Oakland Mehserle verdict protest becomes unruly
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Oakland reacts to verdict with peaceful rally
Updated on: 2010-11-05 22:47:25
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Oakland Mehserle verdict protest becomes unruly
Updated on: 2010-11-06 02:54:33
The tensions between police and protesters in Oakland ran high Friday evening. Hundreds of police officers from around the Bay Area, all dressed in riot gear, many carrying rifles and guns that fire tear gas into crowds, easily outnumbered the demonstrators.
The crowd marching in protest to Johannes Mehserle's sentencing earlier in the day in Los Angeles zig-zagged its way through the city chanting "We are all Oscar Grant" and ended up in a residential neighborhood in East Oakland. Eventually police created skirmish lines and boxed in the group of protesters. They issued multiple orders to disperse, but after what police say were repeated acts of vandalism in which people kicked in fences and car windows and threw rocks at officers, authorities declared the area a crime scene and eventually moved in.
One officer was injured when he was struck by another patrol car. He is in stable condition. Police say a gun was ripped off an officer's gun belt. It was recovered in the crowd of protesters, but the incident turned what had been peaceful evening into a very tense night.
Protesters were loaded on to buses and booked as fellow protesters stood on the other side of the bus and shouted at police to let them go.
Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts praised police response to the demonstrations, saying officers did a great job of allowing the group to carry out their First Amendment rights to protest while keeping the streets safe. He said officers only moved in on the group after personal property was destroyed and safety became an issue.
Batts stressed that these types of demonstrations need to stop.
"I'm trying to send a message that is clear, you don't get to do this in Oakland, you have a right to protest, you have a right to have freedom of speech, you have a right to voice your opinion to voice your opinion and your discontent, you do not have a right to tear this city up," he said.
In all, 150 people were arrested, most facing charges for unlawful assembly, some for vandalism. Police say they range in ages, from young to old, and are from around the area. Many do not live in Oakland.
Protest began as peaceful rally
The unruly march was exactly what rally organizers did not want to have happen. They had hoped Oscar Grant supporters would have a chance to speak freely and think peacefully at a rally outside Oakland City Hall earlier Friday afternoon.
The outrage over Mehserle's sentencing was expressed through signs and words.
"We all need to unify for Oscar Grant and his family; we need to try to find some way to stay close to the family as a city and neighborhood and unite," Oakland resident Kareem Williams said.
But even early in the day, emotions ran high.
"We're not surprised and what everyone should know is that the anger of the folks who will come to this rally today is righteous and the other thing that folks should know is that we are not stopping now," protest organizer Cat Brooks said.
Oscar Grant's grandfather pleaded for calm, saying violence is what killed his grandson.
"You can't blame every police officer for what one cop did because if we didn't have them we'd be in a whole lot of trouble," Oscar Grant Sr. said.
But for many the case has been about so much more than Oscar Grant.
"They protect the guilty, they protect private property, but when one of us is murdered they protect the murders," one protester said.
Police were prepared for the worst
At a Friday afternoon press briefing, Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts reported minimal criminal activity on Oakland streets, less than normal for any other Friday. Of 24 calls Friday afternoon, none have been related to Mehserle verdict.
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Víctor Lei
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