On Jan. 18, Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner issued a statement that the 109-day-old Occupy Syracuse encampment was to be evicted in 24 hours, at 8 a.m. the next day.
Prior to Miner’s announcement, the fire marshall had visited the camp several times, at first saying that the camp’s use of propane and electricity was safe. Then the visits from the fire marshall became more and more frequent, and the rules and regulations regarding what the campers’ could use became subject to drastic and unanticipated changes.
Finally, the fire marshall removed propane and propane accessories that were being used at the camp. At this time, occupiers were told the camp was safe and were under impression that there would be no more issues. Despite this statement, on Jan. 18 Miner cited safety concerns stemming from the use of propane as the reason for the eviction.
In response to the eviction notice, Occupiers organized to meet with Miner. Miner refused to meet with or speak to protesters. A mass call-in campaign began to ask the mayor to reconsider. The mayor refused to speak with anyone.
Community mobilizes to defend Occupy Syracuse
On Jan. 19, the Syracuse community mobilized to defend Occupy Syracuse from the impending attack by the mayor and her police forces. Over 50 people were present, several of them willing to be arrested, as 8 a.m. approached. As the deadline came and went, Occupiers became more militant. Around 8:30 a.m., there was a spontaneous march to City Hall, just a few blocks away. Occupiers marched up the steps to City Hall and burst through the doors chanting, “Evict Mayor Miner!”
The police detail for City Hall had been beefed up in anticipation of the eviction—there were easily a dozen cops on the first floor to protect the mayor from the people. The lead officer, appropriately named Det. Hack, served as the mayor’s mouthpiece, refusing to let anyone speak with the mayor or to provide any more information.
It was clear that the mayor and the police were not going to move on the encampment during daylight hours with all major news outlets present. Protesters remained at the site throughout the day, knowing that they could be forcibly removed at any time. A sheet was soon circulated where people could sign up for two-hour shifts to guard the encampment.
At 3:35 a.m. on Jan. 20, police and city workers swarmed Occupy Syracuse to remove the structures and protesters from the site. Seven Occupiers were arrested. Though the fire marshall had declared late on Jan. 19 that there was no safety hazard at the encampment, the Occupiers were arrested on trumped-up charges of “illegally erecting structures without a permit.” This charge, of course, is highly problematic because the structures had stood for 109 days without a permit.
Cops assault ANSWER activists
Risa C’DeBaca and Adam C’DeBaca, two activists with the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), had just finished their two-hour shift when the police moved in. They immediately rushed back to the site, parking in the lot behind the encampment. As there was no crime scene tape blocking the lot, they moved toward the site. Soon, they were accosted and assaulted by a police officer.
The cop lunged toward them and slammed them up against a car. The cop twisted Risa’s arm so forcefully that his nails dug into her skin, despite the three layers of winter clothing that she was wearing. Adam C’DeBaca, also a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, asked the cop if they were being detained or not, at which point the cop let them go.
The police were clearly acting as tools of Mayor Miner and the 1 percent, seeking to intimidate and harass the protesters.
The eviction, intended to squash the protest movement, has backfired. It has served only to further galvanize the people of Syracuse and to expose the allegiance of the police and the mayor to the 1 percent. Just a few days after the eviction, on Jan. 21, the mayor attended the Martin Luther King Jr. Unsung Hero’s award ceremony at Syracuse University. Little did the mayor know that one of the recipients was Risa C’DeBaca. As soon as she accepted her award, Risa “mic checked” the crowd, who repeated in unison “If MLK were alive today he would be occupying with us! … Evict Mayor Miner! Occupy Syracuse!”
