
 
 Although Occupy L.A. participants on Sunday vowed to defy an order to abandon their City Hall encampment, police said they are still hoping to clear the park without a violent confrontation. 
 
 The city has notified protesters that City Hall Park will be closed beginning at midnight Sunday, setting the stage for a possible showdown between police and demonstrators. 
 
 “We still hoping that they will respect the 12:00 deadline that they’ve been given,” Cmdr. Andrew Smith told a KCAL 9 reporter, standing outside police headquarters across the street from the Occupy encampment. 
 
 PHOTOS: Occupy L.A. 
 
 “We’ve learned from lot of our own mistakes in the past several years,” Smith said. “We’ve done a lot of training with our officers. The good news is that we’ve maintained a good dialogue … with the people across the street, stressing nonviolence. We hope that continues.” 
 
 But Smith declined to discuss what the police strategy would be or whether evictions would begin immediately after midnight. 
 
 “We don’t discuss tactics,” he said. “Our policy has always been to not broadcast our strategy in advance.” 
 
 FULL COVERAGE: Occupy protests 
 
 Earlier, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa issued a statement saying Occupy LA protesters would have "ample time" to leave before police begin clearing their tent village. 
 
 "Though the park will officially close tonight at 12:01 a.m., the department will allow campers ample time to remove their belongings peacefully and without disruption," Villaraigosa said in a written statement Sunday night. 
 
 The mayor reiterated his earlier statements that the seven-week occupation of City Hall's south lawn had run its course and that it was time for protesters to move on. 
 
 But some protesters have vowed to stay put. 
 
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 FULL COVERAGE: Occupy protests around the nation 
 
 City councilman urges Occupy L.A. to move indoors, into politics 
 
 Occupy L.A. campers play, pray as city’s midnight deadline looms 
 
 --Carlos Lozano 
 
 Photo: LAPD officers talk with an Occupy LA protester just a few hours before the midnight deadline for the occupiers to pack up their tents and vacate the area. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times 

 More than two hours after a deadline to vacate their encampment, Wall Street protesters in Los Angeles are showing no signs of retreating. 
 
 A crowd gathers at the Occupy LA protestors' camp outside of Los Angeles City Hall in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa stated Friday that the protestors's campsite... (Associated Press) 
 
 Unidentified Occupy LA protestors are camped outside of Los Angeles City Hall in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa stated Friday that the protestors's campsite... (Associated Press) 
 
 This Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011 photo shows an eviction notice sign posted at the Occupy LA encampment on the grounds of Los Angeles City Hall. The mayor and police chief have given protesters a deadline... (Associated Press) 
 
 A crowd gathers at the Occupy LA protestors' camp outside of Los Angeles City Hall in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced Friday the campsite will be... (Associated Press) 
 
 Occupy LA protestors remove their belongings from outside of Los Angeles City Hall in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa stated Friday that the protestors's campsite... (Associated Press) 
 
 Occupy LA protestors are seen camped outside of Los Angeles City Hall in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa stated Friday that the protestors's campsite will... (Associated Press) 
 
 Occupy Los Angeles protestors are camped outside of Los Angeles City Hall in Los Angeles, on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa stated Friday that the campsite will be dismantled,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Occupy LA protestors Scott Shustea, left, and Brian Goovetsky practice a nonviolent resistance exercise with other protestors outside of Los Angeles City Hall in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011.... (Associated Press) 
 
 An unidentified Occupy LA protestor sweeps the steps of Los Angeles City Hall with a palm frond as another speaks using a bull horn in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa... (Associated Press) 
 
 And despite the midnight deadline for the hundreds of protesters to leave the camp at a park by City Hall, police have yet to take action. 
 
 Police earlier said arrests will likely be made, but Cmdr. Andrew Smith said Monday that he's not going to discuss timelines or tactics. 
 
 He tells The Associated Press that so far the crowd has been pretty cooperative. 
 
 Smith says police want to carry out their orders to clear the park as "gently as we possibly can." 
 
 He says they hope they don't have to use force or arrest anyone. 
 
 THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. 
 
 Wall Street protesters in Los Angeles defied the mayor's early Monday deadline to vacate their encampment near City Hall, with about 1,000 flooding into the area as hundreds of tents remained standing as they have for nearly two months. 
 
 A celebratory atmosphere filled the night with protesters milling about in seeming good spirits. A group on bicycles circled the block, one of them in a cow suit. Organizers led chants with a bull horn. 
 
 "The best way to keep a non-violent movement non-violent is to throw a party, and keep it festive and atmospheric," said Brian Masterson. 
 
 Shortly after the 12:01 a.m. PST Monday deadline, there was only a small police presence. About two dozen motorcycle officers remained across the street from the camp, while a half dozen in riot gear blocked off a nearby street. 
 
 "We're still here, it's after 12, ain't nobody throwing anything at the cops, they haven't come in and broken anyone's noses yet, so it's a beautiful thing," said Adam Rice, a protester standing across the street from police in riot gear. 
 
 Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said earlier that the grounds would be closed after the deadline, while Police Chief Charlie Beck promised that arrests would eventually be made if protesters did not comply. 
 
 But in a statement issued shortly before midnight, the mayor said police "will allow campers ample time to remove their belongings peacefully and without disruption." 
 
 As the deadline approached, people poured into the grounds, likely many of them answering calls on Facebook and Twitter to come out and show solidarity. 
 
 Many protesters including the chief organizers have said they had no intention of vacating, and only a handful of campers cleared out over the weekend. 
 
 The Los Angeles showdown follows police actions in other cities _ sometimes involving the use of pepper spray and tear gas _ that resulted in the removal of long-situated demonstration sites. Some of those encampments had been in use almost since the movement against economic disparity and perceived corporate greed began with Occupy Wall Street in Manhattan two months ago. 
 
 Well after midnight, some protesters began marching into the streets, and several crossed the street to police headquarters. 
 
 "Me and my friends, we are not leaving no matter what," said Brian Guzman, who stood on the street corner holding a "Power to the People" sign. "Not until we get some changes." 
 
 The mayor did not say what tactics authorities would use for those who refuse to leave _ or when they will begin using them. 
 
 Masterson said he had turned his own tent into a "non-violent booby trap" by filling it with sandbags to make it tough to tear down. 
 
 "We can't beat the LAPD, but we can make it difficult for them to do their job, and have fun while we're doing it," Masterson said. 
 
 Elsewhere, a deadline set by the city for Occupy Philadelphia to leave the site where it has camped for nearly two months passed Sunday without any arrests. 
 
 The scene outside Philadelphia's City Hall was quiet most of Sunday and by early Monday the numbers of protesters _ and police officers _ had decreased. 
 
 Philadelphia's protesters have managed to avoid aggressive confrontations so far. By early Monday there was still hope the City of Brotherly Love would continue to be largely violence-free. 
 
 But eight people were arrested in Maine Sunday after protesters in the Occupy Augusta encampment in Capitol Park took down their tents and packed their camping gear after being told to get a permit or move their shelters. 
 
 In Los Angeles, some campers packed up their tents and belongings to avoid police trouble, but said they intended to return without them in support of their fellow protesters. 
 
 Scott Shuster was one of those breaking down his camp, but he said it was only to protect his property and he planned to remain. 
 
 "I just don't want to lose my tent," he said. 
 
 Others moved their tents to the sidewalk so they were technically out of the park. 
 
 Villaraigosa, a former labor organizer himself, has said he sympathizes with the movement but that he felt it was time it moved beyond holding on to "a particular patch of park." He said public health and safety could not be sustained for a long period. 
 
 Chief Charlie Beck told the Los Angeles Times in an interview published Sunday that he expected to make arrests at some point. 
 
 "I have no illusions that everybody is going to leave," Beck said. "We anticipate that we will have to make arrests."
– Time has run out for Occupy LA protesters, who were ordered to pack up their 500 tents and leave by one minute past midnight this morning, reports AP. But the deadline has passed, and most protesters show no signs of moving. Some have been teaching resistance tactics and how to keep safe from rubber bullets and tear gas. "Their plan is to resist the closure of this encampment and if that means getting arrested so be it," said one of the protesters. "I think they just want to make the police tear it down rather than tear it down themselves." Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a former labor organizer, has expressed sympathy with the protesters, but says it is time for the encampment to be shut down. He assured protesters last night that they would have "ample time" to pack up before police move in, reports the Los Angeles Times. Police Commander Andrew Smith said officers hope to remove the protesters "as gently as we possibly can." But Police Chief Charlie Beck expects some arrests at some point. "I have no illusions that everybody is going to leave," he said.