While the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York on September 17 captured the imagination of the world for its reliance on non-violent civil disobedience, recent weeks have seen the centre of gravity of the protests move to Oakland, California, where the unprecedented scale of violent repression by police has stunned the nation.
Searing criticism was levelled at the Oakland police and Oakland Mayor Jean Quan on October 26 after a particularly vicious attack by police on Occupy protester and Iraq veteran Scott Olsen (24), who was hospitalised for a fractured skull and brain swelling when he was hit by a “police projectile,” possibly a teargas canister.
The violence continued this week when several general strikes by the protesters were greeted with mass arrests and tear-gas deployment by the Oakland police. Earlier, police were also alleged to have used other non-lethal weapons to quell the growing protests in the city, including rubber bullets, baton rounds and flash-bang grenades.
Three separate instances of police resorting to teargas use were observed on Wednesday after protesters, allegedly numbering over 30,000, led the general strike in the city and managed to shut down the Oakland's port and downtown areas.
While Oakland police were said to be under a formal investigation over the incident involving Mr. Olsen, earlier this week the Oakland Police Officers' Association issued an open letter to the citizens of Oakland in which it criticised Ms. Quan and her administration for the handling of the protests.
The letter reportedly noted that while on October 25 Mayor Quan had ordered the police to clear out encampments at Frank Ogawa Plaza the police were compelled to do so despite being fully aware that past protests in Oakland had resulted in rioting, violence and destruction of property.
In a statement of solidarity with the Occupy protesters, the OPOA said in its letter, “We, too, are the 99 per cent fighting for better working conditions, fair treatment and the ability to provide a living for our children and families.”
Keywords: Occupy Wall Street, U.S. port, Port of Oakland, global economy, U.S. economy, economic inequality
The US only preaches human rights, right of dissent, right to protest,
freedom of expression.. When it comes home its a different matter.. Its
easy to preach to others
As some one who lives in USA for the past 15 years, I think this piece is a joke. The police in USA show a lot of restraint and act appropriately. Honestly, I am tired of these mobs, they shut down one of the largest port in the country. They are annoying and it is time, the mayors across USA crack down on these bums. My advice to occupiers, go home, get your act together and a cogent message.
If people are demonstrating in an orderly fashion and not causing an inconvenience to motorists this should not be an issue. But there have been instances of protestors defecating on the streets, on police cars and even throwing stones. If this is the case, the police have to step in and conduct mass arrests. But I agree, no one should be injured so badly as to be hospitalized unless he initiated similar violence. The guilty should be punished whichever side they are on. There are two sides to this, only one of which has been reported here.
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