#J28 Live Stream Occupy Oakland

- @OccupyOakland Warns #OPD of Future Blockades

OAKLAND, California — Police were in the process of arresting about 100 Occupy protesters who failed to disperse Saturday night, hours after officers used tear gas on a rowdy group of demonstrators who threw rocks and flares at them and tore down fences.

Police Sgt. Christopher Bolton said the arrests came after protesters marched through downtown Oakland a little before 8 p.m. Saturday. Some protesters entered a YMCA building.

Meanwhile, about 100 police officers surrounded City Hall while others swept the inside of the building to see if any protesters broke in.

More help from other police agencies was on the way, with busloads of Alameda County sheriff’s deputies arriving in the downtown area late Saturday.

The nighttime arrests came after 19 people were taken into custody in Occupy Oakland protests hours earlier.

The national Occupy Wall Street movement, which denounces corporate excess and economic inequality, began in New York City in the fall but has been largely dormant lately.

Oakland, New York and Los Angeles were among the cities with the largest and most vocal Occupy protests early on. The demonstrations ebbed after those cities used force to move out hundreds of demonstrators who had set up tent cities.

In Oakland, the police department received heavy criticism for using force to break up earlier protests. Among the critics was Mayor Jean Quan, who said she wasn’t briefed on the department’s plans. Earlier this month, a court-appointed monitor submitted a report to a federal judge that included “serious concerns” about the department’s handling of the Occupy protests.

Published on Jan 28, 2012 by AssociatedPress

Oakland, California police moved in to break up hundreds of protesters marching to a vacant building they said they wanted to take over. (Jan. 28)
Category:

News & Politics