After issuing 31 citations Wednesday, officials moved in on the Occupy encampment on Thursday, clearing personal items and arresting one person.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HONOLULU — City workers have cleared a sofa, a bicycle and other personal items from the Occupy Honolulu camp at Thomas Square.
Police and city workers moved in around 2 a.m. Saturday. No one was arrested or ticketed. But despite protesters’ complaints, the personal items were loaded onto two flatbed trucks and taken away.
“It feels like we were robbed,” said Matthew Guss, a University of Hawaii senior who joined the protest in November.
The park also was sprayed with disinfectant and the sidewalk pressure-washed.
Honolulu police Sgt. Lawrence Santos said the cleaning was needed to ensure public safety and reduce the risk of slip-and-fall injuries.
The entire park, not just the Occupy encampment, was inspected and cleaned.
After city crews finished their work, a handful of tents remained set up on the sidewalk outside the park, though a Parks and Recreation official said the city could again tag protestors’ personal items and remove them Monday.
City officials told protesters on Wednesday that they could not store their belongings in the park because of a new city law that allows officials to remove personal property stored in public areas.
After issuing 31 citations Wednesday, officials moved in on the Occupy encampment on Thursday, clearing personal items and arresting one person.