Portland police cleared

protesters from Southwest Third Avenue and Main Street shortly before 6 a.m., making eight uneventful arrests.

But police and Mayor Sam Adams reassured protesters that the encampments that have taken over a pair of public squares will be allowed to remain indefinitely.

Beginning at 5:52 a.m., dozens of uniformed officers poured into the street from the Justice Center on bicycles, motorcycles and on foot. With speed and efficiency, they removed barricades and protesters' signs blocking Main Street.

Protesters sitting and standing in the roadway shouted, "They're here!" as officers moved in, and then, "Keep the street! Keep the street!"

People emerged from the tents in the parks on both sides of the street but no one took them up on those rallying calls.

"We've had the majority of the people in the park who have been interested in having it open all along," said Lt. Robert King, a Portland police spokesman.

Occupy Portland

For the most part it was a peaceful interaction between protesters and police. Two men who sat in the middle of Third and Main were physically removed by police. Officers made eight arrests in all, with protesters facing charges of second-degree disorderly conduct or interfering with police if they didn't follow orders.

Police moved in calmly and without engaging protesters, most of whom looked on quietly.

Before police opened the street, several Portland officers patrolled the encampments in Lownsdale and Chapman squares. Demonstrators milled about in the predawn darkness. Some demonstrators checked on people who were sleeping in the street in sleeping bags.

Earlier, demonstrators had bulked up the barricade at Southwest Third Avenue and Main Street, adding several "street closed" signs. Several people, some wearing face masks and carrying spray paint, gathered at the intersection before police arrived as if to reinforce the intersection's closure.

But just as the morning commute was about to gain momentum, police removed those people, the barricades and signs. Most of those who have been camped out in the public squares looked on without saying anything to police or their fellow demonstrators who were hauled away.

"We've been talking to and working with organizers since they arrived," King said. "We've been really clear that both being in the park as well as the street constitutes a violation."

Dozens of police remained along the Main to prevent protesters from moving back into the roadway. They expected to be there through the morning at least, and possibly into the afternoon if needed.

"We'll be here long enough to ensure that the street will be open," King said.

He said the police bureau has dedicated "considerable resources" to patrolling the encampment. He said officers have attended general assembly meetings every day to stay in communication with the protesters.

"This is a national movement, this is not just Portland -- cities across the country are seeing this kind of constitutionally based free-speech movement. We're working very hard to balance the needs of the group with the needs of the city," he said.

Once they cleared people from the street, officers knocked on car windows asking people to move a pair of vehicles in the roadway. Trucks conducted "courtesy tows," relocating a black sedan and a white box van with Idaho tags into nearby parking spaces.

Adams arrived shortly before 6:20 a.m., said he was pleased that the operation had gone as smoothly and peacefully as they'd planned. "As I've said before, we can't afford to have Main Street closed. It looks like a bucolic little street, but it's the main east-west ramp to the Hawthorne Bridge."

Adams said there are no plans to remove the demonstration from the park; the main concern was opening the roadway.

"We are not moving against the camps," he said.

He said he will continue to use his discretion in allowing the protesters to remain camped out downtown.

"There are now Occupy Wall Street camps in hundreds of cities across the United States and mayors and police chiefs across the United States are having to make practical day to day decisions about keeping the peace, protecting people's legal rights to freedom of expression and at the same time keeping this city and all cities moving," he said.

He wouldn't say how long he would permit the demonstrators to remain in the public squares. "We're not doing what-ifs," he said.

Ironically, the mayor had his impromptu news conference about opening Main Street while standing in the crosswalk. When he finished his quick remarks at 6:23 a.m., officers reopened the street.

He then shook hands with some protesters, many of whom thanked him for opening the street.

A grey sedan and TriMet bus No. 4 (2315) were the first to drive through at 6:24 a.m.

Tweets heralded the arrests and the street-reopening. Many were supportive and unfazed.

A Tweet from @OccupyOregon at 7:10 a.m. said a "disproportionate voice of a few was drowning out the real mission of #occupypdx."

But another commenter, @marcuspat, disagreed: "Let's congratulate ourselves #occupyportland we just increased police presence and, decreased public support at the same time. BRAVO! NOT!"

"Main St. opened. Handful of protesters arrested. Back to work. Sail strong. #occupyportland," Tweeted Aaron Colter.

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