19 people were arrested as Salt Lake City and Unified Police officers took control of Pioneer Park Saturday night, clearing out tents and cleaning up after the Occupy Salt Lake City movement was kicked out at sundown.
After a man was found dead in his tent at Pioneer Park, the Salt Lake City Police Dept. ordered an eviction notice for the Occupy Salt Lake City protesters Saturday evening. But just minutes before dusk, the Salt Lake City Mayor's Office and protesters organized a deal that allowed them to stay, with some restrictions.
The body of a man believed to be in his 40s was found in his tent at around 10 a.m. Friday. The cause of death was initially believed to be carbon monoxide poisoning and a drug overdose.
Just two hours later, Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank said that the occupation would have to end; police allowance of protesters camping in the park overnight had been revoked and protesters would have to be out by dusk on Saturday.
"We can no longer tolerate individuals camping on our streets. It's been demonstrated not only by the unfortunate incident this morning, but a large fight the other night, that we are unable to adequately care for individuals that are camping here," Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank told Occupy SLC members on Friday.
Officials said that the death was not the only trigger for the end of the overnight protests, but that they had faced an increase in violence in Pioneer Park since the occupation started several weeks ago; they had made more than 90 arrests in the area since early October.
But as time wore down Saturday evening, the Salt Lake City Mayor's Office said that protesters will still be able to have a 24-hour presence and one building but will not be able to camp out in tents.
Leaders with the Occupy movement, however, say they are unsatisfied with the compromise, saying it restricts their First Amendment right to assembly.
"No, it's not a good compromise. We've been given a token concession but our rights to assembly which are embodied in the First Amendment are being violated," said Jesse Fruhwirth with Occupy SLC. "We are being forcibly evicted by the police after a 36-hour notice."
Officials refute by saying that protesters' ability to gather and protest is not restricted, but are only restricted from camping overnight.
"They will be able to gather. We are not restricting that in any way, shape or form. We are not allowing them to camp overnight," said Burbank. "We are supportive of of people's expression and free speech rights. We're just imposing time restrictions due to the circumstances so camping is not allowed."
Burbank says that protesters attempting to remain camped out overnight will be arrested.
Police arrived at around 5:30 p.m., police arrived on-scene to begin the eviction process. At least 100 police vehicles were on the scene, shutting down roads around Pioneer Park.
Burbank said that the police presence was there to help protesters shut down the tent city, whether it was to help find alternate housing or facilitate the arrest of anyone wishing to be arrested en lieu of vacating the park.
A total of 19 protesters were arrested Saturday night as police took down tents and cleaned up Pioneer Park.
"There were 18 individuals who were booked into jail and one was cited," said Sgt. Shawn Josephson with the SLC Police Dept.
Josephson said that the clearing of Pioneer Park went very well and that they have officers from several agencies, including UPD, animal control, the SLC Mayor's Office and the protesters themselves to thank for the relatively non-violent eviction.
"We provide the resources to do this safely," said Josephson. "There were some individuals who decided they wanted to be arrested."
There were numerous services available for protesters to aid in relocation. Some protesters went to local shelters, others received rides to other locations. Some of the protesters were reportedly headed to the Occupy Ogden protest.
Josephson said that the future for the Occupy SLC protest is unclear; exact parameters of the Mayor's Office agreement with protesters are still in the works.
