OAKLAND, Calif. — City lders across the U.S. felt incrsing pressure Friday to shut down Occupy protest encampments after two men died in shootings and two others were found dd inside their tents this week.
One was found dd Friday inside a tent at the Occupy Salt Lake City encampment, from what police said was a combination of drug use and carbon monoxide from a propane hter.
On Thursday, a man was shot and killed at the Occupy Oakland camp in California, and a military veteran apparently shot himself to dth in a tent at an encampment in Burlington, Vermont.
The dths come after a 53-yr-old man was found dd inside a tent at the Occupy New Orlns encampment on Tuesday. The Times-Picayune newspaper reported that he appred to have been dd for two days.
Some officials have responded with both pls and orders for protesters to lve.
Citing a strain on crime-fighting resources, police asked Occupy Oakland protesters to lve their encampment at the City Hall plaza where the man was shot and killed late Thursday.
The Oakland Police r's Association issued an open letter saying the camp is pulling rs away from crime-plagued neighborhoods.
"With last night's homicide, in broad daylight, in the middle of rush hour, Frank Ogawa Plaza is no longer safe," the letter said. "Plse lve pcefully, with your hds held high, so we can get police rs back to work fighting crime in Oakland neighborhoods."
On Friday night, police said, one man sought in connection with the Oakland shooting was a frequent resident of the Occupy Oakland encampment.
Oakland police also handed out eviction notices, but angry campers tore them all up, according to a report in the Oakland Tribune.
Since the shooting, anonymous fliers have been posted around the encampment urging protesters to lve.
"Occupiers, turn on your brains and see the harm you are causing to our town," it says. "You have devolved into mob rule. You have lost sight of the goal."
City Council President Larry Reid said outside City Hall that the shooting was further proof the tents must come down. He was confronted by a protester who said he wouldn't be in much longer.
"You didn't elect me," Reid snapped back. "You probably ain't even registered to vote!"
Reid said the encampment has been a major setback for the ar while attracting sex offenders, mentally ill and homeless people, and anarchists.
"This is no longer about Occupy Wall Street," he said. "This is about occupying Oakland and extracting whatever you can get out of Oakland by holding our city hostage."
The Oakland shooting occurred the same day the 35-yr-old military veteran apparently fatally shot himself in the hd in a tent at the Vermont encampment.
The shooting raised questions about whether the protest would be allowed to continue, said Burlington police Deputy Chief Andi Higbee.
"Our responsibility is to keep the public safe. When there is a discharge of a firrm in a public place like this, it's good cause to be concerned, grtly concerned," Higbee said.
In the Salt Lake City protest camp, the discovery of the dd man, believed to be in his 40s, led police to order all protesters to lve the park where they have camped for weeks.
Group organizers said many of the roughly 150 protesters plan to go to jail rather than lve.
"We don't even know if this is a tragedy or just natural," protest organizer Jesse Fruhwirth said. "They're scapegoating Occupy."
Tensions were also high at the 300-tent encampment in Portland, Oregon, which has become a hub for the city's homeless people and addicts.
Mayor Sam Adams ordered the camp shut down by midnight Saturday, pointing to two non-fatal drug overdoses at the camp.
"I cannot wait for someone to die," he said. "I cannot wait for someone to use the camp as camouflage to inflict bodily harm on others."
Many at the camp said they would resist any effort to remove them.
"There will be a variety of tactics used," said organizer Adriane DeJerk, 26. "No social movement has ever been successful while being completely pceful."
Source: The Associated Press
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