Police Tear Down Occupy London (Ont.)

Despite offers from the Occupiers to negotiate, police swept through London's Victoria Park early this morning.

Police have torn down the Occupy protest camp in London, Ont., the first camp to be shut down by authorities in Canada. Authorities had informed protesters that they would be sweeping through London's Victoria Park last night to remove the tents, and despite offers from the protesters to negotiate, the police circled the park and began marching on it at about 12:45 a.m. The city said the protesters had been violating a bylaw that banned people from being in the park between 10 p.m. and six a.m No arrests or clashes were reported as police disassembled the site, despite the protesters saying they would form a human chain around their encampment. Similar warnings have been issued to encampments in Quebec City, Vancouver, and Victoria, although police have yet to move in to the Occupied zones in those cities.