SAN FRANCISCO<\/strong> — San Francisco police and public works crews dismantled a Financial District encampment early Thursday that had been occupied for nearly a week by activists protesting economic\u00a0inequality.<\/p>\n Protesters with the group Occupy SF said about 80 officers wearing riot helmets confronted 200 campers and their supporters at about 12:45 a.m. The officers guarded city workers who removed tents, lean-tos, sleeping bags and other belongings from outside the Federal Reserve Bank<\/a> building at 101 Market St. near Main\u00a0Street.<\/p>\n One protester was arrested for allegedly assaulting an\u00a0officer.<\/p>\n Police said that only one squad of fewer than 20 officers had been on the scene to help public works crews remove nine truckloads of tents, wood pallets and\u00a0trash.<\/p>\n The camp was taken down hours after several hundred people marched through the Financial District in an Occupy SF-organized protest. The group formed in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street<\/a> movement, which has been staging protests in New York over what it calls corporate greed and the excessive concentration of wealth and power among 1 percent of the nation’s\u00a0population.<\/p>\n The Occupy SF camp formed outside the Federal Reserve Bank a week ago Thursday. By Wednesday it had grown to about 50\u00a0people.<\/p>\n At around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, police handed a notice to Occupy SF protesters that although the city and Police Department “celebrate and protect” free speech and the right to assemble, their encampment violated several city laws. They included a ban on having an open flame on a street or sidewalk, creating a public nuisance, disorderly conduct in lodging and serving food without a\u00a0permit.<\/p>\n Protesters began taking down tents and removing belongings, activists said Thursday, but also posted the police notice online. More than 100 supporters subsequently arrived at the\u00a0encampment.<\/p>\n At 12:45 a.m., Department of Public Works<\/a> employees arrived in trucks and began removing campers’ possessions as police stood\u00a0guard.<\/p>\n “They took everything,” said one protester, who asked to be identified only as Leslie M.<\/a> “They said if we showed an effort that we were removing our stuff and taking down our tents, it would be\u00a0OK.”<\/p>\n About 50 protesters stood in front of one truck to try to prevent it from leaving, activists said. The trucks took an alternate route and drove away on Main\u00a0Street.<\/p>\n Police arrested Kevin Hernandez<\/a>, 26, for allegedly punching and threatening an officer and resisting arrest, said Officer Albie Esparza<\/a>, a department\u00a0spokesman.<\/p>\n Several protesters said the officers had used excessive force in removing the\u00a0camp.<\/p>\n Esparza said he had received no complaints of excessive force. He said police had broken up the camp not to damage the movement, but because it was posing a public safety\u00a0risk.<\/p>\n Activists said they tried moving on to Justin Herman Plaza<\/a> on Thursday, but that police told them they could not. They said they would return to the Federal Reserve Bank to spend the night in sleeping\u00a0bags.<\/p>\n Police fenced off the entrance of the building and stood\u00a0guard.<\/p>\n Mayor Ed Lee<\/a> issued a statement saying he would work with police to safeguard protesters’ free speech rights while also keeping sidewalks and streets\u00a0clear.<\/p>\n Supervisor John Avalos<\/a> said he was at the camp Wednesday night after police served notice, but left shortly before city crews moved\u00a0in.<\/p>\n “With our unemployment rate nearing 10 percent, we have a responsibility to be a sanctuary for the 99 percent,” Avalos said. “Instead, last night we witnessed that 99 percent being detained, arrested and intimidated with\u00a0force.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Vivian Ho, SF Chronicle – Thursday, October 6, 2011 SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco police and public works crews dismantled a Financial District encampment early Thursday that had been occupied for nearly a week by activists protesting economic\u00a0inequality. Protesters with … Continue reading Weeklong\u00a0encampment<\/h3>\n
Tried to stop\u00a0truck<\/h3>\n
Avalos at the\u00a0camp<\/h3>\n