Update:Well, so much for the Tampa Police Department's boasts that Tampa is the only city in the U.S. that hasn't had any arrests in the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Although we're waiting to get specific information from the Tampa Police Department, we know there have been 6 protesters of Occupy Tampa arrested at Curtis Hixon Park this morning.
Reportedly there were issues with people refusing to get up off the sidewalk this morning after 6 a.m., which is when the park opens and those who sleep over night in the park have been instructed by the police to get up off the ground.
The ACLU's John Dingfelder said he was called early this morning and informed of the news. He said that the city's ordinance regarding the sidewalk in front of Curtis Hixon off of Ashley Drive will hold up in a criminal court.
The ordinance specifically mentions "objects" cannot block a sidewalk, but not people, an issue brought up Thursday by acting City Council chair Mary Mulhern to a Tampa police captain.
"The ordinance says don't place objects in the sidewalk. And the other part of the ordinance says don't block the sidewalk. I doubt they were blocking the sidewalk because they've (the protesters) have gone out of their way not to block the sidewalk. So then it falls back to whether a person is an object."
Again, CL is awaiting a response from the Tampa Police Department.
Tension has been brewing between the police and the protesters over the past week, leading to a meeting held yesterday at the City Council.
This article appears in Oct 20-26, 2011.
