Watch as police beat peaceful protestors and bystanders without provocation. These blows landed, I am swollen and bruised and others suffered more serious injuries at the hands of police.
Notice:
56 seconds, I am struck while helping up fallen protestor by Officer B. Hartley
1:50 unprovoked attack by Officer B. Hartley
3:15 struck while camera was turned away by Officer B. Hartley
3:25 struck by Officer B. Hartley
3:29 struck by Officer B. Hartley
4:59 Officer strikes protestors as man desperately tries to tie his shoe
5:35 Officers lunge to strike protestors on right side of screen
5:54 Officers strike a homeless man...repeatedly struck out of frame, still being assaulted at 6:10
6:00 Officers throw an older man to the ground
As a first-hand observer, it was clear that police created an extremely dangerous situation by repeatedly attacking peaceful protestors who posed no threat to police or anyone else. Protestors closest to the officers, like myself, were pinned against swinging clubs while forced to walk backwards into obstacles.
Te violence was completely one-sided and limited to actions by the police, who first kettled a few hundred Cal students a just blocks from campus, then suddenly bumrushed the peaceful crowd and started swinging clubs. This violence was totally avoidable, but police opted to beat protestors over the many other options available to them.
While inexcusable, this police violence is a minor incident compared to what black American communities are subjected to every day, as in other oppressed communities around the world. #EricGarner #MichaelBrown #Palestine
