Video: Occupiers break into City Hall, burn flag

Mayor Jean Quan condemned the local movement's tactics as 'a constant provocation of the police with a lot of violence toward them'

Share Tweet

The Augusta Chronicle

OAKLAND, CALIF. — Officials surveyed damage Sunday from a volatile Occupy protest that resulted in hundreds of arrests the day before when demonstrators broke into City Hall, smashed display cases, cut electrical wires and burned an American flag.

Police said about 400 people were arrested during Saturday's daylong protest — the most contentious since authorities dismantled the Occupy Oakland camp late last year.

Mayor Jean Quan condemned the local movement's tactics as "a constant provocation of the police with a lot of violence toward them" and said the demonstrations were draining scarce resources.

Damage to the City Hall plaza alone has cost $2 million since October, she said, about as much as police overtime and mutual aid.

Oakland has logged five homicides since Friday, and Police Chief Howard Jordan said the law enforcement "personnel and resources dedicated to Occupy reduce our ability to focus on public safety priorities." Oakland officials also will seek monetary damages from protesters, Quan said.

Copyright 2012 The Augusta Chronicle

Copyright © 2012 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.    Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy