Flash-grenades & tear-gas: 400 arrested at Occupy Oakland (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Published time: January 29, 2012 01:40
Edited time: January 30, 2012 01:47
Members of the Oakland Police Department shrouded in a cloud of tear gas put on gas masks during a confrontation with Occupy Oakland demonstrators near Oakland Museum of California in Oakland, California January 28, 2012 (Reuters / Stephen Lam), video uploaded on YouTube by brettnchls on 28 Jan 2012
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Police in Oakland, California, have used tear-gas and flash-grenades as a 2,000-strong Occupy Oakland march turned violent, with some protesters claiming that rubber bullets were also fired into the crowd. At least 400 people were arrested.

Initially, authorities had said 200-300 people were detained. But later the figure was revised to over 400 arrests, reports Reuters citing the Oakland emergency operations center.

The demonstrators had attempted to take over vacant buildings to use as their headquarters, they also broke into City Hall and tried to occupy a YMCA. Police spokesman Jeff Thomason told media most of the arrests came around 8 pm local time. Police took many protesters into custody as they marched through the city's downtown area, with some entering a YMCA building.

Officials say, at one point protesters began tearing down perimeter fences around the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, as some attacked police officers, throwing rocks, bottles and other objects. Police declared an unlawful assembly and used force, according to the Oakland Tribune newspaper.

While police were taking people into custody near the YMCA, about 100 officers surrounded City Hall, while others swept the inside of the building for protesters who had broken in. Inside the building, protesters burned flags, broke into an electrical box and damaged several art structures, according to Oakland Mayor Jean Quan.

“The City of Oakland welcomes peaceful forms of assembly and freedom of speech, but acts of violence, property destruction and overnight lodging will not be tolerated,” the press release by city officials stated. “The Oakland Police Department is also committed to facilitating peaceful forms of expression while protecting personal safety and property through ethical and constitutional policing.”

At the moment, the Occupy crowd in the city’s central square is being monitored by dozens of police officers.

Oakland has seen one of America’s largest and most vocal Occupy protests, with thousands of people attending since the demos started in October. Some 300 people have been arrested since then. The Occupy Wall Street movement started in September in New York and claims to represent the 99 per cent of Americans, who suffer from corporate greed and economic injustice.

­RT's Marina Portnaya has more


­

Occupy Oakland demonstrators confront a line of police officers during a demonstration in attempt to occupy a vacant building near Laney College in Oakland, California January 28, 2012 (Reuters / Stephen Lam)
Occupy Oakland demonstrators confront a line of police officers during a demonstration in attempt to occupy a vacant building near Laney College in Oakland, California January 28, 2012 (Reuters / Stephen Lam)
Occupy Oakland demonstrators shield themselves during a confrontation with the police near the Oakland Museum of California in Oakland, California January 28, 2012 (Reuters / Stephen Lam)
Occupy Oakland demonstrators shield themselves during a confrontation with the police near the Oakland Museum of California in Oakland, California January 28, 2012 (Reuters / Stephen Lam)
An masked Occupy Oakland demonstrator walks in a cloud of smoke from smoke grenades during an attempt to occupy the vacant Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland, California January 28, 2012 (Reuters / Stephen Lam)
An masked Occupy Oakland demonstrator walks in a cloud of smoke from smoke grenades during an attempt to occupy the vacant Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland, California January 28, 2012 (Reuters / Stephen Lam)
Members of the Oakland Police Department arrest an Occupy Oakland demonstrator during a confrontation in Downtown Oakland, California January 28, 2012 (Reuters / Stephen Lam)
Members of the Oakland Police Department arrest an Occupy Oakland demonstrator during a confrontation in Downtown Oakland, California January 28, 2012 (Reuters / Stephen Lam)

Comments (71)

Thomas 30.01.2012 21:32

Bill (unregistered) wrote in #3
Gosh, it is almost like the people behind RT has an axe to grind against the United States by the hateful way they cover American news.  They just prove that Russia still considers itself America's enemy for otherwise it wouldn't spend the money to beam into America such stuff.  Americans will now associate their thoughts of Russia with their thoughts of the Occupy movement and Americans don't like the Occupy movement. If there is a new Cold War between the US and Russia (and you can tell from RT there obviously is) you started it.  Too bad, we really did have high hopes for you.

Let' s put(in) it this way:

 Go sh, it is almost like the people behind CNN has an axe to grind against the Russia by the hateful way they cover Russian news.  They just prove that US still considers itself Russia's enemy for otherwise it wouldn't spend the money to beam into Russia such stuff.  Russians will now associate their thoughts of Americans with their thoughts of the pro western neo nazi comunist antirussia movement and Russians don't like the pro western neo nazi comunist antirussian movement. If there is a new Cold War between the Russian and US (and you can tell from CNN there obviously is) you started it.  Too bad, we really did have high hopes for you. 

+1

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West of Russia 30.01.2012 13:13

Steve (unregistered) wrote in #19
If you think we are going to allow freaks like them to bring down the greatest society in human existence, you have another thing coming.  I find it interesting though how differently RT protray protesters in the US compared to those in Russia.  The Russian protestors are actually average Russians with legitimate fear of KGB Putin becoming a dictator.  

St eve should read the Washington Post or the New York Times recent articles on the anti-Putin protests in Russia. While these articles are careful to leave out the fact that many of them are associated with the communist and leftist opposition, the articles do recognize that the so-called pro-Western liberals (after bringing Russia in the 1990s to an edge of collapse) have their popularity in low single digits. However, the other chunk of the anti-Putin opposition--per these articles themselves--is made of the ultranationalists and neo-Nazis. And here a very interesting and peculiar thing comes into play. Both the NYT and the Washington Post basically say and advise this: Well, the neo-Nazis are not the nicest people to invite to a party, but, hey, they are organized and they hate Putin just like we do. So, supposedly out of convenience, if not out of some darker underlying principle, these U.S. media say in laying out the strategy that the "liberal" allies of the U.S in Russia must and shall hook up ourselves to those dark forces [the neo-Nazis]. Of course, in the name of the so-called "freedom," which John Ellis has so brilliantly unmasked in this discussion forum.

+4

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West of Russia 30.01.2012 12:04

John Ellis wrote in #20
Occupy Wall Street --- Freewill equality In order for everyone to have a freewill, no one must have a desire to enrich himself upon the misery of another. For that is evil, a crime in any fair and just society. But in order to willingly give up the greater pleasure of evil, for the lesser pleasure of doing only good, one must know for a fact that the ultimate conclusion of evil is misery. For a freewill is one that has unlimited freedom to pursue the greatest pleasure possible. And if there was the slightest hope that one would not end in misery by enjoying the greater pleasure of doing evil, logically a freewill would always go for evil. Therefore, the only purpose of this world if to reach the ultimate conclusion of evil, so that never again will we be fooled into being selfish or doing evil. Whereupon, all things will turn toward the good.
Excellent and sobering. John Ellis offered here a perfect rendering of what is usually actually meant when people in the U.S. talk about freedom. He hit the bull's eye.

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