Above Photo:Â Denver Police attempted to evict Occupy protesters who refused to leave a community garden that the Denver Housing Authority plans to build on. Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY.
DENVER – Denver Police arrest 10 Occupy protesters who refused to leave a community garden Saturday night.
A spokesman for the Occupy Denver group who declined to give his name said the group wants to stop, at least temporarily, the destruction of the garden. The Denver Housing Authority plans to build on the site at 25th Street and Arapahoe Street, just east of LoDo.
“We’re sick of the gentrification,” the Occupy spokesman said.
The protesters are upset at what they see as a lack of commitment by the city to provide services and housing to the homeless.
DPD says 10 people were arrested for trespassing in wake of the protest. The Occupiers had erected temporary structures in the garden, which DPD says were given back to the owners or taken down.
A police helicopter circled overhead during the confrontation. A police supervisor said officers hoped to persuade the group to leave the area peacefully- but authorities had also brought in multiple sheriff’s office vans.
The Occupy group numbered about 20. At least twice as many police officers were present.