WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Park police used a Taser to subdue an anti-Wall Street protester during an arrest at a park near the White House on Sunday as tension rose ahead of a police order for the demonstrators to stop camping in the parks overnight.
"He was arrested for disorderly conduct. In the course of the arrest he was tased," Park police spokesman David Schlosser said, adding that he had no additional information on the man who was taken into custody.
The National Park Service has said it will begin enforcing a ban on Occupy protesters from camping in McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza, two parks just blocks from the White House where they have been living since October.
That order, if carried out as promised starting at noon on Monday, could be a blow to one of the highest-profile chapters of the movement, which denounces economic inequality.
Earlier on Sunday, Park Police posted notices on tents indicating their intent to start enforcing a ban on sleeping in the park overnight, the Washington protest group said.
A spokeswoman for the movement said police singled out, detained and tased a man who goes by the name "Lash" after protesters began removing the notices from tents. The group posted video of the incident on its website.
Sara Shaw, 24, said the group would "maintain a presence in the park," but she did not indicate whether Occupy members intended to defy the camping restrictions.
The so-called "Occupy" protests against economic inequality began last year in New York and have spread across the country. More than 400 people were arrested on Saturday night in Oakland, California during clashes with police. But protests have been peaceful in most cities, including Washington.
(Reporting By JoAnne Allen; Editing by Tim Gaynor and Greg McCune)
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