LAPD Evacuates Occupy L.A. From 'Solidarity Park' (Video)

What LAPD couldn't accomplish on Sunday evening, they executed with forceful precision during Wednesday's early morning hours.

LAPD had been given orders by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to evacuate Occupy L.A. protesters from City Hall at 12:01 am on Monday morning, and by 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, they were close to accomplishing that goal.

Near midnight on Tuesday, some 50 Occupy Los Angeles demonstrators stood face to face with Los Angeles Police Department officers at the intersection of Broadway and 1st Street.

Moments later, with buzz in the air that busloads of LAPD officers wearing riot gear had been dispatched to City Hall from Dodger Stadium, the crowd migrated to Spring and 1st, where they were met by a swarm of more than 1,000 police officers who raced through the intersection toward City Hall Park, or as the demonstrators had renamed it, Solidarity Park.

In matter of seconds, LAPD had formed a perimeter around the park, shoving away demonstrators and media members who attempted to enter.

With the perimeter in place, a second swarm of officers dress in protective haz-mat suits made their way into the camp, swiftly disassembling the occupiers' tents and makeshift abodes.

While the raid took place, demonstrators who did not heed LAPD's order to evacuate westward along 1st Street were sealed in by police at the intersection of 1st Street and Spring Street. 

Those who remained in the middle of the street were eventually forced onto the sidewalk by officers, who shoved and prodded demonstrators.

At around 1 a.m., those demonstrators inside the camp who were not arrested slowly began to trickle out toward the intersection of 1st and Spring, greeted by light applause from fellow protesters.

Among those to exit the camp was a man named Brandon Wilson, who said he was primarily concerned with homelessness issues and had been camping at Solidarity Park since October.

He said he had been going back and forth from the park and the street throughout the evening, and happened to be caught in the park when police arrived.

"I was with my girl, that's who I'm looking for right now," Wilson said. "When they came, it was like we couldn't go nowhere. They started off kinda rough, but then I told them that I was peaceful, and one of the sergeants told his men to calm down. They eventually just let me get my stuff and go."

Dispersing Crowds on the Street

At around 1:30 a.m. an announcement was made by an LAPD officer via megaphone at the corner of 1st and Spring, alerting any demonstrators in the streets that they were taking part in an unlawful assembly and needed to move to the sidewalks within five minutes or face arrest and the possible deployment of "less than lethal force."

After the five-minute deadline passed, officers rushed toward the crowd, knocking some demonstrators over and shoving others onto the sidewalk. The officers were eventually able to force demonstrators to retreat from the area around City Hall to the intersection of 1st and Broadway--and which point a second, more forceful rush was executed.

Many demonstrators who made their way to the sidewalk found themselves being shoved along by shielded and billy-club wielding officers.

One officer yelled at demonstrators to "get your punk-ass on the sidewalk."

Among the demonstrators who was shoved by officers was 30-year-old Paul Shepherd, who said he was a member of Occupy L.A.'s media team.

Shepherd alleged that he was shoved so hard by one officer that his chest was forced against the handlebars of his bicycle, causing him to nearly topple over.

"You don't need to shove!" Shepherd yelled at officers as he rolled his bike along the sidewalk.

As of 5 a.m. on Wednesday, most of Occupy L.A.'s campers and demonstrators had been evacuated, but officers were still attempting to remove three campers who had set up homes in trees around City Hall.

Previously

Some 500 helmeted Los Angeles Police Department officers burst out of City Hall doors and raced into the Occupy L.A. encampment early Wednesday, while others began arresting a few of the protesters on the south lawn.

Another 1,200 officers remain stationed around the Occupy L.A. encampment but police have moved their skirmish lines in closer to the encampment in advance of clearing out protesters.

As of midnight, officers had arrayed themselves along several downtown streets around the demonstration and by 12:15 had begun to move into the crowd.

Police said an area of unlawful assembly would extend two blocks in each direction from City Hall. Protesters would be given an opportunity to walk away after that occurs.

Thirty Metro buses took the officers from Dodger Stadium to downtown.

Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Andy Neiman said police were also prepared to remove protesters who had climbed into trees.

Neiman seemed confident that the operation would not take long and predicted that on Wednesday it would be "business as usual" downtown.

The city declared last week that residing in the encampment would be unlawful starting 12:01 a.m. Monday, but the widely expected police raid that would have resulted in the removal of the tents and their occupants never occurred, with police Chief Charlie Beck saying Monday that a raid could come later in the week.

Officers will clear the camp when they can "do it effectively and efficiently and with minimal force," he told the Los Angeles Times, asserting that the encampment already had shrunk by 150 tents over recent days and that time was on the department's side.

Attorneys for Occupy L.A. protesters filed court papers Monday asking a federal judge to prevent police from clearing the City Hall camp. The protesters contend the city of Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Beck violated their civil rights by ordering the encampment dismantled.

According to the protesters' attorneys, the south lawn of City Hall is a traditional public forum for First Amendment activity.