Previously: Tear Gas, Smoke Grenades As Police Give #OccupyOakland Protesters Order To Disperse
Oakland police officers in riot gear used less-than-lethal munitions on about 300 protesters Tuesday night after a day of police raids and riots when “Occupy Oakland” campers were evicted from a city plaza, an Oakland police spokeswoman said.
During another protest Tuesday night many officers were assaulted, doused and hit with hazardous materials and hit with large rocks and bottles, police spokeswoman Cynthia Perkins said.
An Oakland police officer said officers in riot gear had bright blue paint thrown on them during the rallies Tuesday evening.
Perkins said this resulted in a declaration of an unlawful assembly and an order to disperse. To enforce dispersal officers used less-than-lethal force tactics.
Protesters have reported via Twitter rubber bullets were one tactic used to disperse the crowd.
The protesters began rallying around 4 p.m. near the main branch of the Oakland Public Library at 14th and Madison streets.
The rallies followed 79 arrests made Tuesday morning after 4:30 a.m. at the Occupy Oakland encampment when protesters were told to leave the plaza at Broadway and 14th Street during a police raid.
Earlier Tuesday afternoon and evening tear gas was deployed on roughly a hundred protesters after law enforcement officials continued to issue orders to disperse.
The “Occupy Oakland” demonstrators announced that they would return to the plaza every night at 6 p.m. to continue the protest.
As of 5 a.m. this morning the plaza and nearby areas were relatively calm, with law enforcement and a sprinkling of protesters present.
At a media briefing Tuesday night, interim Oakland police Chief Howard Jordan said there were more than 1,000 protesters at the height of the clashes. He said police action to remove the camp was based on health and public safety concerns.
Another police media briefing is expected to take place this morning at a time and place that has yet to be announced, Perkins said.
Sasha Lekach, Bay City News
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