No mermaids were harmed in the process of enforcing the owner's property rights.

I'll bet you $20 no "celebrities" like "Daryl" Hannah threw themselves in front of a bulldozer.

Tracy Press: Protesters arrested as bulldozers move in to L.A. urban farm

Ten protesters were arrested Wednesday when they tried to stop workers from bulldozing a 14-acre urban garden.

Eight protesters broke onto the site shortly after noon and rushed the bulldozer as it made its way to the main entrance. Several demonstrators climbed onto the bulldozer, but were forced down by security and arrested by police. The confrontation comes just a week before a judge is scheduled to hear a lawsuit over the sale and ownership of the land.

Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman April Harding said protesters would be charged with felony vandalism and trespassing, and some would be charged with battery for allegedly punching the bulldozer driver and throwing a milk crate at a police officer. Neither the officer nor the driver were hurt, Harding said.

Earlier, one protester chained himself to the bulldozer and firefighters were called to cut him loose. Another was arrested for lying down in front of the bulldozer.

"What was once a beautiful set of gardens, if this goes through, will now be a pile of rubble," said Dan Stormer, an attorney for the farmers.

For years, neighborhood residents grew vegetables and flowers on the site rent free. But they were evicted three weeks ago after property owner Ralph Horowitz told them he planned to build a warehouse on the land.

The growers tried to fight the development plan but were unable to negotiate a deal. Horowitz offered to sell 10 acres of the land for $16.3 million to a trust set up on behalf of the farmers but the group was unable to raise the money.

A lawsuit over the property is still pending in which the growers' supporters challenge the city's sale of the land to Horowitz, arguing it was undervalued.

Horowitz originally owned the property, but the city seized it through eminent domain in the 1980s. When the city's plans for the land fell through, it passed control to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, which arranged for the garden plots. Horowitz eventually sued over the property, and the city settled in 2003 by selling it back to him for $5 million, just over the $4.8 million it paid when it took the land away.

A judge agreed in May to evict the people still using the property for community gardens. Since then, dozens of protesters have been arrested. The effort attracted the support of activists and celebrities including Daryl Hannah, Willie Nelson, Danny Glover, Joan Baez and tree-sitter Julia Butterfly Hill.