OAKLAND, CA – Protests, riots, and civil unrest have been the mainstay in democratic led cities since the death of George Floyd in May of this year.
Riots and unrest got a boost this month after the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Now, members of Black Lives Matter and Antifa are attacking police in Oakland in ways that we have seen in Portland.
The protests, led by Antifa, started out peacefully, but as they always seem to, peace has turned into chaos. Members of Antifa who are used to getting their way and being allowed to destroy whatever they wish, at least in Portland and Seattle, claim that the violence started because of Oakland Police Department.
They of course leave out the parts where they were attacking police officers that may have led up to the police responding, but we are used to that type of spin from them.
This wasn’t widely reported. On Wednesday night, around 700 black bloc militants and their supporters rampaged through Oakland, Cal. They chanted “death to America” while starting fires and smashing cars and buildings. pic.twitter.com/A5512gCBzU
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) August 30, 2020
The biggest protests were on August 26th , the 28th and 30th. The “protests” ended up with significant property damage and fires set in buildings. One of the buildings that Antifa attempted to set on fire was the Alameda County Courthouse.
The reason protests were occurring, according to those involved, is because of the recent police involved shooting of Jacob Blake, a man who admitted he was armed and had several active warrants out for his arrest at the time of the shooting, one of which was for rape.
The protesters claim that they are acting in the manner this manner because they are demanding justice for Blake. You know, nothing says justice better than burning down buildings, destroying private property, and injuring officers.
On the 28th, Oakland Police estimate over 100 protesters having gathered in the Grand Lake neighborhood around 8:30 p.m, with the first reports of issues happening about an hour later. Oakland Police say that an officer was injured on Mandana Avenue but did not release the cause of injury nor report on how significant it was.
Some within the crowd are throwing rocks and bottles at officers. One officer was injured near the intersection of Mandana and W.arfield. Please avoid the area. pic.twitter.com/PoSgZ4XjqU
— Oakland Police Dept. (@oaklandpoliceca) August 30, 2020
The injury prompted the Oakland Police Department to issue a warning through Twitter:
“OPD is advising crowd their criminal activity will not be tolerated and those violating the law will be arrested.”
The video was then tweeted out showing people in the crowd throwing what appeared as an empty glass bottle toward officers. In another video, a green laser is seen being shined toward the officers from some person in the crowd.
Some within crowd are throwing objects and pointing lasers at officers. Penal Code 417.25 makes it a crime for a person to point a laser scope, or a laser pointer, at another person in a threatening manner. The offense is a misdemeanor, carries a penalty of up to 30 days in jail. pic.twitter.com/cFmoHzu4uR
— Oakland Police Dept. (@oaklandpoliceca) August 30, 2020
Oakland Police, after several warnings for the crowd to disband were ignored, fired tear gas. Of course the Antifa group claimed that their “protests” were peaceful and there was no need for police to respond in that manner, completely ignoring the fact that the agency gave several loud repeated commands for the group to disperse as the incident had been declared as a riot.
Oakland Police reported that they arrested over 12 people as a result from the declared riot on the 28th. None of those who were arrested were identified and the agency did not release the crimes for which they were arrested.
After the event, at least further south in San Jose, members of the community stepped up to clean the area that was vandalized by Antifa during the two nights of riots. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said that he was “tremendously heartened” when he saw his neighbors step up to help clean several different statements on his home. Messages of BLM and Jacob Blake were removed off of the exterior walls of his residence.
Liccardo said that his neighbors stepping up and helping were the complete opposite of what occurred there during the riot. Liccado said that there were several riot members who cheered while Antifa was burning flags outside of his home and others vandalized it.
On the 30th, Antifa members marched through the streets chanting:
“Death to America.”
Here’s more on the goings on of Oakland as previously reported by Law Enforcement Today.
For background, there are several agencies in the area that often go into the city to assist for major incidents, such as the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department and the California Highway Patrol.
So, why was Wednesday’s riot different?
Sources tell Law Enforcement Today that it had everything to do with the federal order prohibiting proper crowd control techniques to be utilized in the crime-ridden city.
Thanks to the order, officers within the OPD can’t use effective crowd control tactics such as stinger grenades, wooden bullets, rubber or rubber coated bullets, pepper balls or similar munitions.
Vandalism was everywhere during the “protest” regarding the shooting of Jacob Blake.
Alameda County Sheriff’s Sergeant Ray Kelly said:
“And that’s the second time in a number of weeks that we have not responded to those vandalism related anarchist protests.
“As a result of responding to mutual aid in Oakland, we fall under the guideline of that federal court order and we are not able to use the tools that we are trained to use and it greatly restricts us in our ability to do crowd management and to stop vandalism.”
The Oakland Police Department released a statement, reading in part:
“The intentions of the protesters were not peaceful but deliberate; through their words and actions they demonstrated their focused and targeted intentions to destroy and damage our already vulnerable business community.”
Protesters have set fire to the Alameda County Superior Courthouse. Please avoid the area. pic.twitter.com/iWUWJNo4gt
— Oakland Police Dept. (@oaklandpoliceca) August 27, 2020
Cat Brooks of the Anti Police-Terror Project told reporters:
“Good! I am glad that they are not coming to Oakland.
“I want to be very clear that the injunction that is based on an ATPT lawsuit does not say that they are not allowed to come. It says they’re not allowed to come and bring their toys and use Oakland as a playground for violence.”
While the order may not prohibit outside agencies to come to the area, the “toys” they speak of are valuable crowd control tactics that are used to keep police, bystanders, and rioters as safe as possible.
Oakland forever in solidarity #oakland #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/iProaWG8Pq
— Teresa Johns (wear a mask) (@teresa) August 27, 2020
Sergeant Kelly said:
“When they have to put officers in harm’s way. I don’t think we’re going to put anyone in harm’s way over property. That includes protests too, but we’ve assured Oakland. That should there be any need to protect life within that city we will absolutely respond.”
The City of Oakland released a statement prior to Wednesday’s riots, saying:
“We celebrate passionate protest, but remind Oaklanders that when they attend protests after dark they may be providing cover for agitators who are more intent on vandalism and stoking civil unrest than advancing social justice.”
As Oakland suffers from being understaffed to begin with, it remains to be seen what will come of the city as mutual aid stays away if officers become overworked in response to continued rioting.
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