Plan B Forum

Lord Jim wrote:Well, turns out there was violence one place in the country...

Guess where:

OAKLAND -- About 100 people marched late Saturday night throughout downtown Oakland, breaking windows, vandalizing cars and buildings with spray paint and starting fires in the street in protest of George Zimmerman's acquittal hours earlier in a Florida courtroom.

The atmosphere was tense, with some marchers attempting to start fights and police dressed in riot gear in front of the police department headquarters, according to staff photographer Anda Chu. Footage from television helicopters showed protesters trashing a police squad car and a line of police blocking the protesters' path.

Occupy Oakland organized the gathering over Twitter at 10 p.m., encouraging protesters to wear hoodies, as Trayvon Martin did when he was shot to death by Zimmerman.

Some protesters held a banner declaring: "We Are All Trayvon Martin." Others spray-painted anti-police graffiti throughout Frank Ogawa Plaza, while a small contingent of officers looked on from afar.

The group began to march around 11 p.m. and some began breaking windows, including some on the Oakland Tribune downtown offices.

One BART police car was also vandalized with spray paint and its windows were smashed. Protesters also burned an American and a California state flag at a McDonald's restaurant on 14th and Jackson streets and spray painted Alameda County's Davidson courthouse.

The Oakland protest followed a San Francisco rally by a couple hundred people who marched peacefully from the Mission and 24th Street BART station to 16th Street and back over a two-hour period while a dozen police vehicles escorted them. After some loud protests, San Francisco organizers ended their march around 10 p.m., asking participants to return Sunday at Powell and Market streets.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-new ... an-verdict

No arrests after Saturday night vandalism in downtown Oakland

OAKLAND -- No one was arrested during a march late Saturday night throughout downtown Oakland, in which about 100 people broke windows, vandalized cars and buildings with spray paint and started fires in the street in protest of George Zimmerman's acquittal hours earlier in a Florida courtroom.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-new ... an-verdict

the police didn't see the people commit the crime.

On the heels of Forbes annual Priciest ZIP Codes List comes their annual list of America's Most Dangerous Cities — and, surprise, there is no overlap between the two. As for the latter, the Bay Area's own Oakland comes in at #3, failing to beat four-time winner Detroit. Forbes writes: "Oakland's high levels of poverty and proximity to drug corridors combine to generate lots of violence. The city across the Bay from San Francisco ranks first nationwide in violent robberies."

The frightening city of Stockton — so bad that A's pitcher Dallas Braden went on a public tirade last month and threatened to leave his hometown after his grandmother was robbed and himself carjacked, while police did nothing — comes in a #8 in between Baltimore, Maryland (#7) and Cleveland, Ohio (#9). Regarding Stocking, the magazine notes: "It's hard to control crime when your city is broke. Stockton filed for bankruptcy in June and has cut back dramatically on policing, exacerbating the city's longstanding problems with violence."

The list is based on the number of violent crimes in a year per 100,000 people. Detroit beats out Karachi, Pakistan and Juarez, Mexico with 2,137 crimes per 100,000, and that would include murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults. They saw 344 murders last year. Thus, Detroit has lost more than 200,000 residents since 2001.

Interestingly, when it comes to violent robberies, Oakland is actually #1 in the nation. The much maligned city across the Bay is a frequent fixture on lists like this, and currently has about 1700 violent crimes per 100,000 residents.

The list, if you dare:

10. Buffalo, New York
9. Cleveland, Ohio
8. Stockton, California
7. Baltimore, Maryland
6. Atlanta, Georgia
5. Birmingham, Alabama
4. Memphis, Tennessee
3. Oakland, California
2. St. Louis, Missouri
1. Detroit, Michigan

SFist has asked Oakland Mayor Jean Quan for comment. We will update just as soon as she gets back to us.

Protesters back on street after brief I-880 takeover in Oakland


Bay Area News Group
Posted: 07/15/2013 07:28:20 PM PDT
Updated: 07/15/2013 07:58:36 PM PDT


OAKLAND -- Protesters have marched off Interstate 880 and are again moving through streets chanting "Justice for Trayvon Martin."

Police opted not to arrest the hundreds of protesters as they left the interstate that they had blocked for more than 20 minutes.

The demonstrators marched up the Broadway onramp of Interstate 880 shortly after 7 p.m. Monday and brought traffic to a halt in both directions. "If LA can do it, we can do it too," many protesters chanted, referring to the Los Angeles freeway takeover on Sunday.

The protesters, many of whom were on bicycles, had broken off from an even larger group of demonstrators who began marching from City Hall earlier this evening.

Once on the freeway, several protesters laid their bicycles on the ground in front of stopped cars.[keep pulling this shiit and see how long people's patience holds out, I dare you!]

"You've got to go. You will go to jail," one police officer shouted at demonstrators blocking traffic. However, police decided not to make arrests on the interstate as the protesters began heading back down an off-ramp shortly before 7:30 p.m.

One protester was arrested on the freeway.[wow!]

The freeway shutdown marked the third night of disruptive demonstrations in Oakland

following the not guilty verdict of neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman.

The Florida acquittal of Zimmerman, who shot and killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African-American teenager, prompted mostly peaceful weekend protests in San Jose, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

In Oakland, however -- the city where Oscar Grant was shot and killed by a BART police officer and where the Oakland Police Department is under federal supervision in part over a failure to stop racial profiling -- nightfall led to rowdy, chaotic protests that, in a few instances, turned violent. [perfect recipe for anarchy and lawlessness]

A loosely organized protest of about 150 people late Saturday night resulted in widespread vandalism, and a few protesters beat one man in a Broadway doorway near Frank H. Ogawa Plaza until other protesters ended the skirmish. The man was helped to his feet and did not appear seriously injured.

The group shattered numerous storefront windows, spray-painted buildings and a police car, and started several small fires in the streets. No arrests were reported.

Sunday's demonstration began peacefully with a two-hour afternoon march from downtown to West Oakland and back, ending with protesters sitting in the intersection of 14th Street and Broadway.

Hours later, a small group of protesters started heading north on Telegraph Avenue and quickly turned violent, attacking a KTVU photographer and a Bay Area News Group photographer who suffered minor injuries when he was kicked on the ground and his camera was ripped from his shoulder. Police made only one arrest, of someone who refused to disperse and did not have identification.

Businesses along Telegraph Avenue and Broadway took the brunt of the damage, with 61 windows broken or shattered at 14 buildings, according to police.

Interim Police Chief Sean Whent, who surveyed the damage on Monday afternoon, said his department was not aware jurors in the Zimmerman trial were deliberating over the weekend, so it had only eight to 10 officers immediately available on Saturday to police an increasingly unruly crowd of about 150 protesters.

When asked if he was happy about the staffing level, Whent said: "No, not at all."

The interim chief said his department is reviewing surveillance footage in an attempt to make additional arrests.

On Monday, duct tape was holding together windows at Awaken Cafe on Broadway. A flier was taped next to it: "This window will be fixed later today. When will the U.S. justice system?"

On the 1400 block of Broadway, which has been hit hard by vandalism during protests over the years, all six ground floor windows were boarded up at Foot Locker, and a few doors down, four windows were damaged at the Oaklandish store.

The vandalism was a first for Oaklandish, which opened on Broadway in July 2011. The store sells Oakland-themed apparel and donates a portion of its proceeds to local community organizations.

"I don't necessarily think it was targeted but who's to say," said Natalie Nadimi, the company's community engagement manager. "I don't know if there's any rhyme or reason to it."

Oaklandish has no plans to move from the heart of downtown, she said.

"We really represent what Oakland is about and where it's going," said Nadimi. "There's no question we are going to stay here."

About 60 people were inside Dogwood, an Uptown bar, on Saturday night when protesters smashed the front windows using bicycle u-locks, said owner Alexeis Filipello. Employees guarded the front of the store, and were "physically pushing them away," Filipello said.

About 45 minutes later, Oakland police arrived. She said she went out seeking assistance and warned officers about a group of approximately 50 people burning trash cans on the 17th Street side of the bar.

"Basically the police officer said, 'There's nothing I can do and I don't care,'" Filipello said. "It was such a 'not-our-problem.'"

"When is enough, enough?" she asked. "How are we supposed to get help?"

The bar reopened Monday at 4 p.m. As for the protest planned Monday evening in Oakland? "We'll just see what happens," Filipello said.

Police opted not to arrest the hundreds of protesters

Oakland: At least two people injured during hours-long protest; freeway briefly shut down

By Matthew Artz, Josh Richman, Matt O'Brien, Robert Salonga and Thomas Peele Bay Area News Group

Posted: 07/15/2013 07:28:20 PM

OAKLAND -- A crowd of several hundred people protesting the acquittal of George Zimmerman in Florida briefly shut down traffic on Interstate 880 during a lengthy march Monday evening, blocking numerous streets before a group of more than 100 people scuffled with police shortly after 11 p.m.

At least one person was injured when he was struck on the head with a hammer or a similar object. Witnesses said a protester was injured and writhing in pain at Broadway and 16th Street after apparently being struck in the shoulder by a police projectile.

The late-night skirmishes began after police charged at several vandals who smashed windows at the Men's Warehouse at 15th Street and Broadway.

Oakland, Calif. police attempt to remove demonstrators from Interstate Highway 880 during a protest of the verdict in the Trayvon Martin murder trial last Saturday in Sanford, Fla., Monday, July 15, 2013 in Oakland, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron/Bay Area News Group) ( D. ROSS CAMERON )
flash-bang grenades; protesters threw fireworks at lines of officers wearing riot gear.

Protesters later marched up Broadway and Telegraph Avenue, where people stood in front of bars and restaurants to protect them from window-smashing vandals.

A waiter was hit with what appeared to be a hammer while protecting the windows at Flora, a restaurant at the corner of Telegraph and 19th Street.

"Protesters with black masks approached the window and tried to bang at it," said bartender Phillip Ricafort. "(The waiter) said, 'Don't do that!' and the guy turned around and smacked him in the face with a hammer" or another metal object.

"It was gruesome," said Ricafort. He said his co-worker was bleeding from the face.

Vandals also targeted Flora's windows over the weekend; several windows were still boarded up.

The man's co-workers were helping him ice his head on a chair in the back of the restaurant as they waited for an ambulance. Police also stopped to check on them before marching on.

The evening began peacefully, though police were soon challenged as protesters shifted directions in an attempt to stay ahead of the officers keeping tabs on them.

Protesters chanted "Trayvon" as they marched through downtown Oakland and then around Lake Merritt. Several protesters wearing masks tagged buildings as they marched. An American flag was burned at the intersection of Lakeshore and El Embarcadero near the eastern tip of Lake Merritt.

The cat-and-mouse game between protesters and police extended to Twitter, where protest sympathizers listening to the police scanner reported police directives for marchers to read.

A mutual aid call from Oakland brought law enforcement officers from at least nine other departments, including the California Highway Patrol, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office and police departments in Berkeley, San Leandro, Hayward, Pleasanton, Union City, Fremont and Newark.

Officials said they had arrested nine
people, including one juvenile, on misdemeanor and felony charges ranging from assault with a deadly weapon to vandalism.

Of the nine suspects arrested, three were Oakland residents, according to Oakland police Officer Johnna Watson.

The protesters gathered around 6 p.m., rallying in Frank Ogawa Plaza before moving south and walking up onramps to Interstate 880 at Broadway around 7 p.m. Police quickly swarmed the onramp, herding protesters off the roadway and arresting at least one person before reopening all lanes around 7:30 p.m.

Several demonstrators linked arms in front of motorists, while others chanted "If LA can do it, we can do it too." One officer shouted at them, "You've got to go. You will go to jail."

The protest then moved through Chinatown, heading around the lake's west shore. Protesters were headed off by police as they attempted to walk onto Interstate 580 at Lakeshore Avenue shortly before 9 p.m.

About 250 demonstrators were still on the march around 10 p.m. when the group encountered police outside the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse. The group headed back toward downtown, where lines of riot gear-clad police attempted to cut them off as officials read dispersal orders over loudspeakers.

Protests also were reported in Los Angeles on Monday as the nation continued to deal with the acquittal of Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African-American teenager who was returning home from a trip to the grocery store.

The case prompted a national debate over racial profiling and the Saturday's verdict by a Sanford, Fla. jury prompted mostly peaceful weekend protests in San Jose, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

In Oakland, however -- a city that has become accustomed to raucous demonstrations since Oscar Grant was shot and killed by a BART police officer four years ago -- nightfall led to rowdy, chaotic protests that, in a few instances, turned violent.

A loosely organized protest of about 150 people late Saturday night resulted in widespread vandalism, and a few protesters beat one man in a Broadway doorway near Frank H. Ogawa Plaza until other protesters ended the skirmish. The man was helped to his feet and did not appear seriously injured.

The group shattered numerous storefront windows, spray-painted buildings and a police car, and started several small fires in the streets. No arrests were reported.

Sunday's demonstration began peacefully with a two-hour afternoon march from downtown to West Oakland and back, ending with protesters sitting in the intersection of 14th Street and Broadway.

Hours later, a small group of protesters started heading north on Telegraph Avenue and quickly turned violent, attacking a KTVU photographer and a Bay Area News Group photographer who suffered minor injuries when he was kicked on the ground and his camera was ripped from his shoulder. Police made only one arrest, of someone who refused to disperse and did not have identification.

Businesses along Telegraph Avenue and Broadway took the brunt of the damage from the weekend protests, with 61 windows broken or shattered at 14 buildings, according to police.

Lord Jim wrote:

Police opted not to arrest the hundreds of protesters

Again...

Arrests...Prosecutions...

Baloney sandwiches in concrete cells...aversion therapy....

The solution to this problem is really pretty simple...

This is not rocket surgery....