[http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-11-21/news/30427524_1_protesters-police-officers-new-camp]
San Francisco and Oakland authorities moved to take greater control of the Occupy protests Sunday, raiding an offshoot of the San Francisco encampment and clearing a new camp in a vacant lot in Oakland.
In San Francisco, protesters at Justin Herman Plaza responded by temporarily shutting down Market Street on Sunday evening, rallying raucously and listening to speeches by progressive politicians pledging their support.
The Oakland response was quieter, as protesters at the last remaining camp at Snow Park said they would probably leave rather than dig in if police began a rumored raid.
"I'm not going to do anyone any good in jail," shrugged Randy Peppers, 31, who was already packed to leave Snow Park if police arrived.
The day's events began unfolding at 1 a.m. Sunday when San Francisco police officers evicted demonstrators from their encampment outside the Federal Reserve Bank at 101 Market St.
Six protesters were arrested for interfering with the effort, and Department of Public Works crews removed about a dozen tents, said Officer Albie Esparza.
'Zero tolerance' -
"There's zero tolerance for that site - we're not going to have anyone establish any camps there, period," he said.
The larger encampment at Justin Herman Plaza remained in place Sunday night. At about 4:40 p.m., a group of more than 100 protesters marched from there to the Federal Reserve to protest the early-morning raid and what some described as rough treatment by the police officers, including pushing protesters to the ground even though they weren't resisting arrest.
"It was very confusing," said Ethan Mackey, a San Francisco resident who was camping outside the Federal Reserve but avoided arrest Sunday. "It seemed like half the cops were saying, 'I really don't want to be here doing this.' And the other half of the cops were loving slamming nerds."
Once the protesters reached the Federal Reserve on Sunday, they began dismantling the metal barriers around the building and throwing them into the street. The protest moved from the sidewalk into the middle of Market Street, and more than two dozen police in riot gear quickly arrived to stop traffic beginning at Drumm Street.
For the next several hours, protesters sang songs and chanted "Whose streets? Our streets!" Several elected officials addressed the crowd, including San Francisco Supervisors Eric Mar and David Campos and Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco.
"You are extremely brave and courageous," Mar told the crowd. "No matter what they use against us ... we will fight back, and we will support you at the Board of Supervisors."
Most of those from the encampment at 101 Market quickly reassembled at Justin Herman Plaza after the raid. They vowed to continue protesting.
Prince Jerrick Falling-Darling, who moved from the cleared camp to Justin Herman after the raid, said the Justin Herman campers would be more resistant to police efforts to disrupt it than his group had been.
"This group is a lot rowdier than ours," he said. "This one isn't going down without a fight."
Oakland's largest camp, at Frank Ogawa Plaza, was raided in the predawn hours last Monday, and protesters on Saturday night defied city orders by tearing down a chain-link fence and setting up a new camp in a vacant lot next to the Fox Theater in the Uptown neighborhood.
Quiet eviction -
At 8 a.m. Sunday, dozens of police officers in riot gear lined up outside the new encampment and told protesters to clear out. Demonstrators complied, scrambling to haul their possessions to sidewalks as the officers inched forward.
There were no arrests or injuries, police said, in contrast to previous demonstrations that had turned into violent clashes between protesters and officers.
Mayor Jean Quan's office said last Thursday that no new encampments would be allowed. She reiterated that pledge after the police action Sunday.
"Oakland ... supports upholding free speech and peaceful forms of expression, but the cost of the encampments is growing and putting a strain on our already fragile resources," Quan said in a statement.
Michael Phillips, 53, has lived near the Uptown lot for the past month. Formerly homeless, he said he supports the Occupy movement but understood why the police took action.
"I understand people are tired of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, but you got to respect that people live here too," he said Sunday.
About 100 protesters gathered for a general assembly meeting at Frank Ogawa Plaza in front of Oakland's City Hall on Sunday evening - a smaller turnout than normal - and discussed a plan to attempt to shut down the port Dec. 12. There was very little discussion of establishing another encampment.
Some Oakland protesters seemed disillusioned. Cyd Chrystos, 55, of Oakland said she's seen the tone of the movement change over the last week since the original camp was shut down.
"It's like 'Days of our Lives,' the hippie version," she said at Frank Ogawa Plaza, referring to protest organizers arguing with each other and lacking a focus. "This week was just extremely virulent."
But others said the movement has legs.
"It's like a whack-a-mole," said James Armstrong, 42, a Snow Park camper who came to Oakland from Redding. "We'll just pop up somewhere else."
A protester signals others to return to Frank Ogawa Plaza.
Credit: Jason Henry / Special to The Chronicle
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