying a city order to abandon their encampment in two adjacent Portland parks.

Kayla Anchell / OPB

Occupy Portland supporters gather at Pioneer Courthouse Square to plan their next move.

The Occupy movement faced a midnight deadline Saturday to break camp or face possible arrest, but nearly a half hour after that an estimated 200 remained.

Up to 1,000 supports were nearby but many of them moved from the parks to sidewalks, where it is legal to congregate.

Clusters of police with nightsticks and helmets are positioned on area corners but there are no signs of any action directed toward the campers.

Earlier in the day, the demonstrators dismantled large sections of their encampment, about 100 tents are still standing.