Cleansing public space in Oakland, California

Darwin Bond-Graham reports:

In a pre-dawn raid Tuesday involving hundreds of officers drafted from seventeen departments across northern California, the notoriously aggressive Oakland Police violently raided
and wiped out that city’s Occupy encampment. By sunrise most of the protesters had fled beyond a cordon that stretched for several blocks back of Frank Ogawa Plaza, so far back that reportedly no media or bystanders could watch the scene unfold within. A communique from Occupy Oakland described the military-style eradication mission:

“Tear gas and flash bangs were fired into the camp where children were sleeping, people were beaten and shot with rubber bullets. The assault was also levied against our property in the camp, and the cops tried their best to completely destroy everything we had there. Almost every tent has been destroyed, many slashed with boxcutters, structures smashed, basically this was not an eviction, they came in to destroy everything we had.”

Upwards of 85 persons were arrested and dragged away with their arms zip-tied behind their backs, and charged with unlawful assembly and illegal lodging. Many Oaklanders close to those arrested report that the charges also include failure to disperse and crossing a police line, and that bail is set at $10,000. A smaller satellite camp just blocks away at Snow Park was also raided and torn asunder. Numerous first hand accounts circulating on the Internet tell of rampant acts of police violence during the blitz against mostly slumbering occupiers.

Occupy Oakland responded:

Last night Oaklanders responded to their eviction by attempting to retake Frank Ogawa Plaza (which they have renamed Oscar Grant Plaza after the young man murdered by BART Police in 2009). The Oakland Police repelled the occupiers by rioting with their armaments of tear gas, sound weapons, and rubber bullets. For now the ideals of autonomy and mutual aid in the shadow of the warfare state have been expelled from Oakland’s central square, roaming about the city’s streets.

Related articles

• Occupy Oakland – the key tweets, videos and photographs (guardian.co.uk)
• Oakland police fire tear gas and stun bullets at Occupy protesters (americablog.com)
• Occupy Oakland CA- Tear Gas Attack on Protesters (newsworldwide.wordpress.com)
• Occupy Oakland: Police justified in taking action, chief says (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
• Occupy Oakland: More than 100 arrested; police defend tactics (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
• Occupy Oakland: Police fire two more rounds of tear gas at crowd (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
• Crazy Video Footage of Police Using Firecrackers, Tear Gas And Rubber Bullets On Occupy Oakland Protesters (businessinsider.com)
• Police Brutalize, Dismantle Occupy Oakland Camp – Occupy Oakland (worldwright.wordpress.com)
• This Man’s Tweet From Occupy Oakland Shows Police Went Too Far (businessinsider.com)
• Police allegedly use tear gas and percussion grenades against Occupy Oakland protesters (100gf.wordpress.com)