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Los Angeles police declared an unlawful assembly Thursday night as protesters attempted to block the department’s final push to clear a tent city from a local park.
The LAPD said on Twitter that a large crowd was shining high-intensity lights at officers, “in an attempt to blind” them, as officers tried to shut down the Echo Park Lake encampment.
Police ordered the group, which was about 100 people strong, to leave or face arrest, according to CBS LA.
Video posted to Twitter by local reporter Lexis-Olivier Ray shows several protesters being detained following a standoff with police at the scene of the encampment.
The confrontation came one night after cops in riot gear clashed with hundreds of protesters who opposed the planned sweep.
The tense clashes lasted for hours, spilling into the early hours of Thursday morning.
Officials had allowed homeless people living in Echo Park to stay overnight Wednesday, but were ordered to leave by Thursday night, Chief Michel Moore told the Los Angeles Times.
One protester from Wednesday night, Isaac Scher, told the newspaper that an LAPD officer allegedly broke his arm with a baton during the standoff.
The LAPD told the Times they are investigating Scher’s claims to “get to the bottom of the facts.”
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