In their continuing harassment of Occupy San Diego demonstrators, Police arrested nine more at the Civic Center Plaza, early Monday morning – the 5th of December. 7 were taken into custody for “illegal lodging”, one for allegedly “resisting arrest” and the ninth for “vandalism”.
San Diego Police have kept up their constant monitoring and harassment of San Diego’s version of Occupy Wall Street since October 14th. Their unstated goal – doubtlessly ordered by Mayor Jerry Sanders – is to rid City Hall of any sign of the occupiers, and they have been doing this with a drumbeat of arrests and citations for very minor offenses.
While nightly hundreds of homeless people sleep on sidewalks in tents and tarps all over downtown San Diego, the demonstrators have been prevented from using tents, tarps, sleeping bags and for sleeping in and around the Civic Center Plaza.
Protesters have been cited for illegal cross-walking, excessive horn honking, registering voters, and honestly, anything the cops can come up with that they think they can get away with.
Here’s the Channel 10 report:
SAN DIEGO — Nine participants in the ongoing Occupy San Diego demonstration were arrested at Civic Center Plaza early Monday morning for allegedly camping unlawfully at the public concourse and committing other minor offenses.
Police took the protesters into custody at the courtyard alongside San Diego City Hall shortly before 2 a.m., SDPD spokesman Gary Hassen said.
Seven were booked on suspicion of illegal lodging, one on a count of resisting arrest and one for vandalism, according to Hassen. The latter suspect’s alleged offense was breaking branches off a tree in the area.
About 75 protesters connected with the movement have been arrested in San Diego since the demonstration began in early October.
According to police, protesters are allowed in the area, but sleeping and storing personal belongings is prohibited.
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Our mayor and cops lack credibility. The Homeless downtown do everything on a massive scale that is the subject of complaints against the Occupy folks but, because, they don’t threaten the 1% OverClass (and because the OverClass doesn’t want to care for them) they are left alone to camp, sleep, puke, urinate, and defecate on the sidewalks, etc. throughout downtown. The OB Merchants haven’t seen anything.