Local News

Oakland Begins Cleanup After Ferguson Grand Jury Decision Protest Leaves Downtown Businesses Vandalized, Looted

November 25, 2014 / 10:55 AM PST / CBS San Francisco

OAKLAND (KCBS) — Work crews on Tuesday morning began cleaning up downtown Oakland, where demonstrators protesting the Ferguson, Mo. grand jury decision not to indict police officer Darren Wilson over the shooting death of Michael Brown set fires, smashed store-front windows and looted businesses on Monday night.

Much was cleaned up by 6 a.m. but work crews were waiting for the late of day to continue. A Starbucks on Broadway and Eight Street that was looted, was boarded up and so was the Smart & Final nearby after doors to its liquor cabinets were pulled off.

The Chase Bank on 14th and Broadway had its two front doors smashed in. The Wells Fargo, on 12th Street, which was targeted in previous Occupy and Trayvon Martin protests, had it street-level windows broken with a hole big enough that someone could crawl through into a conference room.

A nearby MetroPCS on Broadway and Ninth Street was completely looted with the inside left completely bare of phones, chargers and other merchandise.

Darnell Johnson, who lives downtown, told KCBS said he watched events unfold on T.V.

"I understand the frustration—I'm there with them—but you know it's really saddening that our response to injustice is to destroy our own communities," he said.

Businesses that managed not to have their windows broken were covered in graffiti. Many, such as the Kaiser Center and T-Mobile, had boards put up Monday afternoon before the protests.

Thousands of protesters marched up Broadway and down Grand Avenue on Monday,with some breaking windows, until they were able to get onto lanes of Interstate 580 near Lakeshore Avenue, blocking traffic in both directions for several hours.

Elizabeth Smith, who was driving, became stranded.

"We were just driving and people started running on the freeway so we had to stop but it's definitely worth the wait because I mean, it requires justice for all the craziness that's going on," she said.

Police arrested about 40 people on charges ranging from; assault on a police officer, vandalism, burglary, public intoxication, and refusal to disperse.

One officer was injured and suffered a concussion and a cut to his lip when a brick was thrown so hard it apparently cracked his helmet.

Another sergeant was injured on the freeway when protesters on 580 pelted officers with rocks, bottles paint and fireworks.

Mayor-elect Libby Schaaf said she wanted to see a more effective response.

"Effective means less disruption, less disturbance and definitely less destruction of property. We had an injury last night of a police officer. It was completely unacceptable," Schaaf said.

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The crowd tried to eventually tried to get into police headquarters but was met by a phalanx of officers who, for more than hour, warned the people would be arrested if they did not leave.

Eventually, police used tear gas to disperse the crowd, but not before the looting downtown had begun.

Dr. Michael Carter from the Black Wall Street Merchants Association told KCBS that looting and vandalism were carried out by "anarchists."

"You got people who are organized on social media that come out to say, 'Hey, were' going to hit the moment the indictment comes down, or don't come down. We are going to a city that is not ours and destroy and pilliage and lower the moral of a city,'" he said.