Tents removed from Sproul Plaza; two arrested in peaceful sweep
An Occupy Cal encampment of 20 tents was dismantled at 3:30 Thursday morning after UC Berkeley police gave dispersal orders. Two people who chose not to leave were arrested peacefully.
November 17, 2011
An occupier sits atop one of two pianos removed from Sproul Plaza early Thursday, guarding the instruments until they could be trucked away.
An Occupy Cal encampment of 20 tents was dismantled at 3:30 this morning after UC Berkeley police issued dispersal orders and provided protestors five minutes to collect their personal belongings and any others materials they wanted.
Two decided to peacefully submit to arrest. They were arrested for lodging and failure to disperse, according to UC Berkeley Police Capt. Margo Bennett.
“The individuals were peacefully arrested, and there was no resistance,” she said, adding that one arrestee was a student and the other was not affiliated with UC Berkeley.
After the area was secured, the protesters were allowed to retrieve additional personal items, including books and two pianos.
Not all the people who cleared the plaza after the dispersal orders took tents with them, so police gathered the remaining tents as evidence, said Bennett.
The campus then dispatched a clean-up crew from Physical Plant–Campus Services that by 7:30 a.m. had cleared away the remaining debris on the plaza.
Campus administrators commended everyone involved early this morning for a peaceful and non violent outcome.
Recap of Occupy protests at UC Berkeley