Today the Portland Occupy Movement held a rally and parade and marched to a new park to Occupy. Tents and services were set up and a good time was had by all. Those that set up tents received citations for camping in a public park and that was as far as the police would go. Word now is that police are mobilizing forces and equipment to de-occupy the encampment.
Come on down to Shemanski Park on Park Avenue between Salmon and Main Streets for our Reoccufest. The kitchen is open. There’s live music on stage. I think I even saw a Christmas Tree light up.
Bring love.
Bring tents.
Bring sleeping bags.
Bring snacks.
Letter Delivered to the Mayor’s Office and Commissioner Nick Fish
December 2nd, 2011
To Sam Adams, Mike Reese, and Nick Fish:
On December 3rd, Occupy Portland will once again occupy a public space. We have decided to do this after carefully considering many of the concerns expressed about our previous encampment, the sustainability of the space and the occupation, the environmental impact of our stay, the security concerns some have voiced, and the disruptions that may be caused to those around the park.
We do this in solidarity with Occupy movements around this country and this planet because we have the right to peacefully assemble on public property and because we have grievances with a variety of injustices in our society that have not been redressed. The proposal of this occupation is simple:
We will only occupy this park for two weeks;
We will clean up, for as long as it is necessary, to remove all litter, rake and till the ground, and replant any of the park’s plant life that requires such action under the direction of the Parks Commissioner and Portland Parks & Recreation;
We will have a group of volunteers ready to do this and will dedicate a portion (at our discretion) of any donations received by Occupy Portland toward the materials necessary to accomplish this end;
We will constantly ensure that our actions are having the smallest impact possible upon the public space, for example by using mesh tubing to ensure no damage is done to trees by any ropes which are fixed, using canopy tents instead of tarps where possible, and trying to contain much of the camp to brick or paved areas where available;
Although we attempt to make the space and the community as inclusive as possible, we will encourage a security culture in the space by rigorously keeping our protest in compliance with the established Code of Conduct which was passed by the Occupy Portland General Assembly earlier this fall, and employing an idea promoted by Gandhi known as “Shanti Sena”, or “Peace Army”, where anyone that hears this call is directed to immediately assist the person making the call with whatever issue has arisen.
Occupy Portland would like to create a space that works for all, and learning from the experiences of our first camp, we hope to see in what ways the City believes these things can best be accomplished. While we are hoping to address concerns the City may have, we categorically reject the idea that the dissolution of our encampment is an answer to any of these issues, and implore both the City of Portland and the Portland Police to be forthright, honest and measured in their interactions and expression with the public.
The ideas which the City is concerned about are solvable, and we hope to see our public officials engage in actions which attempt to solve them instead of simply shoving them aside.
Signed,
Occupy Portland
8:42 PM PT: From Twitter:
30 minutes early! Over PA: "By order of Portland Parks Department the park is now closed." Cops ready to swarm.
Cops announcing "emergency order" that closes park early. Ordering all to vacate. Most are staying
portland closes park early on "emergency order." Police say leave or arrest. What emergency?
Riot cops at sw park and main. They are moving in, declaring emergency closure. Come help us!
Portland Police Bureau
1111 S.W. 2nd Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97204
Chief Michael Reese [Biography]
Chief's Office Phone, 503-823-0000
Chief's Office Fax, 503-823-0342
Chief's Office Email, Online Form
Sam Adams, Mayor
Commissioner of Finance and Administration
City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 340, 97204
Phone: (503) 823-4120
E-mail: Samadams@portlandoregon.gov
8:54 PM PT: From Twitter:
Surrounded by riot cops, I got violently shoved by one I them
Violent force meets peaceful assembly, welcome to the new america: where money and power are THE truth
9:02 PM PT: To those that think Occupy is just about tents. Here is one of the many videos Occupy Portland has produced.
9:11 PM PT: Additional livestream:
Free live streaming by Ustream
9:30 PM PT: Eww this is not good.
Riot cop clotheslined 2 bicyclists on Broadway & Main. 1 faceplanted on cement. They were not there to protest. Aaron Schmautz Badge # 965
We have bicyclists everywhere in Portland at all hours. apparently these passers by were in the wrong place for this cop.
10:08 PM PT: Happy Holidays Mr.Mayor. From: Occupy PDX tree carried from recently evicted Occupy camp to City Hall.
10:14 PM PT: From the organizational meeting at Waterfront Park earlier today:
10:17 PM PT: Video of prior to eviction:
It will take up to three days for most of the videos to come out of this event.
10:18 PM PT:
Mike Abbaté Director of Portland city parks 1-503-491-8295 Ask him why he is repressing free speech. Burn this phone line up please #opdx
10:19 PM PT:
ppd pursuing march leaving city hall, going down 4th toward china town
10:22 PM PT: I love #OPDX! Livestreamer says "Congrats Mayor. Congrats OPD. We are no longer in the park" as the crowd spills out into the actual streets
10:23 PM PT: From my daughter with a birds eye view of the march in her 10th floor apartment:
Someone lit fireworks near the bottom of the street under my window and they shot up to the height of my open window and exploded 10 or so feet from me. Scared the hell out of me.
10:43 PM PT: Occupy PDX is coming to me I'm going out for a bit to see what I can see. I will be back soon.
11:31 PM PT: Back from my walk down Burnside and back up Oak. No sign of protesters except for an overly urgent police car going somewhere. I got a photo of police stationed at 5th and Oak but no activity. I will be uploading the photo shortly.
11:52 PM PT: Police stationed at Oak and 5th street in downtown Portland, Oregon after evicting Occupiers.
Sun Dec 04, 2011 at 12:07 AM PT: From Twitter:
-PORTLAND- Commander ordered officers to return to central for now and that he would "explain when they get there."
Sun Dec 04, 2011 at 12:14 AM PT: I'm getting sleepy and that is rare enough for me. I will try and sleep but that will be determined by my insomnia. I will update with video in the morning. Or create a new post depending on many factors.