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A excavator clears an area in Camp Cormorant during a move Tuesday from Dunphy Park to Marinship Park enforced by Sausalito police.

Camp Cormorant resident Daniel Eggink tells police to stop the forced move of homeless people in Sausalito.

Robbie Powelson, president of the Marin Homeless Union and Camp Cormorant resident, is pushed out by officers in a forced move from Dunphy Park to Marinship Park in Sausalito.

Workers build a fence around the public property area that was Camp Cormorant.

Katie Beck and her child Iggy, age 2, residents of Camp Cormorant, watch police keep activists and residents back as they enter the encampment to execute the move to Marinship Park.

Sausalito police officers carry out a resident who refuses to leave the homeless encampment at Dunphy Park.

Daniel Eggink, a resident of Camp Cormorant an encampment made up of many of former anchor-outs, stands in the shovel of a bulldozer as he protests the forced move of the camp from Dunphy Park to Marinship Park on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 in Sausalito, Calif.

Amid drumbeats and chants of “We shall not be moved,” Sausalito police officers removed residents of a homeless encampment at Dunphy Park late Tuesday morning after months of mounting tensions.

Officers arrived at the park around 6 a.m., according to Robbie Powelson, a part-time resident of the camp and president of the Marin Homeless Union. Daniel Eggink, 84, the first person to put up a tent at the park, sat on a chair in front of the parked police car and said he was there to “defend freedom.”

His plan — and his hope to save the camp and the community that called it home since December — wilted when confronted with a phalanx of police officers and an accompanying bulldozer. A few hours later, the camp was dismantled.

The encampment, dubbed Camp Cormorant by its residents, was a community of around 35 people, including some young children. Some were former boaters who were living on vessels that were anchored illegally out in nearby Richardson Bay. After being ousted from the boats, they started camping at Dunphy Park out of protest.

The city has spent more than six months trying to relocate the camp to the nearby Marinship Park — a field tucked away just beyond the U.S. Army Corps boatyard where illegally anchored vessels that were seized get crushed.

An officer removes a sign from a bulldozer that was put there by residents of Camp Cormorant, an encampment made up of many of former anchor-outs.

After the residents of the camp protested, a federal judge blocked the relocation plan, citing concerns around relocation during the pandemic. Camp Cormorant’s residents said being near the boat-crushing yard would be hazardous to their physical and mental health due to toxic air quality concerns.

The city won approval to move the camp this month, in part because an air sample test done in March did not support the camp’s claims of toxicity in the air. On Friday, camp residents were notified that they would have to leave by Tuesday.

On Monday evening, the residents of Camp Cormorant sent a letter to Sausalito city officials asking for a meeting on Tuesday evening where they could go over their demands — and wishes — for the park.

It appears no such meeting was granted.

Amid the controversy and confusion surrounding the move, the Sausalito Art Festival, which is held annually at Marinship Park, canceled the festival for the second year in a row. With the court fight over the encampment, organizers scrapped the event. The city, a number of nonprofits and the festival foundation will again miss out on millions in funds generated by the event.

Signs painted on pieces of plywood adorned the walls of the camp Tuesday, with slogans like “Love Will Win,” and “Stand Against violence.” Another said “72 hours to relocate after six months?!” — an issue that seemed to be a sticking point for many camp residents.

In a statement, Sausalito Mayor Jill Hoffman reiterated that the move would be done with care.

“We are making every effort to move in a manner that is safe, compassionate and respectful of individual and community needs,” she wrote.

By 7:30 a.m., more officers arrived at the scene along with the bulldozer. After a confrontation between Eggink and a police officer, Powelson stepped in. The 27-year-old was arrested on three charges: obstruction of justice, unlawful assembly and camping.

“They just want him out of the way because he rallies people,” Guy Kelley, another part-time resident of the camp who also owns a ship and helps build housing for the homeless, said as he watched Powelson get handcuffed.

Jeff Chase, 59, another Camp Cormorant resident who was dressed head-to-toe in red with rain boots, carried a megaphone he used to read Bible verses to police officers at the scene. Chase established the three small gardens at the camp, where they grow tomatoes, cilantro, mint and sunflowers — among other herbs and vegetables. He said that it was unlawful for the police to move the encampment, and emphasized that it was not voluntary.

“They said in the eviction order that they’d save our stuff,” Chase said. “But on the other hand, they have a bulldozer.”

By 10 a.m., police were tossing the handmade signs into giant dumpsters. At least 10 officers stationed themselves at corners of the encampment as crews brought in fences. Residents of the camp began to shout at them, chanting, “Shame on you, shame on blue.” They called the officers bullies, and asked to see warrants.

“What are you going to tell your kids you did today? Bullied poor people?” one resident yelled.

As officers closed in on the tents, some residents began to pick up their things and leave. By 11:30 a.m., officers had started entering the tents that remained. Residents resisted, sitting or lying on the floor.

“Move peacefully or you will be arrested,” one officer yelled, as residents shouted back, “Don’t push me.” Those who refused to move were bodily escorted out by police.

Danielle Echeverria and Annie Vainshtein are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: avainshtein@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @annievain

Danielle Echeverria is a reporter for The Chronicle's Engagement and Breaking News team. She recently completed her Master's degree in journalism at Stanford University, where she won the Nicholas Roosevelt Environmental Journalism Award for her reporting and covered agriculture, climate change and worker safety. She previously interned The Chronicle on the Business desk, as well as at Big Local News, focusing on data journalism. She is originally from Bakersfield, California.

Annie is a reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle. She previously was a digital producer for The Chronicle's Datebook section. She graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 2017 with a degree in journalism. During her time there, she spearheaded a culture column, produced radio pieces for NPR-affiliate station KCBX, and was a DJ and writer for KCPR, the campus radio station. Before joining the Chronicle, she was an associate producer at SFGATE and interned at VICE and Flood Magazine. She's particularly interested in communities and scenes that are often misunderstood.