For the first time since police began cracking down on park curfew violations, no Occupy Tulsa protesters were arrested or cited Sunday night at downtown's H.A. Chapman Centennial Green.
That was after only five citations were issued there Saturday night.
"That's what we like to see," Tulsa Police Officer Jason Willingham said. "As long as they are obeying the law, we will be there to protect them if need be and will allow them to protest."
Each night that police have enforced the city's 11 p.m. park curfew, a group of officers confronted a crowd of protesters and informed them of the curfew ordinance, Willingham said.
Sunday night was the first night every protester stepped onto the sidewalk, out of the curfew zone, he said.
"As we've said all along, this has nothing to do with the political movement behind it. It's all about obeying the law," Willingham said.
"Citizens are obviously given by the First Amendment the right to peaceably assemble, and we would encourage that activity to continue."
Police arrested 10 protesters for curfew violations at the park early Wednesday, 13 on Wednesday night and 10 Thursday. Two more were arrested Friday, but officers also issued two citations -- a new tactic in enforcing the curfew violations, police said.
Curfew violations carry a $55 fine.
Most protesters since Wednesday have left the park when officers ordered.
Daniel Lee, a spokesman for Occupy Tulsa, said protesters plan to maintain a constant presence at the park or on the sidewalk but are changing the way they protest the curfew, which they still view as a violation of their right to assemble.
The protesters' compliance Sunday was meant as a peace offering to the police, he said.
"Last night (protesters) decided to change tactics a little bit," he said. "We don't feel like it's backing down whether we're being cited or we're choosing to step off the grass.
"Either way, it's an act of free speech."
Some may still choose to be arrested in the coming nights, Lee said.
"We believe that those who wish to stand on the grass and be arrested, that's another way to exercise free speech," he said.
Protesters have been visiting several other parks past 11 p.m. to see if police would also enforce the curfew there, Lee said. Those protesters so far have not been arrested or cited, he said.
Willingham said police will continue enforcing the curfew and will arrest or cite violators when necessary.
The park curfew ends at 5 a.m.
Occupy Tulsa is modeled after the Occupy Wall Street protests that began in New York in September.
Members say they are protesting corporate greed and an unfair economic system. But in the curfew crackdowns, the Tulsa group's efforts have shifted toward asserting a right to assemble, Lee said.
Copyright 2011 - Tulsa World, Okla.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
