Oakland Protest Over Ferguson Turns Violent

Oakland Protest Over Ferguson Turns Violent

Local news channel KTVU reports that fallout from the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri triggered the arrest of two men in Oakland as a peaceful protest turned violent on Friday night. 

The protest was ostensibly a peaceful anti-police protest, but a subsection of the protesters allegedly chose to pepper spray police officers. One police officer who attempted to make an arrest was assaulted by protesters and had to be taken to a hospital.

The assault on the police officer prompted the arrest of a 45-year-old man from Oakland around 7:30 p.m.; only two hours, a 41-year-old Hayward man was arrested on suspicion of obstructing, delaying and resisting police officers. 

The march originated near Frank H. Ogawa Plaza at 6 p.m. then traveled on Telegraph Avenue toward Berkeley. On their way, the protestors vandalized multiple businesses, broke windows, left graffiti and interrupted traffic. Among the buildings where windows broken were the Bank of the West, Taste of Denmark Bakery, Telegraph Lofts, and Articlepract.

The protest was one of a series across the nation that followed 18-year-old Michael Brown’s death from being shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9. Brown was unarmed, but there is still uncertainty as to what prompted the shooting. 

Days after the shooting, police released evidence that Brown was a suspect in a previous strong-arm robbery at a convenience store. Ferguson is primarily comprised of black residents and its police force is primarily white.

Image: Screenshot/KTVU

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