Police in Denver and Salt Lake City swept anti-Wall Street protesters from their camps as demonstrators in Portland, Ore., folded their tents ahead of a midnight eviction deadline.
Oakland, Calif., protesters vowed to defy orders to dismantle their camps.
In Denver, police broke up an encampment at Civic Center park early Saturday evening.
Livestream video by protesters showed police firing tear gas and then picking up protesters' belongings that hadn't already been removed after demonstrators were ordered to take away personal property including tents and grills.
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About 100 protesters moved toward the 16th Street Mall while chanting "Whose streets, our streets."
Police were shown surrounding protesters on a sidewalk and arresting at least who tried to cross the street.
Despite the midnight deadline, police had not moved in on protesters in Portland by 12:30 a.m., according to several video streams monitored by msnbc.com. Kelly House, a reporter for The Oregonian, said in a tweet that people at the site were reciting the pledge of allegiance after the authorities' deadline had passed.
Salt Lake City park cleared
In Salt Lake City, police cleared out an encampment at Pioneer Park after protesters refused an order by Police Chief Chris Burbank to clear out by 30 minutes after sundown Saturday, NBC station KSL reported.
Protesters shown on a livestream internet feed said police sent a frontloader into the park to clean up demonstrators' belongings left behind. At least 15 people were detained, KSL said.
Burbank said he had had enough after an unidentified and possibly homeless man was found dead in his tent there, possibly of carbon monoxide poisoning from a propane heater and a drug overdose.
"We can no longer tolerate individuals camping on our streets. We can no longer care for individuals camping here," Burbank told protesters. "I commit to work with you to find avenues that you can express your free speech. It just can't be done through camping in our streets and in our parks."
Reinforcements in Portland?
Earlier in Portland, police said they had received reports that protesters were digging a reinforced hole and fashioning makeshift weapons out of wood and nails after Mayor Sam Adams gave them until midnight on Saturday to clear out of two downtown parks.
However, many demonstrators began folding their tents and leaving hours ahead of the deadline, the Oregonian reported. Police set up spotlights to provide lighting within the encampment, NBC station KGW said. City dump trucks came to haul away debris.
An estimated 200 to 300 protesters marched from Pioneer Courthouse Square to Terry Schrunk Plaza at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, police told NBC station KGW.
Police said they believed Occupy Portland organizers had also put out a call for reinforcements from Oakland, Seattle and San Francisco as they prepared for a confrontation.
"There may even be as many as 150 anarchists who will arrive soon," Portland police said in a written statement.
"There is information that people may be in the trees during a police action and that there are people who are attempting to obtain a large number of gas masks," the statement said.
Occupy Portland organizers denied that they were making weapons or recruiting anarchists for a pitched battle and insisted that they were a nonviolent movement.
Oakland issues eviction notices
In Oakland, where police and protesters have clashed several times over the past few weeks, organizers said they intended to stay in Frank Ogawa Plaza near city hall despite increasing pressure by authorities.
On Friday night, police handed out fliers at the Occupy Oakland encampment putting demonstrators on notice that they were violating the law by camping and having open fires.
The city issued another eviction notice on Saturday morning. It warns protesters that they do not have the right to camp in the plaza overnight and face immediate arrest and the removal of their tents, stoves, sleeping bags and other belongings.
Police and a city official did not respond to requests for comment on whether police were preparing to forcibly clear the camp.
The Friday warning came one day after a man was shot to death not far from the plaza, prompting the Oakland police officers union to release an open letter asking protesters to pack up and leave.
But protesters, who say the shooting was unrelated to them, took shelter in their tents on Friday night as a steady rain fell over the Bay Area, showing no signs of leaving.
Police forcibly removed tents and drove protesters out of Frank Ogawa Plaza on October 25, only for demonstrators to return later to reclaim the public square outside City Hall.
Police and protesters clashed again the following week after a day of largely peaceful citywide rallies and marches that forced a brief shutdown of the Port of Oakland.
San Francisco officers attacked
A clash with Occupy San Francisco protesters left one police officer slashed and a second with a torn uniform Saturday afternoon, the Contra Costa Times reported.
A woman wielding an "exacto razor blade attached to a pen or pencil-like object" slashed one officer as police tried to keep marchers at the Embarcadero near Broadway from blocking the intersection where light rail tracks are located, the Times said, citing police reports.
Also, one protester grabbed an officer's radio and a second protester blocked the officer's attempt to retrieve it, tearing his uniform and cutting his cheek in the process, the Times said.
27 arrested in St. Louis
In St. Louis, police arrested 27 demonstrators protesting economic issues at a downtown plaza early Saturday for curfew violations, authorities said.
The anti-Wall Street protesters offered no resistance as officers slipped on plastic handcuffs and walked them into police vans amid chants of "Our passion for freedom is stronger than your prison," and "Serve the people, not the state."
About 400 people had gathered at the plaza near the Gateway Arch on Friday night despite a warning from St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay that they would have to leave the park.
Slay has offered to continue talks to find a permanent place for the protest.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45271511/ns/us_news-life/
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