Pressure has been slowly building on the Occupy Atlanta movement over the past week, and last night, it finally came to a head, as police forces arrived at Woodruff Park and arrested 53 protesters, as well as clearing out the tents and barricading the park for the foreseeable future. Previously, the mayor had announced he would allow the protesters to stay until the fourth of November.

Most of my account of the events leading up to last night’s arrests is based on hearsay and news reports; I’ll keep the information as brief as possible, without any of my own analysis or interpretation.

On Saturday, there was to be a hiphop festival at Woodruff Park – one that had been scheduled for six months. Perhaps a conflict was expected between the festival and the Occupation; instead, the festival organizers sympathized with the Occupation and said that they would hold the festival around it.

On Friday night, at midnight, the mayor’s office told the organizers of the hiphop festival that they would have to pay an extra fifteen thousand dollars for security, given the new action in the park; the festival organizers, unwilling or unable to pay, lost their permit. Vendors coming to set up booths in the park on Saturday, then, were told by police officers that they would be arrested if they did so; people walking to the park for the festival were told by the police or park ambassadors that the festival had been canceled. Some performers, however, decided to perform anyway.

The mayor’s office cited increasing danger in the park and rescinded their earlier decisions, saying that the Occupation would be dealt with soon. They mentioned the use of a generator in the park (against guidelines), drug use, and said that the Occupation was a danger to the city.

In the past week, I’ve stopped in on the park irregularly, to count the increasing population. Tents were appearing at a rate of five to ten a day – I estimated some ninety over the weekend.

On Monday afternoon, police department workers erected metal barricades around the perimeter of the park, though they left the entrances and exits open – with further barricades that could be pulled across to close them.

Monday Night

We came to the park to see what action the police would take. It was a chilly night, and I was suspicious to see virtually no police in or around the park. The tent that had been made from a donated hot air balloon had been taken down.

It was 9:30 when I arrived, and while there were a number of people in the park, there was no sense of purpose to it. Most were milling around with their signs, and honestly, the atmosphere was a bit like a party: I saw a lot of committees’ bottom-liners chatting, smoking, and generally relaxing. Two old homeless men played chess on an overturned bucket outside a tent and argued with each other.

A few homeless men and women were curled up on the ground sleeping. Someone had erected a sign at the entrance of the park that read “Drug and Alcohol Free Zone”. It’s wise for the Occupation to set a clear standard about what is and is not allowed in the park; not only can they enforce it socially if they say they’re publicly against it, it gives them a shield against inevitable outside attacks.

A few Park Ambassadors stood at the south side, watching. At the east edge, I counted two Fox 5 news vans, two ABC 2 vans, and a CBS van.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Maybe it’s because there didn’t seem to be any definite resolution to clear them out that night, but I had a sense of a boy-who-cried-wolf effect: the city had promised to clear out the Occupation so many times, it was hard for the Occupiers to take it seriously.

Then again, maybe it was a greater resolution: the men and women in the park had had over two weeks to get accustomed to the idea of getting arrested, of dealing with the police, or of being evicted at any time. The threat no longer produced the same level of tension.

There was a General Assembly, but only a haphazard one, and in the margins, a man with a guitar was playing an acoustic version of “Such Great Heights”.

“We need to be proactive about getting supplies for re-encampment,” someone said, and the Assembly seemed to agree.

“Asserting your rights is the best way to avoid getting arrested.”

At the north end of Woodruff Park, a small platform stage was set up, and a few volunteers from CopWatch in their bright orange t-shirts were giving an impromptu “Know Your Rights” training – which, they assured us, could act as a prerequisite for us to go to formal CopWatch training later.

One held a sign with the three sentences they teach people to use in the event of an encounter with a police – the only three sentences:

“Am I being detained or am I free to go.”

“I do not consent to any searches.”

“I would like to speak to a lawyer.”

Two of them acted out a simulation where one accidentally bought weed from an undercover cop; the third explained what they had done wrong in their interaction. A Park Ambassador watched from behind.

Cutting Zip Ties

I spoke to a friend of mine who, as it turned out, was working as a medic that night. He wore white armbands with a crudely stitched red cross, and a red cross on his cap, along with a backpack full of supplies.

He told me that he’d been cutting zip ties holding together the barricades – so that if people had to make a hasty exit, they’d have a way out. As soon as he cut a zip tie, though, he’d come back through to find it replaced.

My friend was prepared to deal with the use of pepper spray or tear gas. For pepper spray, he said, they had an eyewash (antacids mixed with water) and alcohol wipes, to clear the residue from the skin. Besides that, he said, they could only instruct on aftercare: get rid of the clothes, care for your skin, and so forth.

“You’re giving the cops the power.”

At 11:05, there didn’t seem to be an increased police presence – or an increase in protesters. I passed an impromptu soccer game.

At the north end of the park, the Know Your Rights training was just wrapping up, with CopWatch explaining that asserting your rights, while it feels difficult, is necessary for those cases when you deal with corrupt or brutal police officers. They argued that many people do not assert their rights mostly because they do not want to anger a policeman; they want to just make the encounter as brief and easy as possible, simply so that they don’t have to inconvenience their lives.

When they do that, the CopWatchers said, they give the police too much power over them.

They opened the floor to the audience. One man told a story about a time he said he’d been unfairly arrested

“If the police want to put you in jail, they’ll put you in jail.”

As of 11:30 Monday night, the mayor’s office had said they would take further action only after meeting with local clergy, and sending clergy to meet with the Occupiers.