Officers lined up on the edge of the area as a helicopter whirred overhead. Protesters milled around the intersection, some shouting at the police. 23 people were arrested on charges of failure to disperse, obstruction, resisting arrest, and assault, the police department said on Twitter, including a 29-year-old man who had a large metal pipe and a kitchen knife. In remarks to reporters just after 7 a.m., Chief Best said she supported peaceful demonstrations but called activity in the autonomous zone “lawless” and “brutal.”
After the police cleared the area on Wednesday morning, officers checked the East Precinct station for “obstacles and other concerns,” Chief Best said, but were not yet operating out of the building. City workers in yellow and orange vests began removing spray-painted barricades and artwork. Signs reading, “All lives don’t matter until Black lives matter” and “R.I.P. E. Precinct” remained in front of empty tents that lined 12th Avenue. Protesters had been issued warnings to disperse when the police arrived, according to Detective Mark Jamieson. “There were people that wanted to be arrested,” he said. “We gave multiple orders to disperse and then either people leave or they don’t.”
