Oakland Port Reopens, Some Protesters Reject Vandalism
![Demonstrators from the "Occupy Oakland" movement](https://d.medicaldaily.com/en/full/221947/demonstrators-quotoccupy-oaklandquot-movement.jpg?w=600&f=c53d2d494ba8d1f5e52e15c86e76bdf3)
The Port of Oakland reopened Thursday, following a day of protests linked to the Occupy Oakland movement which shut down one of the nation’s busiest shipping ports and resulted in violent late night clashes with police.
On Wednesday, a mostly peaceful group of thousands of protesters arrived at the port as part of a ‘General Strike.’ Later that night and into early Thursday morning in downtown Oakland, a smaller group of demonstrators took over an abandoned building, set up barricades, lit bonfires in the streets and vandalized buildings and businesses while police responded with tear gas and flash grenades.
Later on Thursday, protesters camped at Frank Ogawa plaza in front of Oakland City Hall had reached an anti-vandalism consensus, according to the Oakland Tribune. Instead of apologizing outright, they decided instead to tell businesses they were sorry and offer help.
City crews started to clean the vandalized downtown area near the corner of 14th and Broadway, which was filled with broken glass, garbage, graffiti, and debris.
Night of Clashes
Police arrested 80 protesters after a violent confrontation early Thursday morning. At about midnight, a group of protesters took over an abandoned building at 16th street and Broadway near the protesters’ campground at Frank Ogawa plaza.
Protesters barricaded a block on both sides of the vacant two-story building with an assortment of wooden pallets, trash cans, tables and tires, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Hundreds of police were on the scene as some protesters started a massive trash fire, the Chronicle reported. Police ordered a crowd which had gathered to disperse. However at around 1 am police responded by launching tear gas canisters and flash-bang grenades.
The Tribune reported that there had been some injuries including a man who had been gassed and shot in the knee with a rubber bullet.
Five civilians and three police officers were reported injured.
Port Reopens
On Thursday afternoon, the Port of Oakland reopened a day after thousands of Occupy Oakland protesters blocked entrances, effectively shutting it down.
It was the culmination of a mainly a peaceful ‘General Strike’ which began on Wednesday that brought in over 5,000 people. Some came by bus while other marched to the port, according to the Wall Street Journal. Some incidents of vandalism were reported, however.
Once on the scene, protesters blocked entrances, preventing container transport trucks from entering or exiting the port.
As reported in the AP, port spokesman Isaac Kos-Read said Wednesday evening that operations had been “effectively shut down.”
A statement released by port officials said if the disruptions continued there would be an economic impact.
"Our hope is that the work day can resume tomorrow and that Port workers will be allowed to get to their jobs without incident," the statement read. "Continued missed shifts represent economic hardship for maritime workers, truckers, and their families, as well as lost jobs and lost tax revenue for our region."
Occupy protestors went back to the Port of Oakland this morning to block trucks from entering to port.
As reported in the Oakland Tribune protestors erected a chain link fence across four lanes of traffic reinforcing it with dumpsters to keep truckers and port employees out. One trucker ran right through the dumpsters while some took other entrances.
The AP reported that Boots Riley, one of the protests’ organizers said the port shutdown was significant for organizers whose aim was to “stop the flow of capital.”