Denver police in riot gear forced stubborn protesters out of Civic Center park Saturday evening, tearing down illegally pitched tents.
A cloud of smoke rose — not from tear gas, but from wood smoke as the protesters’ cooking fire was extinguished.
Seventeen people were arrested, according to Sonny Jackson, spokesman for the Denver Police Department. Five of those arrests were made on the 16th Street Mall, where some protesters headed after the encampment was cleared.
The confrontation came about five hours after Occupy Denver demonstrators marched through downtown for the sixth straight Saturday.
Beginning Thursday night, officers have been speaking with protesters at Civic Center, many of whom have been camping overnight, warning them about ordinances against blocking sidewalks with personal property. Thursday night, about 25 protesters voluntarily left.
Several of the items blocking the sidewalk were in the food area, including a grill in which protesters burned large pieces of wood.
About 4:30 p.m. Saturday, officers invited two protesters to speak with them at a command post near Lincoln and East 14th Avenue. Police told the protesters they needed to remove anything that was blocking the sidewalk.
At least half the protesters then started to leave Lincoln Park and Civic Center, but many voted to stay, and some of them blocked Broadway about 5:15 p.m.
Police moved quickly to clear Broadway. At 5:30 p.m., Broadway was closed by police between Colfax and 14th avenues.
A city garbage truck pulled up as some protesters continued to chant anti-police slogans: “You look stupid in your helmets and with your clubs. . . . This a peaceful assembly — no weapons allowed.”
Any property that looks like it belongs to someone, such as furniture, backpacks or sleeping bags, will be logged by police and will eventually become available for people to claim, Jackson said. Trash will be discarded.
“This isn’t safe and, it’s not sanitary,” Jackson said as he pointed to a pile of blankets and boxes with a stream of stale food and sticky liquid running underneath it.
From now on, officers will strictly enforce the ordinance and remove any items that block the sidewalk.
People are still allowed to sleep on the sidewalk but they are “not allowed to set up homestead,” Jackson said.
At 6 p.m., several dozen protesters crossed East Colfax Avenue, headed north toward the 16th Street Mall.
Once there, they began to disperse into smaller groups, one of which moved to the intersection of Colfax Avenue and Broadway, where protesters tried to block traffic.
