Oakland Police Arrest Eric Garner, Michael Brown Demonstrators Who Chained Themselves to Headquarters

Over a dozen people were arrested.

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Authorities in Oakland say demonstrators protesting the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown at the hands of police were arrested today after using chains to bind themselves to doors and a flagpole at the Oakland Police Department. A Staten Island grand jury decided not to indict NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo for killing Garner earlier this month, while a St. Louis County grand jury elected not to indict Fergson, Mo. police officer Darren Wilson for killing Brown a week prior.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the protest began this morning, as protesters blocked the building's entrance while chanting "Calling out the violence of the racist police." In a statement, the Oakland Police Department described the events, including one protester's decision to ascend the flagpole: 


One protester climbed a flagpole and was still atop it as of 10:22 a.m. Protesters chained shut four of the building's entrances and then chained themselves to the doors.


Three of these doors are our main ingress and egress for the public and Oakland Police Department personnel, police said in a statement. As a result, the public could not access important police services, such as reporting crimes, obtaining public records, accessing necessary paperwork for vehicle impound releases and property releases.


Using a pair of cutters, officers cut chains from the protesters and removed them from the front doors of the police headquarters, which had been sealed shut.

The Times adds that one woman who filmed the demonstration said roughly 100 protesters had been traveling through the Oakland streets since 7:30 a.m. The police department said that at least 13 people were arrested and charged with delaying a police officer and blocking a public safety building. 

[via Los Angeles Times]

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