Monday, November 14, 2011

ACLU Files Suit Against Oakland Police Department For Eviction

Occupy Oakland Live Blog: ACLU files suit against Oakland Police Department

Oakland Tribune

Updated: 11/14/2011 06:58:40 PM PST

6:55 p.m. General assembly discusses future plans

About 600 people are gathered at Frank Ogawa Plaza, holding a general meeting to discuss future plans. The group is voting on a proposal to conduct outreach to north, west and the east Oakland communities.

6:40 p.m. ACLU and National Lawyers Guild file suit against Oakland Police Department

Earlier today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the National Lawyers' Guild filed a federal lawsuit against the Oakland Police Department seeking an emergency temporary restraining order to stop police violence against the protesters, according to a news release.

The suit was urgent because another police encounter was imminent, following the removal of the Occupy Oakland camp this morning, the news release stated.

"Excessive police force is never acceptable, especially when it's in response to political protest," said Linda Lye, staff attorney
at the ACLU of Northern California, a prepared statement.

The city must respond by 5 p.m. Tuesday, according to an order issued by United States District Court Judge Richard Seeborg.

If police use excessive force, the city would need to justify those actions to the court, the news release states.

The suit was brought on behalf of videographer Timothy Scott Campbell, who was shot with a bean bag projectile while filming police Nov. 2-3, according to the release. Additional plaintiffs are Kerie Campbell, Marc McKinnie, Michael Siegel and guild Legal Observer Marcus Kryshka.

"I was filming police activity at Occupy Oakland because police should be accountable," Campbell said in a prepared statement. "Now I'm worried about my safety from police violence and about retaliation because I've been outspoken."

Guild attorney Rachel Lederman called the police department's actions "wholesale and flagrant violations of Oakland's own Crowd Control Policy," in a prepared statement.

The suit alleges that Oakland police and officers from other agencies "attacked" peaceful Occupy Oakland protesters on Oct. 25 and Nov. 2, indiscriminately shooting flash bang grenades, projectiles and excessive amounts of tear gas into crowds of people who were exercising their First Amendment rights, including some who were filming police. The suit alleges police violated the Fourth Amendment rights of protesters by using excessive force and violated their First Amendment rights to assemble and demonstrate.

The suit also alleges that the recent actions violated the Oakland Police Department's Crowd Control Policy, which was adopted as part of a lawsuit settlement that resulted from a large 2003 protest.

6:30 p.m. Protesters plan Tuesday march to UC Berkeley

Several hundred protesters gathered in Frank Ogawa Plaza are being urged to march at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday from 14th and Broadway in Oakland down Telegraph Avenue to Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley to support the Occupy Berkeley movement.

Jevon Cochrane, 21, a UC Berkeley student, reminded the crowd that university students joined the general strike in Oakland.

"Just as Berkeley students marched down Telegraph Avenue five miles to the port to show solidarity with Occupy Oakland," he said, "the Oakland protesters on Tuesday are planning to show their support for the Berkeley protesters."

"Students there have been upset at tuition increases and more to come," Cochrane said. "Their efforts to establish a tent city there last Wednesday were thwarted by police."

But Cochrane said a new larger group on Tuesday could help students reestablish their encampment.

"We need numbers to resist the police violence," Cochrane said. "The police have guns, but we have power -- social power."

6:20 p.m. City tallies cost of day's activities so far

City officials have been issuing newsy and frequent news releases updating the public and media on the day's events. The latest provides a pretty comprehensive summary of the day:

Update from the City of Oakland on Decampment of Frank Ogawa Plaza

This morning at 4:30 a.m., the Oakland Police Department enforced the "Notice of Violations and Demand to Cease Violations" issued on Friday, November 11, to persons staying overnight in Frank Ogawa Plaza. The operation went smoothly and peacefully. Below is a summary of some operational details:

Clean up Activities at Frank Ogawa Plaza

* Public Works Agency staff members have completed debris removal at Frank Ogawa Plaza. More than 27.8 tons of debris and 8.2 tons of green waste for a total of more than 36 tons.

* Frank Ogawa Plaza has been reopened to the public less than 12 hours after this morning's enforcement action. Any individual that decides to enter the Plaza will do so at their own risk given that the City cannot ensure that all biohazards have been cleared.

* More information about the retrieval process for valuables left in Ogawa Plaza can be found on the City's homepage at www.oaklandnet.com, under Occupy Oakland updates.

* Going forward, the Plaza will remain open for peaceful demonstrations and assemblies, but lodging will be strictly prohibited.

Police Operations

* The Oakland Police Department is monitoring the rally at the Oakland Public Library and march to Frank Ogawa Plaza.

* The Oakland Police Department is prepared to facilitate a peaceful assembly and march. Temporary street closures may be required to accommodate the march's movement to Ogawa Plaza.

* Should the crowd's actions warrant, OPD is prepared to take enforcement action to prevent the destruction of property and provide public safety.

* Mutual aid is available to assist this evening, if necessary. The City will maintain a strong police presence at Frank Ogawa Plaza 24/7 and is pursuing other security alternatives for the future.

* Activities at Snow Park are being monitored. There are approximately 25 tents. Demonstrators have been very peaceful. The Snow Park encampment will also be cleared in the near future.

City Operations

* Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 15, will be a regular business day for City of Oakland offices in Frank Ogawa Plaza.

Homeless Services

* The City of Oakland has made arrangements to open the Winter Shelter at the former Oakland Army Base today, a day earlier than originally announced.

* Outreach teams from the City and Operation Dignity will be in Snow Park and Frank Ogawa Plaza this afternoon to provide homeless shelter vouchers and transportation for those in the encampments who require shelter.

Cost Estimates

* Preliminary City of Oakland costs spent on responding to Occupy Oakland events total is estimated at $2,402,400.

* Personnel — $1,088,500

* Oakland Police Department: $1.04 million

* Public Works Agency: $31,500

* Information Technology and KTOP: $17,000

* Other Costs — $1,313,900

* Oakland Police Deparment: $100,900

* Public Works Agency: $70,000

* Information Technology security upgrades: $100,000

* Early opening of Winter Shelter by one day: $3,000

* Mutual Aid for 11/14/11: $500,000

* VMA Security Contract for 30 days: $540,000

* These are preliminary costs and are subject to change. The personnel costs are mainly for overtime costs and do not reflect regular staff time. An estimated $100,000 in regular staff time that would have been devoted to other activities was spent addressing Occupy Oakland events.

Recap of this Morning's Enforcement

* There was no use of force and no injuries to citizens or officers.

* There were a total of 33 arrests, 9 of whom are Oakland residents.

* Mutual aid was provided by seven law enforcement agencies, including: Alameda County Sheriff's Office, Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, San Francisco Police Department, Hayward Police Department, Fremont Police Department and San Leandro Police Department. Although other cities' police departments were present, they were coordinated by the counties in which they are located.

* City offices surrounding the Plaza (150 Frank Ogawa Plaza, 250 Frank Ogawa Plaza and City Hall) will resume normal business hours tomorrow.

Media Parking

* There will be no parking of media vehicles inside the Frank Ogawa Plaza area, and no parking in red zones in the vicinity of 14th and Broadway.

6 p.m.: Gas masks selling well

A man selling gas masks at Frank Ogawa Plaza has cut his price to $5, after some said they couldn't afford $10, and he's enjoying a brisk business. Helicopters can be heard overheard and about 40 police, some in riot gear, are staging at the rear of the plaza, with helmets on and batons.

About 1,000 people are now massed at the plaza.

5:34 p.m. General assembly about to begin in Frank Ogawa Plaza

The crowd is sitting in an amphitheater at Frank Ogawa Plaza, preparing to begin their general assembly. As many as 500 people are reportedly crowding the plaza, and one person has been seen in a gas mask.

Police have surrounded the area, but are watching from the outskirts.

5:25 Protesters have reached Frank Ogawa Plaza, say they're reoccupying it

Hundreds of protesters are pouring into the plaza, after marching from the library. They are cheering and saying they are reoccupying it.

The plaza is really muddy, but people are walking through the mud.

A few are wearing black masks like those worn by violent protesters last week.

Police on motorcycles escorted the protesters.

So far, the protest is peaceful.

4:45 p.m. Plaza opens; protesters prepare for march and general assembly meeting to discuss three options

Frank Ogawa Plaza is open. The barriers have been removed, so people can walk around freely, but will not be allowed to camp. One man is still in a tree.

Police are standing by and have said they will not disturb the tree-sitter.

Meanwhile, outside the library, hundreds of people have gathered and police have blocked off one block of 14th Street, between Madison Street and Lakeside Drive. A line of people is taking turns speaking during open mic.

"This movement cannot end," said Jeremy Gameros, one of those arrested this morning. "The reason it cannot end, the reason it cannot be stopped, is because the conditions that created it still exist."

About a half-dozen police officers, including a few on motorcycles, are blocking the street and monitoring activity.

Some speakers want to walk to the plaza to hold a general assembly meeting at about 6 p.m. and discuss three possible options: reoccupying the plaza, occupying Snow Park or occupying vacant buildings in Oakland. The third option received loud applause from the crowd.

4:13 p.m. As rally begins, some say those arrested are being released

About 100 people have gathered outside the library, although no one has emerged as a leader of the group.

"This is an organic entity," said Kerie Campbell, 47, who has been a part of the encampment since it started. "It's not hierarchical. It's not structured. It just unfolds. You have to wait and see."

One man shouted to the crowd that he had been released, after being arrested this morning. He said others were being released "as we speak."

Protesters do not appear to be angry and seemed to believe their message had been heard because Oakland police had acted calmly in clearing out the camp this morning.

"I lost my tent and my belongings," one woman said. "But I did not lose my teeth."

Protesters have yet to make clear their intentions today. Several have said they would like to reoccupy City Hall.

"What I'm hoping is we're going right back in the plaza," Campbell said.

When asked about the requests from police and the mayor to not erect a tent city, Campbell said they are "clearly working for the moneyed interests and they are irrelevant to me."

If police don't want tents, Campbell said, "it's winter, maybe people should donate garden sheds."

Media helicopters are flying overhead, but only three police officers are visible, across the street.

Some protesters are talking about marching back to the plaza.

One man is selling respirators for $10 each.

3:39 p.m. Protesters assemble outside library

About two dozen protesters have gathered in front of the Oakland public library, near the corner of 14th and Madison streets, waiting for a scheduled 4 p.m. rally and possible march back to the Frank Ogawa Plaza, which they expect to be reopened soon. Earlier today, Interim Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan said officers would remove barriers between 4 and 6 p.m. to allow people to gather there.

At this time, the barricades remain around the plaza, where the camp previously stood.

3 p.m. Small, but determined group remains at Frank Ogawa Plaza

By Monday afternoon, the crowd of protesters had shrunk to a dozen or so outside barricades put up by police after they cleared the camp. A man was arrested after he threw down one of the barricades and spat at officers; he was taken to hospital for psychiatric observation.

Paul Benton Sr., 53, came to Frank Ogawa Plaza wearing a hat with the message: "Leave my city in peace. Unoccupy Oakland." Benton, who has lived in the city for 35 years, said he agrees with the protesters' message but that their actions are damaging the city.

"Their message is heartfelt," he said. "But the way they're going about it -- destroying what little is left in Oakland -- that makes me very sad."

Brad Newsham had a different view. The 60-year-old Oakland resident has been attending Occupy Movement protests in Oakland and San Francisco since they began. He arrived at the plaza carrying a "Re-Occupy Oakland" sign.

"The powers that be in these buildings around us would like nothing more than for us to go back to sleep so that the travesty can accelerate and continue," he said.

Jack Radey, 64, took part in the Free Speech Movement and anti-Vietnam War protests in the 1960s. He now lives in Eugene, Ore., but was in Oakland for a visit and decided to check out what was going on at the plaza.

"We're just getting started," Radey said. "I've seen a mass movement around Vietnam and civil rights -- and it's come again."

2:30 p.m. Snow Park encampment grows to at least 40

After protesters were ousted from Frank Ogawa Plaza early this morning, many headed to Snow Park near Lake Merritt to pitch their tents.

Although Interim Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan has said that plans were under way to clear the makeshift camp, no law enforcement officers were in sight by the early afternoon, when about 40 tents dotted the area.


1:30 p.m. Police plan to reopen plaza for 4 p.m. rally and to clear campers out of Snow Park

Interim Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan told a 1 p.m. news conference that the city will reopen Frank Ogawa Plaza for the planned rally at 4 p.m. at the library, in an effort to "reduce tensions." He said barriers would be removed and protesters would be allowed to enter the camp.

When asked what would happen if people started setting up tents again, as they did in the past, Jordan said, "We will deal with the issue of lodging as it occurs.

"We really don't have any reason to keep people out of the plaza," Jordan said. "It's a public space."

Unlike the Nov. 2 general strike, there will be a heavy Oakland police presence at the 4 p.m. rally, Jordan said.

The city is 80 percent finished with the cleanup the camp. A total of 33 arrests were made, he said.

Although mutual aid for the raid cost the city between $300,000 and $500,000, Jordan said the city would not have to pay if additional mutual aid is needed later Monday. This is because the morning raid was planned, he said, whereas anything that happens in the evening would be considered an emergency. Mutual aid is on standby, he said.

The money to pay for the aid is coming from the city's $30 million reserve fund, said City Administrator Deanna Santana.

Jordan said there is a plan to remove about 26 campers who are currently at Snow Park near Lake Merritt, but he wouldn't say how or when that would be accomplished.

Mayor Jean Quan was not at the news conference.

12:10 p.m. Some protesters remain while city workers throw away campers' belongings

More than a dozen protesters continue to congregate at the corner of 14th and Broadway, standing in front of about a dozen police officers who are behind metal fences. The protesters are doing TV interviews and sitting in a prayer circle.

A group of Hare Krishnas is playing drums and singing.

Meanwhile, inside the camp, public works crews are slowly removing items using two dump trucks. It appears they are throwing everything in the garbage.

11 a.m. Teacher observes scene

Also at the intersection of 14th and Broadway was a line of union workers, all wearing white armbands, who planned to help mediate if tensions erupted between police and protesters.

"We are a peaceful observer presence, to make sure nobody gets hurt," said Janan Apaydin, 55, a 4th grade teacher at Oakland's Kaiser Jr. Elementary School.

Like much of the crowd on Broadway, the union line found itself blocked off from the plaza when police swiftly overtook the camp area from multiple directions.

10:15 a.m. Police union thanks protesters, chief -- everyone but the mayor

The Oakland Police Officers Association released a statement today thanking the protesters for peacefully leaving the tent city. The statement also praises Interim Chief Howard Jordan and City Administrator Deanna Santana for their leadership during the raid. But there's no mention of Mayor Jean Quan. The union has criticized her in recent days for her changing position on the Occupy Oakland camp.

The statement reads "On behalf of the 645 Oakland police officers we represent, Oakland Police Officers' Association would like to thank our Police Chief Howard Jordan and City Administrator Deanna Santana for their leadership in the peaceful removal of the occupier encampment. We are also appreciative of the mutual aid provided by law enforcement agencies from throughout the Bay Area."

To the protesters, the statement adds:

"Thank you for your peaceful exit from Frank Ogawa Plaza -- it was greatly appreciated by all," said Sgt. Dom Arotzarena. "We respect your right to peaceful protest, and urge your continued willingness to abide by the law."

9 a.m. Mutual aid from police cost $300,000 to $500,000

Mutual aid from departments around the area today cost the city $300,000 to $500,000, Interim Chief Howard Jordan said.

Departments that sent officers include the San Francisco Police Department, BART, Alameda County Sheriff's Department, Hayward, Fremont, Richmond, San Leandro and San Mateo. Jordan did not say how many officers were involved in the raid.

Officers from the Santa Clara Sheriff's Department, and San Jose, Gilroy and Burlingame police departments were also seen downtown. The Hayward Police stayed after many others left.

8:30 a.m. 12th Street BART station open

The 12th Street Oakland City Center Station is open. However, 14th Street and Ogawa Plaza entrance/exits are closed. All other entrances open, according to BART.

8:20 a.m. Mayor 'relieved' that eviction was peaceful

A tired-looking Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said Monday that she was "relieved" that the police raid on the camp was peaceful. She implored protesters not to be destructive.

At a news conference, Quan said the camp had put the city's resources to the test and placed a "tremendous strain" on all departments. She said there were 179 calls to 911 and other calls for emergency service that didn't get answered because police were responding to demonstrators last week.

Interim Chief Howard Jordan said there were no injuries reported by police or protesters.

City spokeswoman Karen Boyd said the city is asking employees and businesses to delay work until 10 a.m. today.

8:10 a.m. Campers set up at Veterans Memorial Building

The dust had barely settled after the raid at the Occupy Oakland encampment at Frank Ogawa Plaza on Monday morning when campers started to relocate to smaller sites on the edge of downtown.

Evie McKnight is one of at least seven people who set up camp last week in front of the Veterans Memorial Building, at the intersection of Harrison Street and Grand Avenue.

When told that the Ogawa Plaza encampment had been closed by police, McKnight said that was a bad idea.

"We'll have to reopen her," she said. "It's a group effort; an ever-expanding group effort."

Ben Hanks, a Redding resident, said he joined the Occupy movement last week after he visited family in the Bay Area last week. He has spent the past three nights in a sleeping bag in front of the Veterans Memorial Building.

Hanks opposed the early morning raid, saying that a lot of people need places to sleep because their homes were foreclosed.

"You can't have police coming in and telling people, who are just sitting around and talking about what's wrong with society, that they don't have the right to be," he said. "Not in America. Where are they supposed to sleep? They've lost their homes."

He condemned any violence committed by protesters in previous Occupy-related incidents, but he also criticized the Monday morning raid, saying it was a symbol of what the Occupy movement is protesting.

"That's about money and power," he said. "You have a small amount of people directly controlling a lot of people's lives."

Now that the city's most populated Occupy encampment has been closed, some expect large numbers of campers to join the less populated camps in Snow Park, at 20th and Harrison streets, or the one inhabited by Hanks, McKnight and a few others.

Hanks said he believes those areas will be raided soon.

"Until then, I'll be right here," he said.

7:55 a.m. 32 arrested, including many clergy members

Police said 32 were arrested and that nine of them were from Oakland. One came from France and many others from the East Coast. There were many clergy members among those arrested. Most were cited for failing to disperse.

The mayor and police chief toured and surveyed the area for about 10 minutes, and then left for a media briefing.

The area is sealed off. Police are planning to inventory everything, to make sure belongings are returned.

A few dozen protesters are left at the barricaded intersection of 14th and Broadway, and streets are still blocked off in the immediate area. Three people remain in a tree, where police are keeping an eye on them.

One tree is right off the 14th Street sidewalk.

Protester Katia Ten of Oakland said she was glad police didn't lob tear gas canisters as they did the evening following the last raid, but she still would have preferred to see city leaders leave the camp alone or communicate better with the occupiers.

"They're trying a different tactic but it's not much better," Ten said. "It's just a waste of everybody's time and money."

7:40 a.m. Snow Park camp remains

Early Monday, about 20 tents remained loosely spread on the lawn near Lake Merritt. While there weren't any police to be seen around 7 a.m., camper Andre Little, 38, said he expected to be evicted soon.

"But we'll come back," said Little, who has been with the Oakland movement since it began a month ago.

Little said some of the people evicted from Frank Ogawa Plaza may show up at Snow Park, but he also expected them to regroup and recamp at the downtown location.

Carly Jean, another Snow Park camper, said the raids were "inflicting fear" on people in the movement.

"I don't think we're anti-organization," she said. "They just need to say, 'Let's talk.' It's not all about chaos."

She said that in her mind, the movement is geared toward squatters' rights and the entitlement to occupy public spaces.

"It's been a real awakening for a lot of people," she said. "Most people get it.

And if they don't get it, they will. The truth is on our side."

7:20 a.m. Mayor's legal adviser resigns over raid

Dan Siegel, Mayor Jean Quan's legal adviser, posted on Facebook that he has resigned over Monday's police raid of Occupy Oakland.

His Facebook post: "No longer Mayor Quan's legal adviser. Resigned at 2 a.m. Support Occupy Oakland, not the 1 percent and its government facilitators."

Siegel and Quan have been friends for decades, since they attended University of California, Berkeley together. Siegel was on Quan's transition team before she took office in January and stayed on as an adviser after that, drawing controversy when he openly opposed a gang injunction policy sought by the city attorney.

6:50 a.m. Police declare 'crime scene,' move out media

The plaza has been cleared of media by police. A small group of protesters has taken up residence in a tree house in a sycamore along 14th Street.

A van carrying Mayor Jean Quan, City Administrator Deanna Santana, Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan and a few other officials just left to tour the plaza.

The crowd in the intersection of 14th and Broadway has thinned to about 100 protesters, facing down police on the west side of Broadway.

6:30 a.m. About 20 arrested so far

Police have arrested about 20 protesters so far and have begun dismantling the camp. Hundreds of protesters remain on Broadway and 14th. While they can't return to the camp, police are not ordering them to leave.

In the camp, police are taking down tents and making arrests. Everything remains peaceful.

Police arrested 14 protesters who had been praying all night in the interfaith tent all night amid by candles.

The protesters, who had planned to peacefully resist the raid, sang "We Shall Overcome" as the police arrested them.

"Our plan is to remain here," said Kuhwald, a Unitarian Universalist minister, speaking as police began to surround the plaza.

Nearby protesters yelled "The British are coming! The British are coming" as police officers marched up a wide alleyway, one of several that lead to the plaza from nearby streets, but the people inside the interfaith tent remained calm. The group planned on being arrested in a peaceful act of civil disobedience.

Several individual protesters also chose to get arrested.

Brandon Walsh, 33, an Oakland bike mechanic, said calmly that he was "passively occupying" despite police orders to leave the camp. The Oakland resident had not been living at the camp, but wanted to do something to support Occupy Oakland and its battle against economic disparities.

"I have the privilege of having a voice and the luxury to do something with it," he said. "I'd prefer not to be, but I'm not going to leave."

Protesters continue to affirm that the raid will not hinder the movement.

"The campers are going to be back in a day or two," said engineering student Mark L., who identifies as a Republican.

"Police brutality has galvanized the X-Box generation. If they'd just ignored it in Oakland or Zuccotti Park, it would have gone away."

Many of the people who were the last holdouts in the plaza were calm because they were planning to get arrested, while others were battling anxiety about what could happen.

"I'm trying to remove all emotion from my thinking, to just think really logically," said Hayward resident and Cal State East Bay student Kevin Shields, 18, as he stared up into the night sky. Like many campers, he eventually decided to leave as police ordered all occupiers to get out or be arrested.

6 a.m. Police start making arrests

Police are starting to make arrests, of a group of interfaith protesters gathered in a circle near the plaza. The tent city has yet to be dismantled.

On the other side of the plaza, in the amphitheater, Paul Bloom, of San Francisco is waiting to be arrested.

He had been at the Wall Street Occupy Camp, but returned after the first Oakland raid. He has been camping for the last four days.

"I want to get arrested," he said, sitting near three others who were meditating.

"I feel sad that we haven't communicated what we wanted to communicate. "This is a movement for future generations"

5:25 a.m. Camp deserted as police walk through

The Occupy Oakland camp is looking desolate, abandoned. A police helicopter is hovering overhead, shining a light and announcing over a speaker that anyone there must leave now. But there's no one in the tents, it seems empty. There are some people nearby, lingering near the police line on the plaza.

It seems about 30-40 tents were taken down in anticipation of the raid. Police have surrounded plaza at this point. There have been no reports of violence or police skirmishes with protesters.

By the time police actually starting dismantling the tents, dawn was breaking. The moon was still over City Hall, but the sky was rapidly getting brighter and a little bluer. Although the vast majority of the tents were empty, police found and arrested at least one tent occupant.

5:15 a.m. Police surround camp, start to walk through

Police have peacefully surrounded both the camp and the plaza.

A line of police officers have encircled the plaza, and some are walking through the camp. They've also surrounded the more than 500 protesters in the intersection.

They have not made any arrests, or clashed with protesters. They are letting people out but not letting anyone in

5:05 a.m. Police march on camp

A couple hundred police in riot gear are trying to surround the camp. They are forming a line at least three officers deep at Broadway, across 14th Street. They have sealed off the crowd from the camp. Police haven't entered the camp yet.

4:45 a.m. Police closing in

Police in riot gear are very close to the encampment, next to the Rotunda building. The line of police are about 50 feet from the camp.

Most of the occupiers have left the encampment and moved to 14th street and Broadway.

There are about 50 or 75 people still in camp, but the majority are now waiting in the intersection.

The 12th Street BART station is closed, according to a BART advisory.

4:30 a.m. Police assembling downtown

There's a large contingent of Fremont police officers at 14th and Franklin streets. Broadway is being blocked off in both directions, keeping traffic away. Several Fremont police officers in riot gear are standing next to a Fremont PD SUV, and Hayward police also have a van here.

Protesters have announced several times through mic checks that these forces are moving on the camp, only to correct themselves a few moments later.

4:20 a.m. Many campers packing up

Although many tents are still standing, the camp has become a patchwork as protesters starting packing up.

At least 20 tents are coming down. One man who wouldn't give his name looked regretful as he packed up his things. "We are going to lose a lot of resources out here."

Lara Bitar, 28, was helping collapse three of the camp's four "intifada tents."

"It feels pretty sad because we built a community here, and now they can just come and destroy it," she said. "At the same time, this movement is about more than just the space here."

Bitar said the group, which is affiliated with the Palestinian Youth Movement and the Anti-Zionist Network, was putting the tents in storage to protect their belongings.

"We left one just as a statement," she said.

Other occupiers are moving their tents to a smaller camp at Snow Park, at 19th and Harrison streets.

Bitar, who works as a news producer, said that the raid and any police brutality would only encourage the protesters.

Many protesters have masks or have covered their faces covered in rags. The song being chanted by protesters in the street is: "We are Occupy;

We are never going to die; Every time you kick us out; We are going to multiply."

Meanwhile, DeLauer's Super Newsstand is open and doing brisk business selling water, coffee and snacks to the protesters. At about 4 a.m., the first helicopter of the night flew over the camp.

3:45 a.m. Police assembling at Coliseum

Public safety officers are setting up a command post and are assembling at the Coliseum, KCBS is reporting.

Meanwhile, at the intersection of 14th and Broadway, Occupy Oakland camper Randy Peppers of Pt Richmond decided to be pragmatic and pull up stakes early. He was pushing a cart with his camping gear. His rationale is that he can't be arrested if he's mobile.

Peppers had been staying at the camp since it was reoccupied after the Oct. 25 raid.

"I can't reoccupy if they take my tent away."

3:40 a.m. Protesters are prepare for an imminent raid

About 500 people have spilled into the intersection of Broadway and 14th Street and are playing bucket drums and chanting.

The crowd is younger than usual, and some protesters are passing out vinegar-drenched rags for protection against tear gas.

Many campers are sitting in front of their tents waiting. About a dozen are praying in the camp's interfaith tent amid a half circle of candles.

Sunday, 11 p.m. General Assembly

At their nightly assembly on Sunday in the amphitheater at Frank Ogawa Plaza, speakers at Occupy Oakland warned of an imminent police raid but also went about their regular business.

They began with an indigenous prayer ceremony honoring the Ohlone people of the East Bay.

The camp later voted 215 to 8, with 11 abstentions, to declare the camp a sanctuary for "all immigrants with or without papers."

The occupiers found less consensus on their next item, a resolution to respect a "diversity of tactics" in the Occupy movement, part of a long-running debate within the camp on whether its members should publicly condemn protesters who use vandalism or violence. To publicly denounce certain protest tactics, said supporters of the measure, would help the media sow divisions in the movement.

"We're not going to include words like violence and nonviolence. Those are loaded words," said one speaker at Sunday's general assembly outside Oakland City Hall. Another speaker said she thought protest actions "should be decided by the people who participate in them."

Others in the camp strongly opposed that philosophy and wanted Occupy Oakland to more explicitly embrace nonviolence. They also said discouraging public opinions amounted to censorship or a "code of silence."

"Occupy Oakland needs to denounce violence, and it needs to do it strongly tonight," said one speaker. He didn't get his wish, as 60 percent of the assembly voted to honor the "diversity of tactics" approach.

When the nearly 4-hour meeting ended, and amid looming rumors of a raid, the occupiers launched an "emergency dance party" they called the Occupocalypse.

Staff writers Robert Salonga, Chris De Benedetti, Matt O'Brien, Paul Rosynsky, Robert Dennis, Julia Prodis Sulek, Dana Hull, Cecily Burt and Hannah Dreier contributed to this report.

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