He said part of the intention of taking the vehicles away Sunday was to show the police force staged behind them — even if protesters still could not cross the bridge block, which has been reinforced with wire and cement jersey barriers.

"We hope that we're able to demonstrate that clearly with photos," he said.

Authorities have said the bridge is closed due to concerns about its structural integrity since the vehicle fires in October.

Keller wrote in an email that the Department of Transportation has not been able to inspect the bridge due to ongoing protests there. He said burned vehicles have remained, because it would be unsafe for crews to remove them in the current atmosphere.

"At this time the environment is not safe with the close proximity of protesters from the camp that can make their way to the bridge in a matter of minutes," he wrote.

Aidoneus Bishop, a protester on scene who helped move a burned vehicle, said he was hit with a rubber bullet in the hand and back. He questions the logic of the barricade, which is set behind the vehicles on the northern part of the bridge.

'The only thing that makes sense is that it's blocked to keep us away from the pipe," Bishop said.