Thirty protesters are on trial on charges including conspiracy, failure to disperse and obstructing a highway in connection with the Nov. 29 eviction.
Capt. William Fisher testified Thursday police brass only ordered arrests as the morning rush hour approached, several hours after the middle-of-the-night eviction to make way for a construction project.
The protesters had camped outside City Hall in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street in New York, speaking out against economic inequality and what they called corporate greed.
Defense attorneys say those arrested were on a sidewalk and not obstructing the street.
