« Occupy » : affrontements à Oakland – 3 novembre 2011

Oakland cleans up after protests turn violent

reuters.com

Thu Nov 3, 2011 4

Peaceful protests turned violent after midnight

OAKLAND, Calif, Nov 3 (Reuters) – City crews and protesters cleaned up graffiti, smashed glass and other debris from downtown Oakland on Thursday after a night that saw mostly peaceful Occupy Wall Street protests turn violent.

Busloads of police in riot gear advanced on demonstrators overnight, firing tear gas to disperse hundreds lingering in the streets hours after thousands of protesters had forced a temporary shutdown of the busy Port of Oakland.

The clampdown appeared aimed at preventing protesters from expanding their foothold in the streets around a public plaza that has become a hub for demonstrations in Oakland, on the eastern banks of San Francisco Bay.

The city said police officers from about 15 agencies had arrested more than 80 people, and that five civilians and three officers were injured in the melee.

City crews pressure-washed graffiti declaring « kill cops » and « smash » from buildings around the Frank Ogawa Plaza, a public square next to City Hall.

Dozens of their tents continue to fill the plaza and several demonstrators there blamed « anarchist youths » for Thursday’s violence.

« Everything went beautiful until these guys (came) with scarves around their mouths, and then all hell broke loose. Our city just got demolished, » said Johnny Allen, 60, a health-care provider sweeping debris in front of City Hall.

But protesters at the scene when violence broke out said downtown streets were largely calm until police, who had remained at a distance throughout the day, suddenly arrived at about midnight and ordered the crowd to disperse. Read more…