'Occupy' protests swell nationwide; dozens arrested
October 14, 2011 -- Updated 1628 GMT (0028 HKT)
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New York (CNN) -- Wall Street protests swelled in cities nation-wide Friday, as municipal police forces around the country struggled to either corral or remove demonstrators from downtown parks and plazas in the latest development of the month-long movement.
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Dozens were arrested in Denver, San Diego and New York, while similar demonstrations were scheduled to take place in Washington, Atlanta and Detroit. CNN iReporters sent in photos and video from "occupy" protests in dozens of American cities coast to coast.
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In San Diego, CNN affiliate KFMB broadcast images of police detaining demonstrators as they gathered amid tents and tarps strewn about a downtown plaza.
Protesters appeared to refuse to leave the area, sitting in columns atop the tarps and yelling, "Stay down" as police tried to remove them from the scene.
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In Denver, police say 24 people were arrested as CNN affiliate KMGH broadcast aerial video of police detaining protesters in a downtown section of the city.
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And in New York , Police Department Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said police had arrested 14 demonstrators, after they sat down in roadways blocking traffic, overturned trash bins, knocked over a police scooter and hurled bottles.
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New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said earlier Friday morning that Brookfield Office Properties -- the real-estate firm that owns Zuccotti Park, considered a home-base for protesters -- made the decision not to clear them out after the company was "inundated" with threatening calls from elected city officials.
The mayor said during his weekly commentary on New York's WOR Radio that he didn't know which officials allegedly made the threats, but that the company decided to work out some form of a negotiated settlement with protesters in the coming days.
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Bloomberg added that while he lacked first-hand knowledge of the conversations, he was told the officials generally threatened to "make life more difficult" for the real-estate company.
Brookfield Properties issued a statement later Friday saying "a number of local political leaders" requested the cleaning of the park be deferred for "a short period of time."
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The cancellation averts a broader showdown between authorities and demonstrators, who appeared heartened by news of the cancellation.
"We are winning and Wall Street is afraid," protester Kira Moyer-Sims said in a written statement distributed by the group. "This movement is gaining momentum and is too big to fail."
Bloomberg's office announced earlier that the real-estate firm withdrew their request made earlier in the week for police assistance during the scheduled clean-up operation.
"Our position has been consistent throughout: the City's role is to protect public health and safety, to enforce the law, and guarantee the rights of all New Yorkers. Brookfield believes they can work out an arrangement with the protesters that will ensure the park remains clean, safe, available for public use and that the situation is respectful of residents and businesses downtown, and we will continue to monitor the situation," said Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway.
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The demonstrations have been mostly peaceful, though there had been fears of a standoff between police officers tasked with clearing the park and protesters who said they wouldn't budge.
City officials in New York had initially ordered the protesters to leave by 7 a.m.
But the demonstrators mopped, collected trash and scrubbed the pavement in the dead of the night as the Friday deadline neared for them to leave the premises for a cleanup. When the word of the postponed cleaning filtered through the more than 1,000 protesters who filled the park, they were elated.
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The protesters, who have been chanting "All day! All week! Occupy Wall Street," called the development a victory and planned to continue their passive resistance, "We're extremely excited.This is an example of what people power can do," Tyler Combelic, a spokesman for Occupy Wall Street. "This is what democracy is all about in this country,"
Protesters descended on the privately-owned park near the New York Stock Exchange on September 17 to protest the nation's ailing economy.
"You want to clean up something? Clean up these crooks on Wall Street," said City Council Member Charles Barron.
Councilwoman Letitia James of Brooklyn said the move to clean the park was a "ruse" to end the protest.
Bloomberg told protesters Wednesday that the decision to clean the park was made after owners voiced concerns about "unsanitary conditions and considerable wear and tear on the park."
"The mayor is a strong believer in the First Amendment and believes that the protesters have a right to continue to protest," Holloway said in an earlier statement.
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But the situation in the park is "not in the best interests of the protesters, residents or the city," he said.
The plan had been to clean the park in stages, and protesters would be allowed to return to the park as areas were cleaned if they obeyed the rules set forth by the owners, Brookfield Properties, the statement said.
"The park has not been cleaned in four weeks, a process that is normally undertaken every night," Brookfield said in a statement. "Our goal is to keep the park clean, safe, and accessible to all."
Zuccotti Park was built for the general public, but the weeks-long protest has raised concerns among area business owners and residents about sanitation.
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The protest campaign began in July with the launch of a campaign website calling for a march and a sit-in at the New York Stock Exchange.
For about a month, demonstrations have addressed such issues as police brutality, union busting and the economy, the group said.
Organizers have taken inspiration from this year's Arab Spring protests that swept through North Africa ad the Middle East. Crowds have taken up residence in the park in New York's financial district, and organizers have called for 20,000 people to flood the area for a "few months."
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CNN's Susan Candiotti, Anna Gonzalez and Vivienne Foley contributed to this report.
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