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Police Turn Oakland Into War Zone
Incredible footage emerged from downtown Oakland last night - not of basic law enforcement efforts to maintain public "health and safety" as the police have been claiming - but of a war zone in which police shot tear gas, bean bags, wooden dowels, flash grenades, and rubber bullets at protesters.
POLICE VIOLENCE: Scott Olsen, member of Veterans for Peace and Iraq Veterans Against the War and a Marine Corps veteran of two tours in Iraq, who was shot in the head last night by Oakland police, is in critical condition with a skull fracture and swelling of the brain. Meanwhile, outrage against police violence and Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, already facing a recall election, is growing.(AFP)
Rather than using the weaponry once in a final effort to subdue the crowd, officers reportedly used them over and over again in what @OccupyOakland describes as a "relentless" assault on the thousands of activists gathered near City Hall.
"The city remains committed to respecting free speech as well as maintaining the city's responsibility to protect public health and safety," Oakland police said in a statement Tuesday.
The "safety" concerns are the usual complaints levelled at the Occupy movements: sanitation issues, improper food storage, graffiti, litter, and vandalism, although OPD added accusations of fighting, assaults, and "threatening/intimidating behavior." Yes, you read that correctly. OPD is accusing the protesters of using "threatening/intimidating behavior."
The police claim they were ever-so-distressed that they couldn't get medical responders through to attend to the wounded protesters, and they ultimately expressed this concern by shooting the remaining activists with tear gas and rubber bullets. Reportedly, activists retaliated by "throwing paint" on police officers.
Oakland Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan said that a total of 102 arrests have been made so far, but as of last night that number was still increasing. Eighty-five of those arrests were made early Tuesday when officers raided the Occupy Oakland encampment at Oscar Grant plaza along with an annex in Snow Park near Lake Merritt.
During the assault, police dressed in full riot gear as if preparing to battle a zombie horde or terrorist cell (photo by @garonsen).
Footage of the flash grenades and tear gas being used against protesters:
A steadier version of more or less the same thing:
Terrifying footage that allegedly shows a veteran who suffered a head wound from a rubber bullet. The cameraman can be heard screaming, "medic!" as he desperately tries to get the man to say his name.
Photo of a protester allegedly shot by a rubber bullet (@OccupyOakland)
Protesters speaking with some OPD after the very first raid in which eighty-five individuals were arrested. Here, a police officer expresses he was just following orders.
And I could go on. This kind of stuff keeps rolling in every five minutes on Youtube. As always, it's important to remember that regardless of police accusations, the charges against protesters listed above (sanitation issues, graffiti, etc.) are relatively minor offenses given the nature of this police retaliation in which OPD turned downtown Oakland into a war zone.
These are the consequences of citizens exercising their First Amendment rights. It's no wonder the culture of activism remained dormant in America for so many decades.
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214 Comments so far
Show AllI always thought the GD would have a therapeutic effect on America, they are definitely long distance runners.
YOU MAY GO OUT TO : #1, SHOP #2 GO TO GAME.
RETURN IMMEDIATELY TO YOUR CUBICLE
(This is a PUBLIC space--ie, it belongs to the STATE, not you).
The first shots in the American Revolution were fired on the East Coast. Looks like this time the site has moved across the country.
Apparently all the average citizen is expected to say to the Oakland police is......"SIG HEIL !!!". Disgraceful.......Disgusting......and DIVISIVE !!!!
"It's no wonder the culture of activism remained dormant in America for so many decades. ": Good to see this is not the excuse to not develop a spine at least with our youth. Time to hit the streets in numbers.
I hope the reports of activists "retaliating" by throwing paint are untrue. The OWS movement will be crushed as soon as it engages in any form of violence. This is why the State is trying so hard to provoke it! As long as the Movement stays COMPLETELY non-violent the System will remain scared to death. As everyone here already knows, the one thing the State is good at is violence. We CAN NOT fight this fire with fire!
A splash of paint is hardly a rubber bullet to the noggin. However, if someone merely slung paint off himself and it landed on a cop, the cop would see it as a terrorist act after he'd just shot the guy with a paint gun. BTW, those things hurt. I was shot with a paint gun at a protest in Berea KY in 2001, they hurt. We MUST maintain non-violence...
but to whoever gave the "orders" to those cops.... Your ass is grass. Keep looking over your shoulder cause some people just aren't as nice as us non-violent types, and they are just as pissed off at the mess the corrupt govt and whorporates have made. And the ones INTHESTREETS are not violent...the ones hiding out do violence. And you can rest assured that the teaparty people have lots of guns too. And they are stupid enough to use them in an effort to prove their point. They are also in the 99% like the rest of us, just not evolved enough to understand non-violence and rule of law.
You could not be more wrong. Sit back and let the kids handle change. Your thinking keeps US chained. Change in the '60s came from aggressive activism - burning draft cards, rioting, Molotov cocktails, Black Panthers, SDS and the SLA.
Exactly, not everyone threw Ward Churchill under the bus because they were "ordered" by gatekeepers to do so.
Alan...Thanks for mentioning a real hero, WARD CHURCHILL !!! Current events prove, once more, that his view is the correct one. And remember the clergy man that Obama through under the bus..........................
The most successful activism in the 60s was MLK's nonviolent civil rights movement. A case could be made that the violent groups you mention invited the resolute and powerful reaction of the far right that led to Reagan and the rest of the wingnut takeover of politics, the rise of over-aggressive policing and much else. I've noticed that many neocons started out as liberal college students that became appalled at violent student demos. Even Pope Benedict, who was a university professor during the 60s and was fairly liberal, turned 180 degrees rightwards after witnessing student violence, becoming Pope John Paul's enforcer against heresy, Cardinal Ratzinger.
A fallacious argument masquerading as reason! You create cause and effect where none exist. The neo-cons turned into their dark ways because they came under a certain influence named Leo Strauss in their very liberal college (University of Chicago) settings.
Edited to add: This is a reply to SJ Ryan.
I support non-violence in principle, but you have a point there. In my heart-and I lived thru the sixties as a very aware child of the politics and media- I remember full well that the only reason the non-violent movements like the civil rights movement and such gained anything was because on the one hand they had moral legitimacy and even a large amount of sympathy/support from most Americans AND on the other hand the ruling class was also very aware of how committed the Panthers and other groups willing to use violence were to their causes.
So the ruling class made a calculated choice to release some of the pressure from the radical groups along with the non-violent groups in order to keep the lid on the system and not have constant, full-out civil war. Since then two things have greatly changed. One is that the mass media is now completely corporate-owned and not interested in advancing any egalitarian progress regarding who really controls the economy and fed govt., in fact they are hostile to any real reform movements toward such. Secondly, the military and law enforcement are way more technologically advanced and sophisticate in how they are capable of dealing with domestic protest and dissenters from the established order of power and capitalism.
They have much more sinister weapons they can and are waiting to use that on the surface appear to be non-lethal but in actuality are far more damaging to far more victims with less rick of injury to the cops than the old weapons and methods of the 1960s and 70s. Thus, while I fully agree with the poster who said the OWS movement will be crushed if they decide to fight back by using violence, at the same time we and they must be realistic about what the costs are likely to be if the movement does not consider violence as an option, at least in forms of self defense, as this plays out further and the cops start attacking more aggressively when not provoked using methods that are likely to cause things like permanent deafness, heart attacks and possibly death for some protesters who are older or in poor health to begin with.
Because the fact is the people giving the orders are surely considering all this as on the table and calculating whether some protester deaths will be effective, and helpful in crushing the movement.
I hear ya, kill a few homeless and hope the rest of the 99 get the message.
Nobody move nobody get hurt...
We can and we will. We just choose not to. If you remember, it was after the first violent incident in NYC that movement made its debut in the eyes of the mass public. The Civil Rights movement was not non-violent, the fight against apartheid was not non-violent, the movement Gandhi led to liberate India from British rule was not non-violent. Their philosophies were more or less non-violent, meaning they were not going to instigate violence but were willing and ready to defend themselves violently if they needed to.
Power has never have and will never cede control willingly merely due to a popular demand. It will fight until it is convinced that the fight is no longer conducive to maintaining power. If the Occupy movement is not willing to get violent, when violated, it has no prayer. We might as well have called it nice outings at parks around the nation.
Shame all that weaponry and armor is paid for by the very people it's leveled against. Pretty sweet deal for the folks upstairs.
I find this all very telling about how far Dem or even so-called progressive pols have moved to the right. Isn't Jerry Brown the current mayor of Oakland? Somebody from out there remind me who is currently the guv of Cali and the mayor of Oakland. Thanks...
Jerry Brown is now the Governor of California. Jean Quan, supposedly a leftist and a socialist democrat, is the mayor of Oakland.
Thanks Q! Well, the fact that Brown undoubtedly knew this was coming and signed off on it as well as Jean Quan also supporting it just proves my point....Anyone who's mainstream enuf of a pol to get elected these days in an expensive campaign is going to side against the movement and with the 1%. I totally agree with the other posters that if this violent repression tactic works in Oakland it will be repeated nationwide in other cities-just like the Wisconsin move against unions and public workers- by both Repub and Dem mayors.
my drywall is more leftist than Jean Quan.
Here is what they do,
They do not put in adequate port-o-potties or garbage cans so the place becomes a mess. Then they lie about violence so they can use that as a pretext to hurt people. If you go to the Oakland website they emphatically insist that there were no rubber bullets used, so if this happens again people need to make sure that they find some of those bullets and get good video shots of it. I honestly think that the city council of Oakland needs to know that the country is not happy with this and that money and support will be pouring in from around the country to get them all un-elected for doing this stupid thing. These narcisitic kind of self serving people really do listen to that even though they dont admit it. I used to work in government...I have seen it. They are corporate sycophants because they think the money they get helps them con the public. If they think that is'nt working, they will turn on a dime. Here are the names of the city council members: Jane Brunner, Patricia Kernighan, Nancy Nadel, Libby Schaaf, Ignacio De La Fuente, Desley Brooks, Rebecca Kaplan, Council President Larry Reid and mayor Jean Quan. The Nasty Nine. I believe that Oakland has a weak mayor system, so she is just one vote on the council; they are all accountable.
Let them know how you really feel. I read so many people on this site who complain but I wonder how many really put their money where there mouth is...here is the website to Oakland City council:
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/CityCouncil/index.htm
Here is what needs to happen now. They probably think that this will shrink the amount of people who will show up. If that happens, then this will be done all over the country. Believe me, the other mayors are watching what will happen here and if they percieve this as a success, they all will do the same thing. So...twice as many people need to show up...three times if you can get it. That will not happen unless you expose all the falsehoods that they say; hence the rubber bullets. This may not seem like it...but it is a watershed moment for the movement in this country. I am going for a walk downtown....right now.
Thanks Voice. And good luck and be careful!!! You are right though. The more they are nasty the more will come because it is a blatant symptom of our society. That side of the 1% that believes they have a right to buy gov't, buy cops, buy laws, by-pass laws, buy anything and everything they think they deserve after trampling thousands of Americans to get there...their profits come from our lost jobs. Their profits come from murdered civilians in the countries deemed too oiled up to leave alone. There's more. I'm sick of these people. They are the rotten slime at the bottom of a cesspool...and they think they are free...hahhahahha Wait'll they get a load of Bongo in jail...literally. What goes around, comes around. They are too big and failing because enough people are saying "ENOUGH".
Pics of rubber bullets here --
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2186619
thevoice:
" They lie about violence so they can use that as a pretext to hurt people". I would also add, they foment and lie about violence to demonize the protesters. I have seen this screnario and Modus Operandi played out many,many times in past protests.
That political whorehouse called Foxy News loves violence; the 1% elite loves violence; the corrupt banksters and Wall Street cowards and criminals hiding in their buildings love violence; because that is the facile, perjorative that is used over and over again whenever the sybarite 1% feel a threat to their power. 99% ers: We cannot let them get away with it this time! THE PEOPLE UNITED WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED!
Get IN THE STREETS...AND 'BLESSING BE' ON EVERYONE WHO DOES
The more people that join La Lucha- the struggle, the stronger the Rebelion becomes. Everybody joins in different ways: we all have strengths.
Viva La Revolucion !
Oakland assembled forces from over 15 agencies for this action. They all have been militarized to varying degrees, but if the crowds keep doubling, they'll run out real fast. When the National Guard comes out, the state is in big time trouble.
First they ignore you... then they laugh at you... then they fight you...
Well, we're at stage three
... then you win
Oakland, the Bahrain of the OWS movement.
They are bringing Iraq soldiers home to a big mess and they may get enlisted to fight the protestors. I hope they know how badly that 1% destroyed their lives...and JOIN OWS. If you know a returning soldier, send him/her to IVAW or Veterans for Peace.
Apparently Oakland is closing down 5 schools today. Yet there was no shortage of funds for this massive paramilitary operation.
If nothing else, OWS is proving that the old adage about wild animals is equally true of our parasitic overclass -- they're more scared of us than we of of them.
The slightest hint that their ill-gotten fortunes might be merely diminished and they lash out like lunatics.
First I want to thank the Occupiers in Oakland for their courage and persistence, WE ARE SOLIDLY WITH YOU !!!
I called the Oakland Mayor's office and was given an automatic message that the mail box was full. So I wrote her an email to express in the strongest terms possible to STOP the attacks and harrassment of the Occupiers. I also stressed that I would strongly fund her opposition. Please ask everyone you know to do the same. Supporters sitting at home can do this.
Oakland Mayor's Office 510-238-3141 A contact form is availabe on their website at http://www.oaklandnet.com/contactmayor.asp
Thanks for this clear and timely account, i ♥ BigBrother.
It's always good to read first-hand accounts. In some ways, we are very connected now, in our world...
Thanks for the account.
What's amazing to me is that -- according to our corporate media whores -- the act of throwing paint on a cop justifies brutalizing hundreds of people who did not throw said paint. Apparently this makes sense to them.
As you indicate, the whole paint gag was probably cooked up the cops themselves anyway. I'm only surprised they didn't torch a car or two for added effect.
What should be stressed is that a grown man in full body armor need not fear a paintball.
This story should be exploded by attacking the core mythos -the brave civic warrior fighting the mad barbarians for the benefit of order-therefore-peace.
If the civic warrior is a coward -and he most certainly is- then the story does not hold.
No amount of pictures or videos of cops in full gear attacking people in street-clothes is too much.
Saturate the info-sphere.
Big Men in Armor Should Not be so Afraid.
'What should be stressed is that a grown man in full body armor need not fear a paintball.
Excellent way of putting it, matti. As I kept watching one 'peacekeeper' after another beat up on passive protesters, I was viscerally repulsed and frightened by the peacekeepers' inherent need for violence. There's no question some would be defined clinically as sadists and sociopaths.
How lucky for them that they can exercise their violent proclivities without punishment. And how lucky for the oligarchs who seem to have a plentiful, unending supply of sadists eager to do their bidding.
" My impression was that the police were armed with some kind of bursting paint grenades.."
"38 mm dye disperse anti-riot grenade H330 (United Kingdom), Riot control ammunition - 37/38 mm rounds
Description
This is a 37/38 mm cartridge to be fired from standard riot guns and has been designed and developed as an aid for identification in riot control. By selectively marking rioters with a permanent dye solution, the staining can be subsequently used as evidence of involvement.The device consists of an aluminium-cased cartridge holding two submunitions, each of which contains a staining dye solution. It is designed to be fired to a range of up to 40 m and burst on impact with a solid body, releasing the dye solution to stain both clothing and skin."
http://articles.janes.com/articles/Janes-Ammunition-Handbook/38-mm-dye-disperse-anti-riot-grenade-H330-United-Kingdom.html
Perhaps this has made it across the pond.
Also:
"Tear Smoke Dye Marker Grenade (AMIT) (India), Riot control equipment
Description
The Dye Marker Grenade has been developed to counter the dilemma, which faces law enforcement agencies in most riot situations of identifying rioters. This is a hand thrown grenade which explodes with a resounding bang, spraying an indelible coloured dye on the rioters. This dye remains on the clothes or on the person of the individual for a long time, thus helping the police in identification and proving categorically the presence of an individual in the disturbance. The loud bang and flash produced on explosion of the grenade also acts as a deterrent for the rioters and is expected to be enough to break the morale of the mob, causing them to panic and disperse."
http://articles.janes.com/articles/Janes-Police-and-Homeland-Security-Equipment/Tear-Smoke-Dye-Marker-Grenade-AMIT-India.html
Another trademark of the Israeli Death Forces. Remember the Marvi Marmara and the "paintball guns"
Thanks for the update Brother Love. Of course I knew this, but it is nice to read a first hand account. Paul
Thank You Brother for sharing your experience ....
Thomas Gilbert-
Yes, i ♥ BigBrother, thanks for this compelling and credible first-hand account.
I wasn't listening too carefully or taking notes, but FWIW I'm pretty sure last night's Philly teevee local news broadcast reported in passing that police "had to use tear gas" against some of the protestors.
This didn't strike me so much as a carefully-produced piece of pro-police propaganda as a routine, by-the-numbers spin giving the impression that the escalated police action was somehow necessitated by uncooperative or resisting protestors.It's obvious to all but utterly complacent authoritarian-followers that law enforcement authorities are always going to cook up justifications or rationalizations for draconian and violent repression one way or the other-- from police foot-soldiers using provocateurs and seizing upon spur-of-the-moment pretexts during aggressive confrontations to officials and administrators alleging intolerable health or public safety conditions that require merciless and complete crack-downs.The St. Paul's Cathedral bugaboo at Occupy London is a good example of the latter: hyping reasonable concerns into a worst-case scenario in order to escalate the tension or conflict and set the stage for "therapeutic" reprisals by law enforcement agencies.Here again, the corporate mass-media obliges by flogging the contretemps as protestors "forcing" the cathedral to close, presumably to arouse resentment against the protest from England's "silent majority". So far, this propaganda spin has fizzled, if not backfired. Let's hope the brutal Oakland onslaught and similar unconscionable reprisals do the same.
Be careful out there!
Thank you Big Brother. Please, can you tell us what you think would be a good response to this assault? Or whether you think a response is called for at all. I tend to think so, but willing to hear other opinions.
Take care of yourself Brother, it is not just the protesters that have to be careful now. Thank you.
I sent two messages to our local channel NY 1 challenging their use of the word "clash", suggesting "police attack", and including links to articles and videos.
Thank you Big Brother
It's Christmas for the Stasi and now they get to play with all their new toys.
Jean Quan and the Oakland city council are typical of the 'fuzzy on the outside, hard ass on the inside' supposedly 'liberal' politicians a la Gavin Newsome the Bay Area seems to propagate in droves. With this crowd, whenever the chips are down and the time comes for them to walk the walk instead of talking the talk, they are as repulsive as any Repug you care to name. Perhaps it was envy towards the way their peers in the Los Angeles City Council are dealing with their version of OWS that engendered a pique-laden 'we'll show you how to deal with those who would dare to call our corporate overlords to account,' police riot.
We all knew this was coming. I think I could write the presstituted, whorehouses ( with my apology to the working girls ) called the Main Stream Media's next headline: PROTESTERS TURN OAKLAND INTO WAR ZONE !
detonating flash grenades, sonar assault, rubber bullets, mace, tear gas
Oakland must really take public sanitation seriously, dude
Thanks, I needed a good chuckle....