Source: RT
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 300 people were arrested.
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.
