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News :: Protest Activity |
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Police Attack Calif. Anti - War Protesters |
Current rating: 5 |
by AP via Joe Futrelle
(No verified email address) |
07 Apr 2003
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Police opened fire with non-lethal projectiles at an anti-war protest at the Port of Oakland on Monday morning, injuring at least six demonstrators and six longshoremen standing nearby. |
Police Attack Calif. Anti - War Protesters
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 1:36 p.m. ET
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Police opened fire with non-lethal projectiles at an anti-war protest at the Port of Oakland on Monday morning, injuring at least six demonstrators and six longshoremen standing nearby.
Most of the 500 demonstrators at the port were dispersed peacefully, but police opened fire at two gates when protesters refused to move and police said some of them threw rocks and bolts. The longshoremen, pinned against a fence, were caught in the line of fire.
Demonstrators said they targeted the port because at least one company there is handling war supplies. They said it was the first time they had been fired upon in Bay area protests since the Iraq war began last month.
``Oakland police are being the most aggressive of any department I've seen in the Bay Area since the war began,'' said protester Damien McAnany, a database manager. ``The San Francisco Police Department never used any of this stuff against us.''
Oakland Police said at least 24 people were arrested.
``Some people were blocking port property and the port authorities asked us to move them off,'' said Deputy Police Chief Patrick Haw. ``Police moved aggressively against crowds because some people threw rocks and big iron bolts at officers.''
Police spokeswoman Danielle Ashford said officers fired bean-bag rounds and wooden dowels. They also used ``sting balls,'' which send out a spray of BB-sized rubber pellets and a cloud of tear gas.
``When they hit you, it feels like a bee sting,'' Haw said.
Six longshoremen were treated by paramedics. It was unclear if any of the injured protesters sought medical treatment.
``I was standing as far back as I could,'' said longshoremen Kevin Wilson. ``It was very scary. All of that force wasn't necessary.''
Trent Willis, a business agent for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, said enraged dockworkers were leaving the docks after the incident.
``They shot my guys. We're not going to work today,'' Willis said. ``The cops had no reason to open up on them.''
Last week, a San Francisco-based peace group, Direct Action to Stop the War, had announced that it would stage a series of protests Monday involving new acts of civil disobedience.
Protests also took place Monday at the federal building in San Francisco and at the Concord Naval Weapons Station. And seven people were arrested when they temporarily blocked an exit ramp off Interstate 280 in San Francisco.
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Comments
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Police Violence Shocks Activists, Others At Port Of Oakland Protest |
by Dana Hull
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 6
07 Apr 2003
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An anti-war demonstration at the Port of Oakland turned violent this morning when Oakland Police opened fire with wooden dowels, ``sting balls,'' concussion grendades, tear gas and other non-lethal weapons when protesters at the gates of two shipping lines refused an order to disperse.
Scores of protesters ran from a line of police or tried to hide behind nearby big rigs. At least a dozen demonstrators and nine longshoremen who were standing nearby were injured.
``Our guys were standing in one area waiting to go to work, and then the police started firing on the longshoremen,'' said Henry Graham, the president of ILWU Local 10. ``Some were hit in the chest with rubber bullets, and seven of our guys went to the hospital. I don't want to imply that the police deliberately did this, but it doesn't make sense.''
There have been so many anti-war demonstrations in the Bay Area in recent months that they have almost become routine, and most have been peaceful. Monday's events mark the first time that local police have used projectiles to disperse crowds, and many demonstrators said they were stunned that the projectiles were fired at such close range.
``I was just marching in a big circle and the police lowered their guns at us,'' said Scott Fleming, 29, who took off his shirt to reveal four large red and swollen welts on his back. ``I turned to run and I started getting hit with wooden bullets. They just kept shooting at us, and I kept running. I'm a lawyer, and I'm serioulsy considering filing charges.''
The early morning mayhem came as a shock to veteran activists and Oakland leaders alike. Oakland was one of the first cities in the region to pass a resolution condeming the U.S.-led war with Iraq, and the City Council has a progressive reputation. Some well known public officials even turned out to participate in the early morning protest.
``I got hit a few times with rubber bullets,'' said Dan Siegel, an attorney and member of the Oakland School Board. Siegel pulled a sting ball out of the pocket of his business suit and said he was outraged that the police fired on a peaceful protest. ``The police totally overreacted. It's over the top. They were reckless, and I also saw an officer on a motorcycle run over a woman's foot.''
The port protest was one of several anti-war demonstrations held Monday in the Bay Area. Several people were arrested at the Concord Naval Weapons Station, and seven were arrested after they temporarily blocked an off-ramp from Interstate 280 in San Francisco. Other demonstrators walked in a circle in front of the federal building in San Francisco, drumming wooden spoons together as federal employees arrived for work.
The action at the Port was the largest. Hundreds of demonstrators met near dawn Monday at the terminals of Neptune Orient Lines Ltd.'s APL unit and Stevedoring Services of America, shipping companies that activists say are profiting from the war.
In late March, Stevedoring Services of America won a $4.8 million contract from the U.S. government to manage the Iraqi port Umm Qasr and ensure that urgent food assistance and materials flow smoothly through the seaport. Critics are screaming foul over the process, which excluded any foreign companies from bidding on the lucrative contracts.
The demonstrations at the port were planned with the quiet support of the ILWU, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
Many rank-and-file members of ILWU Local 10 oppose the war with Iraq, and the local has its own Anti-War Action Committee.
Police fired into the crowd after some protesters failed to clear the street in front of the terminals.
``At that point, we fired non-lethal munitions,'' said Danielle Ashford, an officer with the Oakland Police Department. ``There were a few agitators in the crowd. The majority of them were peaceful.''
But others said they never saw any evidence of ``agitators'' and urged any witnesses to come to Tuesday's City Council meeting.
``I was there from 5 a.m. on, and the only violence that I saw was from the police,'' said Joel Tena, the constituent liason for Vice Mayor Nancy Nadel. ``What happened today was very surprising. It seemed the police were operating under the assumption that they were not going to let any kind of protest happen.''
Copyright 2003 Knight Ridder
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/ |
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This Is What Democracy Looks Like? |
by via CommonDreams
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 3
07 Apr 2003
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#file_1#
A protestor, who refused to give her name, bears the wounds after she says was hit by Oakland police weapon during a anti-war protest in Oakland, Calif., Monday, April 7, 2003 outside the port area. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
#file_2#
Berkeley resident Clay Hinson (R), who was shot once in the chest and twice in the back during an anti-war protest, shows his wounds to an Oakland Police sergeant (L) who takes his statement at the West Oakland train station, April 7, 2003. Oakland police fired rubber bullets and wooden pellets on Monday to disperse hundreds of anti-war protesters in what was believed to be their first such use against U.S. protesters since the American-led war on Iraq began. REUTERS/Tim Wimborne
#file_3#
An Oakland Police officer fires a shotgun towards a group of anti-war protesters near the Port of Oakland, April 7, 2003. Oakland police fired rubber bullets and wooden pellets on Monday to disperse hundreds of anti-war protesters in what was believed to be the first such use against U.S. protesters since the American-led war on Iraq began. REUTERS/Tim Wimborne |
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Contact Information For Oakland Police |
by Joe Futrelle
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 3
07 Apr 2003
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If you're as appalled at this as I am, you may want to contact the Oakland police department.
Here is their email address:
webcop (at) oaklandpolice.com
Their phone number is 777-3333. I assume the area code is 510. |
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Nytimes, CNN Coverage |
by Joe Futrelle
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 3
07 Apr 2003
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The nytimes report seems biased towards the police position, repeating their uncorroborated claim that protestors were throwing rocks and backing it up with repetition of that same claim by city officials. The CNN report does not repeat the police version of the story (probably because it's uncorroborated!), but rather emphasizes the police's actions and their consequences, including the awful and disturbing picture reposted above. CNN is also featuring the story more prominently than nytimes.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/04/07/sprj.irq.oakland.protest/index.html |
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Reprinted With Permission Without Offending Words. |
by Jack Ryan
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
10 Apr 2003
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Joe,
These protesters were attempting to prevent vital supplys from getting to our troops now fighting for their lives in the Gulf. I believe they refer to this as treason. I know you are against the war, but I thought you guys tightroped the position of supporting the troops. Would you have them run out food, water and shells? The truth is, that you would love to see them run out of ammunition so they are captured, tortured and killed by a brutal regime.
And what of the humanitarian aid? Should this not reach the Iraqis.
In my opinion, using rubber balls, is a very kind response to the rocks and the bottles that your anarchist were throwing. Are they just supposed to stand there and take it?
You're lucky, that they have invented such non lethal forms of retaliation. It could have just as easily come from an M 16. Anyway, Joe, this problem and your movement will be solved by victory. You are already seeing the masses of Iraq welcome our troops. You are seeing the mass graves uncovered and you are seeing the torture chambers which filled them. I sense by the majority of the posts now focusing on other issues, that you and your ilk have retreated faster than the Republican Guard. Don't be bitter Joe. It is not the first, nor will it be the last time, that you folks have been on the wrong side of an issue. We win again.
God Bless our Troops and the USA,
Jack |
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My Experience Of The Oakland Dock's Protest |
by Paul Ginocchio
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
10 Apr 2003
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I am tired of the lies. The lies the government is telling me. The lies I see when I turn on the television. The lies that this is a "successful" war. The lies when I experience a peaceful protest and see it portrayed as violent. I am tired.
I was one of the hundreds of people who met at the Oakland Docks early in the morning on Monday to peacefully picket in front of the APL shipping lines-which transports munitions that are being used to kill men, women, and children in Iraq. I had a little time to to hold my sign and walk in a circle, participating in the community effrot to the block the APL driveway. Many Longshoremen watched and many showed support for what I and others were doing.
The police did give dispersal warnings to our picket of women and men, old and young, holding signs and chanting peaceful slogans. But then time sped up very quickly as we heard huge blasts from guns that sounded like war itself, and I saw some people fall from wounds caused by the objects being fired upon us. Many of us ran, some left the scene altogther. Some of us did not want to give up that quickly, feeling that it was our democratic right to picket on Oakland property. We re-grouped and joined a smaller picket circle in front of another driveway at the docks.
Once again, we had little time to come together and communicate about what we wanted to do. My girlfriend and I joined the last remaining circle. We saw people running, police on motorcycles powerfully charging at the protestors, actually hitting one woman, leaving tire prints on her arm, leg, and back. The loud bangs began again, and we may or may not have been told to disperse. Suddenly another wave of police ran towards us. Many people tried to run away to the other side of the street, but we were effectively trapped. Thankfully my 60-year old mother had just mananged to avoid the charging police, as I saw one guy get thrown to the ground very forcefully by 5 police officers. I saw no one doing anything violent towards the police. Why would we use violence when we were at the docks to protest the violence being done by our government to innocent people in Iraq? I saw people trying to escape and "disperse" as the police would say, but they were not allowed to. It was too late.
The police were brutal in their attack. They fired on people at alarmingly close range. I saw many being carried away, or arrested, who were bloody and wearing a stunned look on their faces. These were young people, elderly men and women, people of many colors and economic backgrounds, teachers and union workers. The police were indiscriminate. They rounded up 31 of us and we were handcuffed and put into a bus. A guy next to me had gravel in the side of his face and his back was greatly aching from the force of 5 police officers on top of him, one with a knee in his back. This for a man not resisting arrest.
We were arrested at around 8:30am on Monday morning and held in Santa Rita county jail until 4am the next morning. We were seperated by gender and shoved into cells that were meant to hold half our size. There was 16 men in our cell. Once again the diversity of people was not like the picture painted by the media-we were old and young and not one of us had acted with any violence. We were held in this cell for about 14 hours-not being told when we would be released. We were treated poorly indeed. We were even taunted by the guards-one who shoved a picture of George Bush and a trapped looking Saddam Hussein in my face and asked what I thought of it. I said, believe it or not, we are not in here in support of Saddam Hussein, but for the Iraqi people who are being slaughtered by our government. We are in here because we have the right, less and less, to peacefully protest in our democratic nation. He snickered, "You people are so stupid."
The time in this cell was tough and hard, on the cement floors, but we managed to bond at a level not usual in the divided norm of our society. We went around the room and told jokes, played theatre games, and talked about everything from the overthrow of Chile's President Allende in the 1970's to the tragedy in Iraq. One man had just returned from Palestine where he was working with the International Solidarity Movement. He recounted the horrific story of a few weeks ago, when the Internationalists were walking peacefully with some Palestinians and they noticed an Israeli militant watching them from a tower through the scope of his rifle. They thought he was just watching their procession. Suddenly they heard a shot and a Palestian boy of 14 years who was walking in their line with them, was suddenly dead with a gunshot wound in his head.
I remember reading about this in the paper and the man in my cell recounted his horror of witnessing this incident so closely, and also his sadness as the story was presented in the media the next day as the boy throwing a molotav cocktail and the Israeli army was just reacting in self-defence. An outright lie, stripping this boy of the dignity of the memory of his life.
As we sat in a cell now thousands of miles away from this violence, I felt the horror of violence and war. An occasional "prisoner" would pass us in the hallway and I felt the horror of his life in this place of such deadness. We bonded in this cell and I felt hope that our cause was going to be heard around the world. The union leader who was arrested with us said that Longshormen around the world would protest this assault on his peaceful brothers.
When I woke up this morning, I was distraught to see the media coverage of our protest for peace at the Oakland docks. Similar to the story the man in my jail cell had told about the Israeli military making up stories to excuse their killing of an innocent Palestinian boy, our protest was being presented in the media as a legitimate police reaction to OUR violence. The police claimed that their actions were justified because they were responding to our throwing of rocks, and cement. Once again, lies. No one in my jail cell witnessed any such violence on the part of the peace protesters. None of us participated in any aggressive actions.
We will not stop protesting against the war. We will fight for the truth non-violently. If the reality of what happened at a protest in Oakland can't even be reported in the media, how can we know what's happening to innocent people in Iraq, where thousands of bombs are falling all over the country? They aren't only falling on Saddam Hussein and the Republican Guard. They are destroying innocent people's homes and lives.
I will never forget my fellow protesters from the Oakland dock picket. The same people who today must read the lies about our experience, but know that our fight is not in vain. |
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