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Violence At 'Occupy Oakland,' Some Protesters Vow To Regroup

<p>An Occupy Oakland protester stands with a banner after police used tear gas to disperse a large crowd Tuesday (Oct. 25, 2011). </p>
Darryl Bush
/
AP

An Occupy Oakland protester stands with a banner after police used tear gas to disperse a large crowd Tuesday (Oct. 25, 2011).

"Dozens of police in riot gear and hundreds of protesters supporting the Occupy Wall Street movement engaged in a game of cat-and-mouse in downtown Oakland on Tuesday," The Associated Press writes, "with authorities using tear gas to respond to demonstrators' repeated agitations."

Our colleagues at KQED's News Fix blog followed the news as it developed Tuesday, and will be doing so again today.

As for the protesters, the @occupyoakland Twitter page calls on "Everyone! Come to Oscar Grant Plaza tomorrow at 6pm for round three. and four. and five. and six. We will not be moved." So there could be more clashes today.

Tuesday before dawn, as we reported, police broke up the camps that Occupy Oakland had been occupying outside City Hall for about two weeks. Then, later in the day, there were clashes between police and some protesters as the Occupy folks tried to regroup.

According to The San Francisco Chronicle, "police gave repeated warnings to protesters to disperse from the entrance to Frank Ogawa Plaza at 14th Street and Broadway before firing several tear gas canisters into the crowd at about 7:45 p.m. Police had announced over a loudspeaker that those who refused to leave could be targeted by 'chemical agents.' "

The Oakland Tribune writes that "the number of protest injuries were not immediately known, but two officers were hurt when protesters splattered them with paint." It adds that Police Chief Howard Jordan "said 102 people were arrested Tuesday, the majority taken into custody before dawn."

Update at 7:18 p.m. ET. Skirmish Leaves Iraq War Vet Injured:

One of the injured on Tuesday was a Marine veteran who, the AP reports, was in critical condition on Wednesday. The AP adds:

Scott Olsen, 24, suffered a fractured skull Tuesday as he marched with other protesters toward City Hall, said Dottie Guy, of the Iraq Veterans Against the War. The demonstrators had been making an attempt to re-establish a presence in the area of a disbanded protesters' camp when they were met by police officers in riot gear.

It's not known exactly what type of object struck Olsen, currently a systems network administrator in Daly City, or whether he'll need surgery, Guy said.

"It's still too early to tell," Guy said. "We're hoping for the best."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.