Police Injured As Eric Garner Berkeley Protests Turn Violent [Video]

Protests in response to the grand jury verdict in the choking death of Eric Garner by a police officer turned violent in Berkeley, California on Saturday night. According to an NBC News report, at least two police officers were hurt during a night of protests that included a range of violent acts. Windows were smashed on storefronts and rocks were thrown at police, according to information provided by authorities.

A total of six people were arrested.

Berkeley Police also said that they used smoke and tear gas on protesters after they ignored an order to disperse, something which has become increasingly common in protests after Garner’s death. The stronger tactics have drawn criticis from protesters and civil rights activists. In some cases, the force has been in response to violent acts within the crowd.

Some of the violent people in the group of protesters protesting the Garner decision in Berkeley used a variety of objects as weapons against police, and threw smoke grenades, pipes, bricks, and other objects at them. They also vandalized civilian and police cars and some local stores including a Trader Joe’s, a Wells Fargo bank, and a Radio Shack store.

The San Jose Mercury News reported that the protest started out as a peaceful march around 5 pm and then devolved into violence on the part of some participants in just an hour. The Mercury News said that in addition to other methods used to disperse the crowd protesting the Eric Garner decision, police also employed rubber bullets and flares.

By about 6 pm, just an hour into the march, violence broke out among the 1,500 protesters who were being watched by only about 100 police. Extra law enforcement from the county and state had to eventually come to help.

The riots and protesting shut down some parts of Berkeley, including the nearby subway stations and some stores in the area.

The Berkeley protest was one of many in cities around the United States that have been ongoing since the Eric Garner decision last Wednesday. The largest protests have been in New York City, where Eric Garner lived, and where the grand jury in his case met.

The police officer who put Eric Garner in the chokehold that ultimately led to his death, according to the medical examiner report, was not indicted on any charges by the grand jury. An indictment would have led to a criminal trial. A separate NYPD investigation and a federal Department of Justice investigation into the death of Eric Garner are both ongoing.