Hundreds of people marched through downtown Oakland, blocked traffic on Interstate 580 and broke windows and set small fires during a night of protests over a grand jury's decision not to indict Ferguson, Missouri police Officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said early Tuesday that more than 40 people had been arrested, but that no serious injuries were reported .
At one point, protesters marched onto westbound Interstate 580, bringing traffic to a standstill before climbing the center divider and stopping cars in the eastbound direction. An Oakland police spokeswoman confirmed around 9:45 p.m. that officers were arrestingf people who had walked onto the freeway.
City officials said a bank window was broken and a police car was spray-painted with graffiti. A news van was vandalized near Interstate 580.
Moments after the announcement from Missouri filtered through the crowd, protesters at 14th Street and Broadway took to the street in a "die-in," lying on the ground for several minutes. The crowd then rose and headed toward Oakland police headquarters at 7th Street and Broadway.
"I'm shocked but not surprised at the verdict," said Troy Garvey, who said his brother had been shot and killed by San Francisco police in October. "I lost my brother a month ago at the hands of a cop. I'm out here fighting for his justice."
The August shooting death of Brown touched off weeks of violent clashes between police and demonstrators in Ferguson, a majority African-American suburb of St. Louis. Brown sympathizers also staged several anti-police demonstrations soon after the shooting in Oakland, including one march during which several agitators vandalized storefronts, pepper-sprayed two officers and assaulted a third.
On Monday evening, Shoshanna Howard, of Oakland, called for racial reconciliation.
"The grand jury report is incredibly disappointing," Howard said. "If we don't stand up as white people against this, we were born in a generation that has a facade that we are all equal. But racism is still here."
Brown's death brought back very painful memories for Cephus "Uncle Bobby" Johnson, who joined protesters Monday night in downtown Oakland. Johnson is the uncle of Oscar Grant, an unarmed black man who was shot and killed by a white BART police officer on Jan. 1, 2009 in Oakland. In that case, the officer, Johannes Mehserle, was sentenced to two years in jail for manslaughter.
"It's very painful," Johnson, said. "I'm not feeling good about it. It happens on such a regular basis that officers are not held accountable for these kinds of shootings or murder in our community. It shows an imbalance of justice.
"I pretty much figured from the beginning they were not going to indict (Wilson)," he said.
Johnson said he spent two weeks in Ferguson after Brown was killed to offer the Brown family support.
"We embraced the family to support them to let them know we know their pain," Johnson said. "We were there for the funeral as well."
Congresswoman Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, said in a statement that she was "disappointed" in the decision and called for a peaceful response.
"My heart continues to go out to Michael Brown's family and community. Like everyone in our community, I am devastated by the senseless murder of yet another young black man," Lee said. "The deaths of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin and Oscar Grant, one of my constituents, serve as tragic examples of the senseless murder of young African American men.
"We must come together like never before to tackle the systemic, structural and rampant racial bias endemic in our institutions and criminal justice system. We must demand change and work to realize it."
By about 7:30 p.m. Monday, hundreds of protesters marched north on Broadway, turning east at 20th Street. A few people smashed windows at two bank buildings, but the protest was largely peaceful as the group headed toward Lake Merritt. Police followed closely but were not trying to disrupt the groups or make arrests.
Shortly before 8:30 p.m., hundreds of people marched up the Lakeshore Avenue off-ramp from westbound Interstate 580 and onto the freeway, bringing traffic to a complete halt. Police and California Highway Patrol officers scrambled to get ahead of the group and divert them off the highway at Park Boulevard.
At least one person was arrested after some people refused to leave the freeway. Some protesters climbed over the center divider, stalling traffic in the eastbound direction.
Protesters piled trash cans up at the intersection of Macarthur and Grand avenues and started a fire, though no structures were threatened. Some protesters threw debris on the fire while others said such destruction betrayed the purpose of the march.
The majority of the group still about a thousand strong then marched back to the downtown area, arriving at about 10:30 p.m.
Dozens of people had gathered in anticipation of the decision early Monday evening, carrying signs and banners calling for Wilson to be indicted and arrested.
"All along, this has not been about the violence of the protesters. That's nonsense," said D'Andre Teter, who was among that crowd. "This is about the violence of the system. Regardless of the decision tonight, across the country, we have to build a movement. Black lives matter, Latino lives matter, all lives matter. (We need) to be able to build a movement, so that we can say, no more genocide in this country. Because what is happening when cops kill innocent people, that's genocide."
Pastor Nicholas Alexander, of Oakland's Do The Word Ministries, took a contrary view, saying that while he protested other police shootings of civilians, he believes Brown fought with Wilson over the officer's gun and the shooting was justified. He held a sign reading "Stop the violence" and condemned those he said were capitalizing on the shooting to commit violence and vandalism in Oakland.
"Our message is that we don't appreciate these white organizations coming and speaking for our community," Alexander said. "If we felt that type of response was necessary, we'd be here ourselves."
Jacqueline Duhart led a group of marchers from the People's First United Church, saying that "all lives matter, regardless of faith, color, gender, sexual orientation, et cetera,"
In a letter released last week, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan cautioned that demonstrations could occur in the wake of the decision but she advised business owners to secure garbage cans, activate security cameras, deadbolt doors and empty cash drawers after closing.
The city set up "healing centers" where people could discuss the decision from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday. Centers are set up at Youth UpRising, 8711 MacArthur Blvd.; Youth Employment Partnership, 2300 International Blvd.; Healthy Communities/Healthy Oakland, 2580 San Pablo Ave. and Liberty Hall, 1485 8th St.
Staff members trained in facilitating discussions around injustice, violence and surviving trauma were scheduled to be on call at Youth UpRising in East Oakland, said Chief of Staff Sikander Iqbal. He said the organization did the same kind of work during the trial of a former BART police officer convicted of killing Oscar Grant on Jan. 1, 2009.
"The situation in Ferguson is a grave injustice," Iqbal said. "These incidents are a trigger for that injustice and the violence and not knowing what to do. And this is a space for you here in East Oakland if to want to talk to people, if you want to look more into it and figure out ways to bring about justice."
The city and its police department's handling of previous protests, more recently in the Martin case, was criticized as a light-handed response from a police force caught off guard. In the two days after a jury acquitted George Zimmerman in Martin's death in July 2013, protests by a small group of agitators brought several assaults and damage to several downtown and Uptown businesses along Broadway and Telegraph Avenue.
Windows were busted out as patrons sipped drinks at Bar Dogwood on Telegraph Avenue, and across the street at Youth Radio. On Monday evening, Bar Dogwood was one of several businesses that boarded up their windows as the decision neared.
"We always get the brunt of it," Dogwood owner Alexeis Filipello said last week. "I'm hoping the police department does their job and pays attention to what is happening and doesn't try to downplay it like they have in the past. It's not the 'if' it will happen, it's the 'when' it will happen."
Still, Filipello agrees with Quan and a police department spokesman that more recent protests have gone more smoothly. In her letter, Quan said, "We have successfully facilitated more than 70 demonstrations this year throughout Oakland, and we know that with continued cooperation from our community and the high level of professionalism of our officers, we will continue doing so."
Oakland Police Department spokesman Officer Frank Bonifacio said the goal of the department is to "facilitate peaceful demonstrations and free speech," but is preparing in case demonstrations threaten residents or businesses. "We will work in collaboration with the community, businesses, city agencies and law enforcement partners to maintain a healthy and peaceful environment."
Staff writers David DeBolt, Matt Artz and Doug Oakley contributed to this report, which also includes reporting by the Associated Press.
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1ANrWem
0 comments:
Post a Comment