Third Wave Of Arrests At Downtown Occupy Demonstrations

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — The LAPD arrested 47 "occupy" protesters in the third demonstration Thursday in downtown L.A., bringing the total number of arrests for the day to 72.

Around 5 p.m. Thursday police began to arrest demonstrators one by one who had locked arms and refused to evacuate an area near the Bank of America plaza downtown.

Many demonstrators had illegally erected tents nearby during the third downtown demonstration of the day.

The arrests of at least 20 people for unlawful assembly took place in an orderly fashion, and protesters were mostly peaceful. However two demonstrators were arrested for assault on an officer.

Earlier Thursday, a section of downtown was paralyzed for around three hours as protesters filled the streets of downtown for a scheduled march.

Shortly after 9:30 a.m. police began to make arrests for unlawful assembly as demonstrators set up camp in the middle of the streets. The morning protest resulted in at least 23 arrests.

A second march began Thursday afternoon, as "occupy" members joined forces with labor unions and community groups.

This march took place without a permit, and police attempted to keep protesters on the sidewalks. When the crowd grew larger and spilled out into the streets, more arrests were made.

"Occupy" leaders said Wednesday it would be their intention to get attention Thursday through planned demonstrations without arrests.