Demonstrators In Oakland, Berkeley Protest Fatal Missouri Police Shooting Of Michael Brown
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- Some windows were broken and slogans were spray painted on buildings during a march that stretched from Downtown Oakland to Berkeley Friday evening. The protesters denounced the fatal shooting of a black teen by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.
Oakland police officials allege some protesters pepper-sprayed and pushed officers during the march, which started in Oakland Friday evening and eventually moved into Berkeley.
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The majority of the crowd, which protested last week's shooting in Ferguson, marched peacefully, while a small group broke away, disrupted traffic and vandalized businesses Friday evening, a police official said Friday night.
Members of the crowd attempted to control those committing vandalism and other acts along the way, without success, the official said.
Oakland police did not provide any information on arrests Friday evening and said they would have an update on the outcome of the march in the morning.
The march began at 14th and Broadway in Oakland at 6 p.m. Friday with several hundred participants and changed route several times before moving down Telegraph toward Berkeley.
Friday's protest was billed as being organized by Occupy Oakland the Labor Solidarity Committee.
Protesters chanted "Hands up! Don't shoot!" and "Justice for Michael Brown" as they traveled through the area.
Fireworks were set off at 14th and Broadway earlier in the evening, and freshly spray painted slogans have been seen on buildings including "FTP We Here," "more dead pigs" and "we will never stop."
A number of windows on Telegraph were broken during the march, including those at the Bank of the West at 4800 Telegraph, Taste of Denmark Bakery, Telegraph Lofts, Articlepract and 2855 Telegraph.
As of 10:30 p.m., the protesters appeared to be moving through Berkeley. Numbers dwindled to less than 100 as the march continued down Telegraph from Oakland.
The "hands up" chant has been heard across the country at other protests following the Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, a suburb of Saint Louis, after an encounter with a police officer. Brown was unarmed during the shooting and there are conflicting reports about the events that led to his death.
Brown's shooting triggered protests and racial tensions in Ferguson, a largely black community with a largely white police force. The heavily armed police response there, which included the use of tear gas, has drawn national criticism and triggered protests in cities around the country.
Oakland was the scene of numerous anti-police protests, some of which led to violent confrontations with police and numerous arrests, during the height of the Occupy movement. Protesters set up a long-lasting encampment at Frank Ogawa Plaza starting in October of 2011 and staged marches from the area.
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