By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington: Occupy activists confronted the police in several US cities over the weekend as the authorities made scores of arrests in attempts to clear public spaces, a few of them occupied for nearly two months.
In yet another tense showdown late Sunday afternoon in Portland, Oregon, police in riot gear and holding batons, lined up for hours along a city street, face-to-face with activists who refused to clear the road and go onto the sidewalk.
This confrontation came hours after more than a dozen people were arrested as authorities cleared Chapman Square, the last city park where protesters had gathered, CNN reported citing a police spokesman.
In Denver, Colorado, two police officers were injured and two Occupy activists were arrested late Sunday afternoon when protesters became upset as police began removing a food table from a park, some of them surrounding a police car, police said.
What started as the Occupy Wall Street movement against corporate greed in New York Sep 17 has spread across some 70 US cities.
In Philadelphia, Mayor Michael Nutter said Sunday he was increasing police presence near the Occupy Philly camp after the protesters general assembly voted Friday night not to move from the plaza.
In Salt Lake City, police said on Twitter 19 people were arrested Saturday night as authorities moved in to clear an Occupy Salt Lake encampment at a downtown park.
In Oakland, California, police issued a third notice for demonstrators to vacate city parks on Saturday, CNN said citing a police spokesperson. But the protesters did not comply with that order.
Also Saturday, 27 protesters were arrested in St. Louis after defying an existing park curfew, authorities said.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])