Copwatch: Oakland Police Tear Gas Occupy Oakland

[7475flyersfan]

They didn't attack it they got rid of the vermin like an exterminator New York has to sanitize the area where those idiots were camped out becuase they used it as a giant toilet.

[MNhistorywriter]

This reminds me so much of the Chicago 1968 Democratic National Convention that resulted in a "police riot," not my term but that of the investigative commission that followed. The city prepared for violence, and they got it. It could have been avoided if Mayor Daley had simply let the protesters stay in Grant Park overnight. They decided they had to clear the park and ended up chasing innocent bystanders all over downtown.

[FloydFux]

kill capitalism!

[Princ3JaMaL]

Can those people go to bed at night with a peaceful thoughts in their minds? Does it sexually attracts them to be violent against peaceful, unarmed humans?

[JRAMACARTEL]

throw paint balloons at them they will be forced to fall back and remove their gas masks and face shields! use common sense!!!!

[diieradiiodiie]

Those cops look like robots. Conditioned. Look straight. Ignore the protestors. Carry on your duty.

[900DucatiSS]

When you use the nightstick you need to use your hips and have to "swing through" the hippy...

[alCIAdadidit]

I cant wait till the movie comes out... maybe then, people wil watch it...

[Daelhorhota]

@alCIAdadidit

If such a thing were to happen, it would be so unrealistic, and probably more focused on the protagonist's sex life than the actual protests. People still wouldn't take anything from it.

[humanboy1221]

@1775novten

Your right. And its sad that we can't shoot back.

[w0rdisbond]

As long as theyre just gathering around and not hurting anyone or being violent i think theyre doing the right thing.

[cavenoid]

My eyes stung while watching this. Tear gas? Tears.

[niannabray]

unlawful assembly????

[paulmax72]

OPD screwed up big time. midst well shot themselves in the foot.

[raustean]

Go OCCUPY Oakland!!!!! THE TENT"S ARE NEAR 40 STRONG!!!!!!! POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!!! DEFEND OAKLAND!!!!!!

[ghostchaser13]

Thnx Jacob! LOVE from occupy berkeley.org!

[Leapsic]

1. They were warned.

2. They were throwing rocks and bottles at the riot police.

3. The protesters have a bad use of tactics. Disperse and come back, disperse and come back, peacefully.

[shiggashane1]

@Leapsic "1. They were warned.

2. They were throwing rocks and bottles at the riot police.

3. The protesters have a bad use of tactics. Disperse and come back, disperse and come back, peacefully."

Exactly! They don't have the right to camp out at parks for weeks and disrupt the citizens and businesses of Oakland. I'm surprised the citizens haven't run out the protestors yet

[cincinatus90]

Finally. A video from the uncle tom...

[1775novten]

Unbelievable how easy it is for them to use violence against their own citizens. What is an unlawful assembly? One that is done without permission and permits from the city? The Constitution doesn't say that we have the right to assemble as long as the government gives you prior written consent. The Constitution is our permit! These officers should be ashamed - I hope their wives leave them and parents disown them in shame.

[im1greatman]

@1775novten Well said. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Any city, state or federal "ordinance/law" is over ridden by the Constitution, period.

[1775novten]

@jboritzki "To believe what you just states kind of proves that." This only proves you've never taken an English class, let alone read and understand the Constitution. I have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution and I will defend it with honor. I will not use violence against unarmed and non violent people. Yes, there must be rules to uphold the peace and order, but the penalty must equal the crime.

[1775novten]

@jboritzki a) Not all laws are "lawful" and Constitutional, which is laws are overturned by the Supreme Court all the time. b) I understand laws need to be enforced to maintain order; however, the violation needs to be taken into account to determine what amount of "force" is needed. To just blindly say that anyone who is violating the law has what is coming to them is ignorant and not honorable. There is no justification for throwing a flash grenade on a group of people who are helping someone.

[1775novten]

@jboritzki haha, you think the protesters are trying to intimidate the police? You know for a fact that it's the exact opposite. Can you link me to videos of the protesters throwing things at the police? Again, I agree that order needs to be maintained and storming the streets should not be acceptable. But what about them raiding the parks? Also, we all know that police infiltrate groups to incite violence to give cause for police retaliation.

[1775novten]

@jboritzki First, it appears that either you have come back and removed all your comments or someone else is. If it's the later, then I think that is complete bs, because you have the right to say whatever you want to without someone trying to suppress your beliefs. No one will every agree with what everyone else has to say, but I still think everyone's opinion is important and should be heard. So if someone else is doing this, please stop.

[1775novten]

@jboritzki I did look at the video you cited, and I agree that is not acceptable and viewed as an act of aggression. I'm not saying I disagree with using tear gas to disperse crowds; however, I think using bean bags, rubber bullets and flash grenades is unwarranted and an excessive use of force and violence. Also, parks do allow tents and generators, but only if you pay the city for a permit. That is tax payer land.

[1775novten]

@jboritzki Also, my original comment has nothing to do with the occupy movement's message, because frankly I don't personally agree with most of what they are saying. This is about law enforcement officers who have sworn to uphold the Constitution and protect its citizens - NOT hurt them. NO ONE agrees with the members of the Westboro Baptist Church protesting at military funerals; however, it's the cops job to protect their freedom of speech.

[massimo38]

@1775novten You ARE still living in the past my friend !

[1775novten]

@massimo38 Sadly, you are probably correct that Constitutional Rights and police being public servants are a thing of the past.

[massimo38]

@1775novten My dear friend thanks 4 your reply but I am very sorry to say it's true & how I wished to be wrong.

What's happening in America today is not by accident but by design and if our leadership paid any attention

they might save the country .You can learn a lot more if you stayed away from main stream media.

This video will explains tp you what do I mean exactly ..............................­..............................­.......

( watch?v=mSUx0qMHYlc )

[1775novten]

@massimo38 Thanks for the link - great video. There is definitely a likeness between Mr. Welch and Dr. Paul.

[SamuraiSarge]

@1775novten Actually, it was the Supreme Court that decided what an unlawful assembly is...It's one that presents a "Clear and Present Danger" to society. And from the looks of this video, I'd say the police have more than a right to shut these protests down. Peaceful protests are one thing but people gathering into roving mobs of individuals who have nothing better to do than cry about how they don't have as much money as someone else is downright dangerous.

[1775novten]

@SamuraiSarge I respectfully disagree. I believe the police are the aggressors in these instances. I think the protesters are becoming a roving mob to avoid the police violence. It appears that the police are provoking the protesters to react with angry, so that they can justify their use of violence and force. The mere gathering of a large group of people does not equate "clear and present danger". If that were the case, then the million man march would have also been fired upon.

[SamuraiSarge]

@1775novten Here's a question for you then: Why would the police WANT to be violent against those people? They've sworn an oath to protect them, not maim them. If they did, they'd be using bullets, not tear gas. What would be their incentives? Law suits? Job loss? Possibility of being seriously injured? You gotta use some logic here. People gathering in large groups is not, by itself, dangerous. The million man march was organized and peaceful. These gatherings are borderline riots.

[1775novten]

@SamuraiSarge The reason is because the city officials and corporations do not want them there. Also, police hate when people do not ask "how high" when they tell them to jump. Also the incentive is them getting paid overtime to be there. Police do not have to fear loosing their jobs, they are protected by their union - police are very rarely held accountable for their actions anymore. I agree they have become chaotic, but I think that is out of reaction to the police.

[1775novten]

@SamuraiSarge I also want to be clear that I do not necessarily agree with the message or demands of the movement, I just think people should be free to say what they want without fear of violence. Do you think this shot was justified and warranted? watch?v=0nbY9cWVePc Do you think this was justified and warranted? watch?v=3QKjuLlW_BA I agree the police have a job to do, but they should do it with honor.

[SamuraiSarge]

@1775novten Unfortunately these videos are made by ppl who don't like police. We really have no idea why they sprayed or shot those ppl or what happened BEFORE the cameras started rolling. Again, most cops don't go around hurting ppl just for the hell of it. It's easy to criticize the police when you've never actually been in their shoes or know the whole story. Imagine trying to control a crowd of thousands with just a handful (relatively speaking) of police when most of those ppl hate you.

[1775novten]

@SamuraiSarge In the video of the girls getting maced, I did watch a very long portion of the "prior" to the white shirt walking up and macing them. The police were corralling these people into specific areas and not being allowed to leave. The girls were screaming and asking why they were being detained - what where their charges. Then the white shirt just walked up to them, maced them, then walked away. He gave no instructions or made no arrests - he maced them to shut them up.

[1775novten]

@SamuraiSarge Regarding the video of the cameraman getting shot - it don't care if he was walking screaming obscenities with his ass hanging out - there was no reason to shoot him. If those officers were in fear for their safety, you would have seen the other officers react as well and rush in to arrest him. None of that happened. The one officer just shot him and they left him to writhe in pain.

[1775novten]

@SamuraiSarge Do you ever wonder why so many people hate the police? The majority of people are good non violent people, so why do so many of them hate the police? It just doesn't make sense if they are there to help them? I'll tell you why - it's because most people don't see the police as their public servants anymore and rather see them as revenue collectors and corporate interest protectors. They no longer work for the people.

[SamuraiSarge]

@1775novten I'm truly sorry that you feel that way novten. I really am. We, in law enforcement, have a saying "No one likes a cop until you need one." It's so easy to dislike the police because they are the ones "ruining your fun" when you do something wrong. But who comes running when someone calls 911? The police. We are the ones that are running toward the gunfire when everyone else is running away. Do you think "revenue collectors" and "corporate interest protectors" would do that?

[1775novten]

@SamuraiSarge But who needs a cop? You come running after the crime has already been committed, and you're there to just take the report. Not that that is the polices' fault, as obviously you can't be everywhere. If people took their own protection into their own hands, there would be less need for cops. Two issues I have is that it appears the focus is on traffic violations, as opposed to community interaction and crime prevention. cont..

[1775novten]

@SamuraiSarge Another is that cops don't prevent or report the unlawful actions of other officers. They follow their code of silence. I can't find the video right now, but I just watched one of a cop caught in the dilemma of arresting another cop that he had just pulled over for dui. It was actually sad. The officer even said, "if I arrest this guy then I'll never get promoted and my career will be over, but if I don't and my dash camera video gets out, I'll be fired". Happens every day.

[1775novten]

@SamuraiSarge Police are rarely held accountable for their actions, and if they are, they are to a much lower extent than the average citizens. Police literally get away with murder. There is no accountability. Even in those videos I linked to you, you know damn well that those officers will never be held accountable. Not saying all are bad, but the good ones cover for the bad ones, which makes them just as corrupt.

[SamuraiSarge]

@1775novten Wow...That was quite the reply. I can see that I'm not going to change your mind on this. I just ask that you keep an open mind and try to see things from the other side of the riot shield. I enjoy discussing this sort of stuff with non-LEOs because I like to see their views on law enforcement and society in general (My way of looking at both sides) no matter how biased they may be. Anyways, we'll have to agree to disagree on this one then. Take care and stay safe novten

[1775novten]

@SamuraiSarge I don't want you to misunderstand me, as I am no "cop hater". I just don't see that relevant of a need for them, although I agree there is a need. If you are in fact a LEO, then you know that LEO's don't turn in other LEO's. And you'd also know that the union can get them out of pretty much anything. Again, I KNOW there are good officers, it just sickens me that they are forced to turn a blind eye to the bad ones.

[1775novten]

@SamuraiSarge Believe it or not, it was my intent to become a LEO myself when I got out of the Marine Corps. I did multiple ride-a-longs and was lined up to attend the next academy, when I just realized that this wasn't the line of work for me. I didn't sense the honor in it like I did with the Marine Corps. I was exposed to the un-written quotas and above the law attitude that just turned me off.

[ScalversGadgets]

@1775novten The cops are just doing their job.

[1775novten]

@ScalversGadgets But there is a line between just blindly following orders and doing what is right. watch?v=PfyIR0UgRBQ This video shows a black officer saying he would enforce segregation laws if ordered to do so. And you have to remember that not all laws enacted are "lawful" and many are overturned by the supreme court. Being a military veteran, I understand the dilemma of following orders. But my oath is to uphold the Constitution, not obey my supervisor.

[GTAC13]

@1775novten Where in the constitution do you have the right to camp out on public property? Where in the constitution do you have the right to shit in public parks? Where in the constitution do you have the right to block public streets?

[1775novten]

@GTAC13 No where. But if you want to take about the days of the Constitution, do you remember that all New York citizens used to dump their "waste" into the streets before sewage lines were installed. Also, public property was never regulated the way it is today and I'm sure thousands of people "camped" out on public property back in the days of the Constitution. However, I don't think it was ever acceptable to block streets and I agree.

[pulseblixx]

Nice video