I-880 Blocked, Transit In San Francisco, Oakland Disrupted On 3rd Night Of Eric Garner Protests
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Protests were held in San Francisco and Oakland for a third straight night in response to a New York City grand jury's decision to not indict a police officer in the chokehold death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man.
Service was stopped for nearly an hour at the West Oakland BART station due to a protest march that began in Oakland Friday evening, according to BART officials.
The closure of the station led to major delays in both directions due to the disturbance at the station. Officials said the West Oakland station reopened around 10:40 p.m.
The station closure came after hundreds of protesters blocked the Castro Street offramp from northbound Interstate Highway 880 shortly before 9:00 p.m., prompting the closure of all northbound lanes.
California Highway Patrol and police officers pushed demonstrators back down the ramp, and at least one arrest occurred.
As of 10:45 p.m., protesters were in the downtown area near 14th and Broadway, where previous nights marches began, and at least one business, a wine store,
has had its windows broken.
Some protesters on the scene pleaded with others not to break things, while police have declared an unlawful assembly.
Friday night's protest march in Oakland began around 7 p.m. from 27th Street and Telegraph Avenue. Protesters also appeared at a tree lighting at Jack London Square.
A march also took place in San Francisco, where Market Street was blocked at least twice by protesters staging "die-ins" at Powell Street, blocking transit and vehicle traffic.
Online reports indicated the San Francisco group marched through the Tenderloin and Union Square areas.
Friday night's protests marked the third such day of activism in the Bay Area and across the nation this week in response to Wednesday's grand jury decision.
Last week also saw several days of protests last week in response to another grand jury decision in Missouri to not indict a police office for the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed young black man.
In contrast to this week's protests, which have been largely peaceful with few arrests, those protests involved numerous arrests and reports of vandalism, violence and looting.
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