Cops arrest around 100 protesters in Oakland

by Lynda Carson ( tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com )
Saturday Nov 6th, 2010 Indybay.org

Cops arrest around 100 protesters in Oakland around E. 18th St., and
7th Ave!

Oakland - The November 5, 2010, light sentence of Johannes Mehserle to 2
years in prison with time served, had a big impact on my neighborhood the
evening of November 5, as the neighborhood filled up with 100's of
protesters fleeing from the violence of on-going police brutality, and
threat of arrest by Oakland Cops.

An early quiet Friday evening in front of and near my residence turned
into a bizarre type of escape scene one might see in the movies, with
dozens of people running by, fleeing on foot in fear, and running down the
sidewalk past my apartment in a state of sheer panic. It all reminded me
of a scene from the movie, The Planet of the Apes.

Around 7pm (my neighborhood), near the corner of 8th Ave and E.19th St.,
was saturated with tons of speeding squad cars, loud sirens and 3 to 4
helicopters flying overhead in tight looped circles with bright blazing
searchlights, turning nightfall into a dazzling brightly lit crime scene
far down below.

Both men and women were running by, and some were in their teens, but most
of them were in their 20's and 30's, and a few were older. A mix mostly of
blacks, latinos and whites. Many were on bicycles.

I could see the look of sweat and fear on peoples faces as they silently
ran by trying to find a safe place to hide, far away from the cops that
were chasing them with guns, night sticks, tasers and a one way ticket to
Santa Rita jail.

Some of those fleeing were looking for a place to hide in the bushes, in
peoples driveways behind the parked cars, under the porches and near the
sides of buildings along the street.

These were the same people who were protesting Johannes Mehserle sentence
downtown Oakland earlier during the day, who ended up near Laney College
and then were later dispersed and chased into my neighborhood by the large
brutal police force, that had all the protesters on the run.

Some protesters were on foot alone or in groups silently running along the
streets and sidewalks, while others were on bicycles and in cars speeding
down the street away from the sounds of sirens, bright flashing lights and
the cops that were in hot pursuit.

The air was wailing with sirens getting ever closer, until a squad car
came blasting up the hill. Suddenly screeching to a startling stop as it
blocked the middle of the intersection at 8th Ave, and E. 19th St.

Watching the protesters fleeing in all directions along the street at that
point, the cop in the squad car spun his car around and quickly dashed
back down the hill to join up with other squad cars, blocking the street a
block away.

The bright flashing red and white lights of the squad cars were intense
and bouncing of the windows and buildings along the street, as the local
street cats scurried for the darkness of cover under the nearest cars to
be found.

I did not know it then, but the cops had declared that my neighborhood was
a crime scene because of the protesters, and they sealed off the whole
area block by block with hundreds of cops on the streets, and in their
squad cars, blocking many of the intersections and sealing off the whole
neighborhood.

Whatever rights my neighbors and I may have had before the cops appeared
and locked down my neighborhood, our rights seemed to have been tossed
right into the trash bins of history at that point, as we were all at risk
of being arrested because we all resided right in the middle of a crime
scene.

As I stood on the corner of 8th Ave and E. 19th St, for half an hour to
forty minutes, along with some of the protesters who were angered by the
Johannes Mehserle sentence, I could understand why people feel that the
system is broken, and there is no justice in this world.

Many of the protesters were out of breath by the time they reached the
corner I was at, and were very happy that they managed to escape capture
from the cops. Soon they were off and running again, in fear that the cops
may still capture them.

At any time the cops may have come back and arrested us for standing out
on the streets nearby, a block or two away from where a 100 protesters or
more were being arrested nearby. It was a tense scene.

From our position, we could see numerous squad cars a block away, and
could hear the shouts of protesters yelling at the cops as they were being
rounded up, arrested and lined up to be taken off to Santa Rita Jail. The
large police force that was menacing the whole neighborhood with their
fascist police tactics, were serious about catching as many as possible of
the protesters that were marching down the streets of Oakland, in protest
of the light Johannes Mehserle sentence.

I too was angered and felt that Johannes Mehserle should have gotten a
minimum of 14 years or more for executing Oscar Grant, at the BART Station
on that fateful New Years Eve.

All in all, around 100 people or more were blocked off in the nearby
streets, and cornered and captured by the police in my neighborhood, who
then proceeded to arrest everyone that was targeted, captured and trapped
by their brutal tactics. For many, there was no escape, and no place to
run or hide.

For others, dozens of others reached the safety of my street and silently
ran off into the shelter of darkness just out of reach of the fascist
police state that was intent on hunting them down, as if in sport.

Additionally, some cops were cruising the streets in unmarked cars, but
the protesters spotted them in a heartbeat, and started calling them
"pigs" and told them to get lost, as they quietly drove by the numerous
protesters milling around that appeared to be out of their reach.

Overhead, the noisy helicopters flew in circles for 3 to 4 hours this
evening, while the neighborhood was in full lock-down, as a 100 or more
protesters were captured and arrested around E. 18th St., and 7th Ave.

Lynda Carson may be reached at tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com