Occupy ICE protesters call police crackdown on camp 'heavy-handed'

Darcy Costello | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption 'It was calm, peaceful': Louisville police clears Occupy ICE from sidewalk Louisville Metro Police spokeswoman Jessie Halladay briefs the media on Thursday morning's removal of Occupy ICE from the sidewalk udring an immigration protest.

Occupy ICE Louisville protesters argue the city's crackdown on their 17-day-old encampment outside the federal immigration building Thursday was "heavy-handed," but police maintain it was necessary to bring the camp in line with laws.

Dozens of officers tore down tents, removed objects and set up bike racks as barricades in order to, officials said, bring the demonstration into compliance with state law and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Police had previously requested protesters create a 4-foot-wide path on the sidewalk.

Protesters at the encampment, dubbed Camp Compasión, were given a 15-minute warning at 6 a.m. Thursday. No one "moved to move anything," so officers began collecting items and throwing away trash, Louisville police spokeswoman Jessie Halladay said.

"It was pretty calm, peaceful," she said, adding that no incidents or arrests had taken place.

Background: City: Occupy ICE is complying with sidewalk rules 'for the most part'

By 9 a.m., the camp was gone. Tents and tarps had been returned to owners or taken to the police's property room. And items that were in the camp — a bouncy ball, packs of water bottles, umbrellas, grills, sleeping bags and foam pads — were packed up in cars and taken away from the former camp on Seventh Street near Broadway.

"Where compassion once thrived (now) is more border and fences," Occupy ICE Louisville posted on Twitter.

In a statement issued later in the day, the group accused Mayor Greg Fischer and police officials of not caring about the treatment of the immigrant community. Police, they say, "raided" the camp and took their property as protesters slept.

"They pretend to fret about ADA regulations and 'public safety,' while Camp Compasión stood peacefully as a model of radical love, hospitality, and resistance for all who built community with us," it said.

A statement from police Chief Steve Conrad said the department had been patient in allowing protesters to exercise their right to free speech, but that it must be balanced with public safety, an apparent reference to the need for sidewalks.

"While we have provided options and opportunities, they have not come into compliance, so we had to take action and keep a path on the sidewalk," Conrad wrote.

On Twitter, Mayor Greg Fischer wrote that protesters are free to continue exercising their First Amendment rights "as long as they remain legally compliant."

More about the protest:

Downtown streets back open for another Occupy ICE counterprotest

Abolish ICE movement pits practicality against passion for Democrats

Police give Occupy ICE protesters a second notice with more demands

Abolish ICE won't end until the 'corrupt' agency is gone, protesters say

The protesters found fault with flyers distributed to the camp with instructions on how to reclaim property taken by the police. In it, the department references "seized property considered abandoned."

"If the property was abandoned, why was it necessary for police to come decked out in riot gear with an arrest wagon? ... Abandoned items can not fight back, and there were less than 20 sleeping campers onsite when the raid began," the Occupy ICE statement said.

There were dozens of officers on Seventh Street on Thursday morning. A SWAT team was also present across the street but never entered the stretch of Seventh between Broadway and Magazine Street, which was temporarily blocked with caution tape.

The protesters' statement also questions why the encampment wasn't given an eviction notice if they were going to be forced to leave.

Two weekends in a row, a counterprotest led by the Three Percenters, a self-described "patriot" militia group, led police to close down several streets around the Occupy ICE encampment. "Safe zones" were created by police to keep the sides separated.

The first counterprotest drew hundreds to the anti-ICE side. But this past weekend, Occupy ICE Louisville largely didn't engage with the counterprotesters, who told the media they planned to be back every weekend that the demonstration outside of the federal building continued.

Police didn't cite that potential as part of the reason for the crackdown. They say they gave protesters verbal and written warnings about creating a path, but a walkway was not maintained.

They also say protesters began to infringe on parking spaces and there were some "public health concerns" over how the camp was handling human waste. During the 17 days protesters have been at the encampment there were "several" calls for service in the area, the release said.

Protesters don't specify in their statement how or if the demonstration will continue. But they say that the city and police's "heavy-handed tactics" only strengthened their resolve.

"We will be as defiant as ever," the Occupy ICE statement said. "Our mission is still to #AbolishICE in order to #FreeOurFuture; we will not falter."

Darcy Costello: 502-582-4834; dcostello@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @dctello. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/darcyc.