Earlier this week, Occupy Denver protesters faced another violent clash with Denver police when they were forcibly removed from Civic Center Park. This was the fifth eviction the Denver occupiers have undergone.
The eviction came after what was called an "incredibly unproductive" meeting between ten representatives of Occupy Denver and the new Denver police chief, Robert White. White told the protesters that their structures and belongings would be forcibly removed from the park if they chose not to remove them themselves.
Although this eviction was of less people than previous evictions, there were approximately 40 protesters present, and the police did not resort to firing pepper balls or spray into the crowd as has it in the past evictions, this eviction was newly marked by some protesters setting their own structures on fire.
On Tuesday, Keith Olbermann sat down with Ben Meyer, an Occupy Denver protester, and spoke to him about the eviction, the new police chief, the fires, the frustration and what's next for Occupy Denver (Watch the video above).
"Occupy Denver has always tried our best to comply with the laws that are here." Meyer told Olbermann about Occupy Denver's relationship with the DPD. "However, the reason we do have a new police chief, the Denver Police do have contentious relationships, especially with protesters if you look back to the DNC, and Occupy has not been entirely different with that either."
With regard to the fires, Meyer said, "What you saw there was a reaction to people who have been systematically, time and time again, disenfranchised. That was their response to being called an 'encumbrance' which is what they called people on the sidewalks. So, you can understand the anger."
Olbermann asks Meyer what is next for Occupy Denver after this kind of eviction and Meyer responds, "If you go down there today, you can see that we are rebuilding, reoccupying. It's all about reclaiming the commons until there is a viable alternative to sleeping out in the cold we are going to continue to occupy that park. Nothing has changed. We'll just keep going."
For more information, go to OccupyDenver.org.
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