Mostly Peaceful Occupy Oakland Thugs Hurl Bottles, Pipes, Rocks and “Improvised Explosive Devices” at Police

Well, I guess we can give up on the pretense that these mutants are anything but peaceful.

Oakland police deployed tear gas and smoke at about 500 Occupy Oakland marchers Saturday afternoon, arresting 19 protesters after they attempted to enter a vacant convention center, police said.

In the first major clash between protesters and police since November, three officers were injured, as protesters threw bottles, metal pipe, rocks, spray cans, “improvised explosive devices,” and lit flares, police said, in a large skirmish on the front steps of the Oakland Museum of California.

The marchers had announced plans to occupy a vacant building to create the movement’s headquarters, with plans for a two-day party. Police and city officials vowed to not allow it.

In what has become a weekly march, about 250 protesters gathered around noon at Frank Ogawa Plaza for a rally, according to a city of Oakland press release. At 1:30 p.m., the group began marching with a crowd of about 450 protesters. Forty-five minutes later, some of the marchers entered the campus of Laney College, city officials said.

That was when police first fired tear gas, a witness said.

At 2:50 p.m., marchers began tearing down perimeter fences around the vacant Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, city officials said. Police declared an unlawful assembly and fired more tear gas.

A demonstrator named Ian from Marin County said police fired rubber bullets as well, after protesters began hurling items at them.

Sixteen of the protesters were arrested in that confrontation at 10th and Oak streets for mostly failure to disperse and assaulting a police officer. The three other arrests were scattered along the march route, a police source said.

The most seriously injured officer received a cut to his face which required stitches after a protester hit him with a bicycle. The other two injured officers received bruises and one injured his hand, the police source said.

The most seriously injured officer received a cut to his face which required stitches after a protester hit him with a bicycle. The other two injured officers received bruises and one injured his hand, the police source said.

Would be nice if we had a functioning  Justice Department in this country.

Here’s a live feed.

H/T for the rather ironic image.