Occupy Portland: Campers share mixed reactions to approaching Sunday eviction, show no early signs of leaving

As Occupy Portland rustled to life Saturday morning, campers showed no early signs of leaving.

Campers waited in anticipation – some in calm acceptance, others in eager excitement – of their 12:01 a.m. Sunday deadline to clear two downtown parks.

Tents, tarps and booths first erected on Oct. 6 were still scattered throughout Lownsdale and Champman squares. Early morning-risers huddled by the coffee booth. Police officers holding masks lingered by the square corners.

Organizers expect that protesters upholding the original political message will stand on the sidelines, leaving a small number of homeless people and those looking for a fight to face off police at midnight.

Charles Stubbs, 32, said he would stay behind to support the people who are now like family to him. For the last three weeks, he has volunteered to patrol the camps as one of the movement’s peacekeepers. As a show of that support, he said he would allow himself to be arrested.

“I feel like my job’s not done yet,” Stubbs said. “I’ll go peacefully.”

There also appeared to be no signs of armed resistance on Saturday morning. After police officers said they removed a truckload of broken rocks and stones on Friday, campers said that most plan to defy police by civil disobedience, not violence. A kids camp has been vacated, and a group of about 100 veterans are expected to later join the movement.

Volunteers at the medical booth said they would stay until the end of the protest. They hoped to stock up at least a gallon of vinegar to treat bodily reactions to tear gas.

On Saturday morning, one of the medical booth volunteers, police and medical personnel responded to a camper suffering from a methamphetamine overdose. Three other overdoses have been reported over the course of the encampment, all related to heroin.

Mayor Sam Adams said at a press conference this week that he worried someone would die from an overdose in the camps. He said he does not want the camp to be "camouflage" any longer for harmful behavior and cited increasing reports of assaults as the main reason for the ordered eviction.

Police officers are prepared to arrest those who stay after the deadline, Police Chief Mike Reese said, and will try to do so in the "nicest possible manner."

This article is from Oregon Live (oregonlive.com).