Ferguson Protests Injure Three Police Officers In Oakland, One Smashed With Brick


Ferguson protests have reached Oakland in a second night of violent looting, vandalism, and assaults that left one Oakland police officer with a concussion after being attacked with a brick, authorities said.

Three officers were injured altogether, according to Mayor Jean Quan in comments to SFGate. The concussion appears to be the most serious of the injuries, but the violence did not stop with those in uniform.

Live tweets from Wednesday night painted a rough but vivid picture of what was going on.

“Shut it down for Michael Brown” is a recurring mantra of the Ferguson protests in Oakland, SFGate adds. One of the groups heading up the protests is the Black is Back Coalition, led by Bakari Olatunji.

“There were many Mike Browns before this Mike Brown,” Olatunji said. “We denounce the verdict in Ferguson. What happened there happens across the country everyday.”

Olatunji said that his group was “here peacefully demonstrating our First Amendment right and we’re not going anywhere” in defiance to orders that he should move along. Olatunji, who was not implicated in the attacks on the three unnamed Oakland police officers, also refused to make promises when it came to peaceful expressions of outrage.

“I’m not going to tell anyone how to express themselves,” he said. “They’re telling everyone to be peaceful, but you don’t hear them telling that to the police that bring the violence into out neighborhoods.”

By now most of you know the backstory.

Teen robbery suspect Michael Brown was shot to death by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson after striking Wilson, reaching for the officer’s weapon, and reportedly charging him after an initial gunshot wound.

It was during this charge, Wilson said, that he fired the fatal rounds into Brown. Wilson said he was scared for his life after the attack. A grand jury was convinced there was no probable cause on which to bring charges against Wilson as a result of the evidence provided as well as discredited eyewitness testimonies.

On Monday night, prosecutors released the grand jury evidence, which appeared to back up Wilson’s version of events. The Ferguson protests broke out shortly thereafter, and have spread to multiple cities in addition to Oakland.

A report from CBS San Francisco, while not refuting the stories of the injured officers, did note that most of the protests in the early evening were peaceful.

What do you think, readers? Are these Ferguson protests in Oakland and throughout the U.S. justified or do they dishonor the wishes of the Michael Brown family?

[Image via Christin Ayers Twitter]

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