Photo: Adreadnonymous. Protester in wheelchair at Oakland protest, tear-gassed.
[Video Link: Oakland police throwing tear gas bombs at protesters.]
From Oakland North blog:
Vowing to reoccupy Frank Ogawa Plaza, hundreds of Occupy Oakland protestors marched through the streets of downtown Oakland late Tuesday afternoon, chanting “Fight back!” as police followed and a helicopter buzzed overhead.
More: Oakland North. Here’s a related post there, with photos from police/demonstrator confrontations throughout the (long) day. They’re doing a great job live-tweeting the activity right now, as I post this.
@northoaklandnow: Police just threw tear gas bombs #occupyoakland
@northoaklandnow: Eyes.burning. throats on fire. Tear gassed. Ppl crying and coughing
@northoaklandnow: Police sprayed tear gas. My eyes, my nose and my throat burns. Am using water at the nearby wishing well to wash my face
East Bay Express has a reporter on the scene right now, too. Multiple reports of heavy use of tear gas.
Just got teargassed. Am legitimately terrified.
Photo: Oakland North
SF Gate has reporters on the ground, and an updated piece is here.
LIVE VIDEO STREAMS: Here’s the CBS News live feed. Periodically going dark. Here is another local news feed from KRON-4. Here’s the ABC affiliate. Here’s a stream from an Anon/Occupy activist. And here’s another. This archived stream shows police dropping flash-bangs and launching large amounts of tear gas into a crowd.
8:10pm Pacific: Reports via Twitter that Oakland police are bringing out a “sound cannon,” a non-lethal weapon that shoots intense rays of sound to disperse crowds. Not sure yet if this is true. I’ve covered this for NPR and Boing Boing previously, and experienced a controlled test of it myself at a military location. The device is no joke. This reporter just confirmed the presence of an LRAD device on the scene, and OPD saying they intend to use it if crowd does not disperse.
Tweets coming in now (745pm Pacific) from various sources report that Oakland police have told news choppers and reporters on the ground to turn off their cameras and leave, and the reporters are apparently doing so. Protesters are, literally, being read the riot act and told to disperse. All media are ordered to leave. Police are saying that if all people do not leave, the police will use chemicals or force to coerce them to do so.
See also the “Occupy Oakland” Twitter account. And Mr. Davey D. And Gavin Aronsen of Mother Jones. And Josh Holland of Alternet. And Aaron Bady.
Update From @jackalanon, 9pm Pacific:
#OccupyOakland Notes for myself but you’ll want to know: I saw use of tear gas three times, the sound canon, bean bags, uncountable amount of flashbangs and rubber bullets being used. I saw 1 kid passed out, a few people bleeding, puking and everyone screaming and crying. I was affected by tear gas was at least 3 times. eyes / skin burning, couldn’t breath due to coughing. And got hit by a bean bag (wish I would’ve kept it). Cops where in full riot gear with shield, gas mask and beaten almost the full time. Moving moments was when a protester threw $$$ at the police line yelling “will you protect us now?” and after the first attack of tear gas we chanted “we’re still here” though our unbelievably burning crying. I was never close enough to see any badge numbers, and although I didn’t see it I herd of quite a few times of people getting hit with the baton.
Tonight started off as a protest, but was turned into a full out war for no reason. The crowd I was with was always peaceful. We yelled, protested, yes, but that is fully in our rights. We are the people to protect, not the people to be denied our rights as citizens of the United States. Our forefathers and our military personal fought hard for these rights, and for what? For us to be suppressed? I think not… it’s our turn to not ask, beg, or vote our rights back, but to take them as they are ours. — @JackalAnon
(via Quinn Norton)