Oakland: Police fired tear gas
and sound grenades to disperse hundreds of anti-Wall Street
protesters in Oakland, near San Francisco.
Columns of white smoke filled the streets and sound
grenades echoed off the buildings as the demonstrators
scattered before riot police last night, who had earlier
arrested scores of protesters and had repeatedly warned them
to disperse.
At least one protester fell to the ground, bleeding from
the head and unconscious, after being struck by a tear gas
canister. He was later dragged off by fellow protesters, the
photographer said.
The protesters later regrouped and started hurling eggs
at the riot police, who responded by firing paint-balls at
them.
Riot police had arrested 85 people early yesterday
morning as they cleared the Occupy Oakland tent encampment
from a square in front of City Hall, the San Francisco
Chronicle reported.
A police spokeswoman had earlier confirmed the number
arrested without providing further details. Police could not
immediately be reached for comment yesterday night.
The protesters had sought to return to the encampment
they had occupied for two weeks as part of the growing
nationwide demonstrations against alleged corporate greed and
government dysfunction.
Scuffles broke out around 6:00 pm (0630 IST) when riot
police who had blocked the protesters moved to arrest one of
them, the Chronicle reported.
Protesters threw turquoise and red paint at the riot
police, chanting: "This is why we call you pigs," the
newspaper said.
It said other protesters attempted to calm the situation
and spoke out against the violence.
"They didn`t have to force police into that situation,"
it quoted Helen Walker, a 46-year-old nurse, as saying. "It
was totally provoked, and if I could have, I would have
stopped those idiots from throwing paint."
PTI
