In the pre-dawn hours on Wednesday, New York City Police officers in tactical gear cleared out the "Occupy City Hall" encampment that had made City Hall Park its home during a month-long demonstration against police brutality.

Recently, the City Hall Park set-up had attracted a number of homeless people. Mayor Bill de Blasio said the decision to shut down the demonstration was made on Tuesday night, out of concern for public health and safety. 

“What we saw change over the last few weeks was the gathering there got smaller and smaller, was less and less about protest and more and more of an area where homeless folks were gathering,” he said.

Just before 4 a.m., officers in helmets moved in with a wall of plastic shields in place. Seven individuals were arrested following clashes with the officers. One person was taken into custody after throwing a brick at a policeman. 

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