Protesters Cleared Out Of Oakland Park, Mess Left Behind

OAKLAND (CBS13) -- The protestors are no longer at Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland, but they certainly left behind quite a mess.

Just to give you an idea of what it was like, CBS13 was told to stay off the grass because of a bed bugs and lice infestations.

But there's anger and outrage from Occupy Oakland protesters after the city sent in the police with riot gear and tear gas early Tuesday morning to clear out the hundreds of occupiers in the park.

Fire hazards, sanitation issues, food storage, unsafe structures built in the plaza and noise were all cited as reasons to evict the protesters. Also graffiti and litter -- not to mention rats.

These were the reasons the city said they cleared out the park. But protesters say their 1st Amendement rights of free speech and assembly were violated.

"They battoned people, the pepper-sprayed people," said protester Jenny Stouffer. "These are children, there were children over there, unarmed, innocent citizens."

The Oakland Police deny any wrongdoing.

"I am very pleased with the way things went, the fact there were no injuries to either my officers or the people that were arrested or any citizens, there was very minimal property damage in the end," Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan said.

Police arrested about 75 protesters Tuesday morning. Now the park is being cleaned... And once it is considered sanitary, protesters will be allowed to gather peacefully from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

But protesters aren't going away. They're now standing just feet from the park, still trying to have their voices heard.

"The mandate of the police are to serve and protect," protester Curt Heartstrong said. "This is not serving and protecting the people, this is the opposite of what that is."

While the park is no longer occupied with people, it'll be occupied with junk for awhile.