U.S.: Occupy Oakland: Protesters arrested en masse, tear gassed
- We weren’t there but a minute before they started giving the dispersal order. The first time they said five minutes, this time they said ‘now.’ They shot off the flash grenades and people scattered.
- Occupy Oakland activist Kat Brooks • Discussing the method in which the police booted them out of Frank Ogawa Plaza last night, arresting over 100 people and destroying their camp in the process. It was the second time in two days such an order was offered. “From the way they came into the camp [Tuesday] morning to the way they acted tonight, they have gone beyond what was necessary,” Brooks said. For their part, Oakland police claim that the tear gas was partly defensive in nature. “We were in a position where we had to deploy gas in order to stop the crowd and people from pelting us with bottles and rocks,” said interim police chief, Howard Jordan. Officers on the ground reported getting hit with paint, beer and eggs. source