ORLANDO, Fla. -- There were angry words from the ACLU late Friday morning. The city of Orlando removed what was left of a homeless camp underneath the 408.

Just before 10:00 Friday morning, after the ACLU left, city workers from the Streets Department moved in to take what remained and that's when the confrontation began.

"You're not taking their stuff. These are human beings. Who told you come down here? These are human beings. Sergeant, you know who sent them down, who was it?" questioned George Crossley, ACLU local chairperson.

The American Civil Liberties Union tried to prevent the city from taking personal belongings from the homeless, but officers stood guard as the city did its work.

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The ACLU said the city has no right to remove the personal property of the people who have been living under the 408 near the CSV tracks.

"Despicable. After we leave they come down and take personal possessions in violation of what's already been decided by a federal court in Miami," Crossley said.

The local chapter of the ACLU said, in a similar case in Miami, a federal judge sided with the homeless and that city was forced to pay each homeless person $1,500 for the belongings taken from them.

Orlando police said they were merely picking up what the homeless left behind after giving them ample warning they had to go, since the area is part city property and part CSX property.

"There's lots of other places they can go. We've been trying to tell them for the last week now," said Capt. Larry Zweig, Orlando Police Department. "We don't enjoy doing this, but we've been getting complaints about this for past year."

Yet folks like William Clayton Dreyer, a veteran who served in Vietnam and the first Gulf War, said they've caused no trouble, clean up after themselves and appreciate the sense of community in the area as they try to get back on their feet. Now they're being forced to move again.

"I'm tired. Everybody gets tired. I am," Dreyer said.

Eyewitness News learned the situation stemmed from residents nearby who complained about the homeless presence. The ACLU said it will take it to court and challenge what happened Friday.

The city estimates there are 10,000 homeless people in Orlando and, according to city figures, only 2,000 beds for them in shelters.