Police In Riot Gear Surround Portland Protesters

In a tense escalation of the Occupy Portland protest, police in riot gear Sunday surrounded demonstrators in a downtown park area after hundreds of people defied the mayor's order to leave the park by midnight.

By early afternoon, officers had mostly surrounded the camp where the protesters were holding a "general assembly" meeting to discuss their next moves following the eviction order.

Some officers used nightsticks to push people away from the encampment and used loudspeakers to warn that anyone who resisted risked arrest and "may also be subject to chemical agents and impact weapons."

Demonstrators chanted "we are a peaceful protest."

Police could be seen carrying at least one protester away from the park. Another man was taken away on a stretcher; he was alert and talking to paramedics, and raised a peace sign to fellow protesters, who responded with cheers. There was no immediate word on arrests.
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