Eugene (KMTR) - The exodus from the Occupy Eugene encampment has gotten underway, emptying out Washington-Jefferson Park is turning out to be a slow process.Eugene Police Chief Pete Kerns says the city manager has approved an order to close the camp and it's been signed, the City of Eugene has not set a deadline for everyone to vacate the park.
“They could move everything out and then have some sort of protest that would require a police interaction, but we'll do everything we can to not make any arrests, even for those passive resistant protestors, because it's expensive to do that and it ties up a lot of people,” Kerns said.
The chief says cities around the country that have set deadlines to move occupiers out, such as Portland, have often ended up using Tasers and pepper spray. He says he hopes not having a deadline will help avoid that.
Meanwhile, some of the Occupy Eugene protesters say they will not go anywhere unless they are arrested and will stand by their message no matter what happens.