Occupy Oakland announced that 500 police dispersed their protest starting at 5:00 a.m. on Oct. 25. The city of Oakland released a statement warning people who work near the area to come to work late in order to avoid “chemical agents.” According to the protesters, 80 people were arrested. No injuries were reported by late afternoon.
Tulane scholar Melissa Harris Perry tweeted “Truly terrifying,” about the police actions in California.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan issued a statement at 7:30 a.m. in which she said, “it was apparent that neither the demonstrators nor the City could maintain safe or sanitary conditions, or control the ongoing vandalism. Frank Ogawa Plaza will continue to be open as a free speech area from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., as soon as practical.”
The city emergency operations center said in an Oct. 25 statement that the city had received complaints of sexual assault, vandalism, unsafe structures, unsafe food storage, noise, a dog biting a reporter, a rat infestation, and medical personnel being denied access to the encampment, among other problems.
The protesters called for an emergency assembly at the main Oakland public library at 4:00 p.m. One of the group’s demands is that Oakland libraries and schools should stay open. The state of California is under severe budget pressures and has reduced many services.
Quan wrote, “We want to thank the police, fire, public works, and other employees who worked over the last week to peacefully close the encampment.” Occupy Oakland wrote on its web page “the police attacked the peaceful protest with flash grenades, tear gas, and rubber bullets, after moving in with armored vehicles.”
