Memphis police removed protesters at the Memphis Occupy camp on the Main Street Mall, and city public works crews began removing tents and other items around 6 a.m. this morning.
According to city spokesperson Mary Cashiola, altercations and assaults at the camp, as well as public bathing and urination in the water wall fountain next to the Downtown Memphis Commission, were among the reasons the camp was dismantled.
The Memphis Occupy camp was one of the longest running such camps in the country. The Memphis camp was nearing its one-year anniversary. Previously, the city of Memphis and the Memphis Police Department had told the campers they could stay indefinitely so long as they remained peaceful and sanitary. The campers were also asked not to obstruct pedestrian or vehicular access to public areas and right-of-ways.
After the eviction, the city provided a secure location to stash the Occupiers belongings, and the homeless campers, which made up most of the campsite’s population, have been referred to the Community Alliance for the Homeless. Of the nine people at the campsite this morning, eight were homeless.
