An activist with Occupy Atlanta was arrested outside a south DeKalb home the group is trying to save from foreclosure.
According to a DeKalb County Police incident report, Michael Olszewski, 22, of Norcross, was charged with obstructing a street when an officer turned on to the street.
The incident report states that police were patrolling the neighborhood “due to past burglaries in the area.”
Olszewski’s arrest occurred outside the home of 62-year-old Christine Frazer, where several Occupy Atlanta activists have been camping since early March.
Leila Abadir of Occupy Atlanta said a marshal arrived at Frazer’s home at approximately 7:20 a.m.
The marshal asked for a person named Carter. When Occupy Atlanta members told him there was no one at the home with that name, the marshal “went to the end of the cul-de-sac for five minutes, then left,” Abadir said.
According to the incident report, Olszewski blocked a police car, refused to identify himself and stated that it was his right to stand here.
While the officer was waiting for backup, Olszewski told the officer that he was a member of an organization “that won’t let police officers on this street,” the incident report stated.
At first, Olszewski stood in the street blocking the passage of the police car, Abadir said. “When the police asked him to move, he did, moving back to the [homeowner’s] property.”
After several police cars arrived, “they got him and arrested him,” Abadir said.
“They said they weren’t there for us and they knew nothing about the eviction,” Abadir said. “I think they were clearly trying to threaten us.” The activists have been expecting a showdown with police since a writ of possession notice was signed March 7 giving marshals the authority to remove the occupants from the home.
The Occupy Atlanta group has helped Frazer file a lawsuit against Investors One Corporation, the company that claims to own the loan and is attempting to evict the family from the home.
Frazer’s attorney is challenging the assignment of the mortgage to Investors One after the mortgage changed companies three times in six months.
“We tried to give [the officers] an affidavit about the lawsuit,” Frazer said. “They said they were not there for an eviction. They said they were there for a general check.”
Olszewski was released on a $100 bond.