Monday, April 07, 2003

This Morning in Oakland

Well, Portland no longer has the dubious distinction of having the most heavy-handed police response to peaceful protest. This morning at the docks in Oakland, a completely non-violent and peaceful protest was met with wooden and rubber bullets, beanbag loads, concussion grenades, tear gas, pepperspray and beatings of both protesters and bystanders. The police ran their motorcycles right into the crowd and most of the many people who were shot with wooden bullets were shot in the back while running away, unlike the unlucky young woman above. The police shot directly at protesters, despite the warning on the shells that they were only to be used to ricochet off the street into legs.

I wonder how long it’ll be before this type of shit is unleashed on Portland’s people…