A man with the Occupy Denver movement was arrested Wednesday and police confiscated materials, including clothing, sleeping bags and coolers, from a public area near the downtown jail
The incident unfolded at about 5 p.m. at the intersection of West Colfax Avenue and Tremont Place as commuters left work to head home.
The man arrested allegedly violated a city ordinance which bans the encumbrance of public right of way, said Lt. Kevin Edling of the Denver Police Department.
Police went to the intersection earlier in the day, at about 1 p.m., and talked with several people about moving their belongings, which were gathered in a pile, off the sidewalk and out of the way.
Officers spent about an hour with the group and the belonging were moved, Edling said.
One of the people who was at the spot earlier in the day returned with multiple items and started the process again, Edling said.
Police returned and arrested the man, who they declined to identify.
Protestors who remained in the area identified the man arrested as 43-year-old Eric Brandt. Police have not officially released his name.
Edling said the arrest was made without further incident.
Officers at the scene instructed remaining protestors to move the items. When that didn’t happen a Denver public works truck arrived, materials were loaded into it and taken away.
A protestor on a megaphone shouted insults at police as the items were being moved.
Protestors said their rights — to assemble and of free speech — were being violated, and their property was being “stolen” by police.
Edling said the protestors were given fair and adequate instructions to comply with the encumbrance ordinance and they failed to do so.
Jacquelin McCrief-Odinn, an Occupy Denver supporter who is currently homeless, anxiously watched as police and public works employees removed the items.
“This seems like a lost cause to me,” she said. “I’m just really tired.”
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822, knicholson@denverpost.com or @kierannicholson
