BART verdict: Oakland damage extensive from unrest; at least 80 arrested

Oakland officials on Friday morning were trying to sort out the damage after serious looting in the downtown area following the BART verdict in which an ex-officer who killed an unarmed man was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

Crowds of people roamed the streets following Thursday’s verdict into early Friday, smashing storefront windows, stealing merchandise, setting trash fires and tagging walls.

According to Oakland police, more than 80 people were arrested. Among the stores looted included a Foot Locker, Sears, 24 Hour Fitness as well as jewelry stores. 

As of Friday, officials said calm had returned, and BART service -- which was stopped at some stations during the unrest -- had resumed.

Men sprayed graffiti on walls and windows on Broadway; one outside Tully’s Coffee read: “You can’t shoot us all.” Large fires billowed out of dumpsters on 20th Street and Telegraph Avenue.

At 20th Street and Broadway, authorities released smoke to disperse a crowd that was overrunning police and throwing bottles at officers, according to Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts.

Batts said there were probably about 100 troublemakers out of up to 800 people who showed up at 14th Street and Broadway after Thursday’s verdict, in which former transit Officer Johannes Mehserle, a white man, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the fatal shooting of Oscar J. Grant III, an unarmed black man, at the Fruitvale BART station on Jan.1, 2009. Prosecutors had sought a stronger conviction of second-degree murder.

Batts said there were probably about 100 troublemakers out of up to 800 people who showed up at 14th Street and Broadway after Thursday’s verdict, in which former transit Officer Johannes Mehserle, a white man, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the fatal shooting of Oscar J. Grant III, an unarmed black man, at the Fruitvale BART station on Jan.1, 2009. Prosecutors had sought a stronger conviction of second-degree murder.

Batts described the troublemakers as “anarchists” who came to Oakland to cause trouble and not peacefully express their views on the verdict.

“This city is not the wild, wild west,” he said. “We will allow people to protest, but we will allow it to be done peacefully.”

Workers in Oakland evacuated the downtown core after news broke that the verdict was to be read, and store owners boarded up windows.

The demonstration throughout the early evening was largely peaceful but tense. People held up photos of Grant as police equipped with helmets and riot gear looked on. A sign draped over a light post read: “Oakland says guilty.”

As darkness fell about 8 p.m. and most of the demonstrators went home, a group of people dressed in black and wearing black masks moved toward police.

“It was clear that they were taking an aggressive posture. ... We started taking a number of rocks and bottles,” Batts said. “We then made a dispersal order.”

By 8:30 p.m., the looting began. People broke windows at a Rite-Aid drugstore. A California Highway Patrol car window was smashed, as was the window of a news television van.

Residents could be heard yelling at the younger protesters in the street to “go home. This is our city. Don’t destroy it.”

The reaction in Los Angeles, where the trial was moved because of intense publicity in the Bay Area, was peaceful. A group of people upset with the verdict gathered in Leimert Park late Thursday, but the event was so peaceful that even the police left before the end. 

Grant’s uncle, Kenneth Johnson, 48, came to see the rally but did not stand up to speak. Johnson, who lives in Los Angeles, said he was unhappy with the verdict and thought justice had not been served.

He was, however, glad to see Angelenos rallying for Grant.

“L.A., Oakland, the same things go on both places,” he said.

-- Maria L. La Ganga in downtown Oakland; Abby Sewell in Leimert Park; and Rong-Gong Lin II and Louis Sahagun in Los Angeles

Photo: A demonstrator taunts officers in downtown Oakland. Credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[NaUnd?]

Next comes the lawsuit, draining an already broke city. If it were up to me, any awards should first go toward repairing the damage caused by the morons which destroyed property and to cover the expenses for deploying all the extra police "standing by" for the results. As stated in the article, Oakland and L.A. are very similiar: in the sense that idiot residents of both cities will riot for any reason and then try to "get paid" when the Police take action to restore order.....

[Tom]

Morons. We're pissed so we're going to wreck our neighborhood and steal.

These people are criminals that were looking for an excuse to loot.

[lizzy]

Nobody listens to peaceful 'objections'.

[pasadena jag]

Let them destroy each other. Oakland! A blight on mankind. Populated by a lot of gang members. Avoid BART - no wonder the cop shot this guy. Are you going to ask questions first? The trial in LA was a travesty. As for the LA DA another group of third rate hack lawyers.

[TimeMatters]

Wow... what a shame! It is one thing to rally and protest, but even after a victory they still inflict their torment on their city! I imagine these people have no respect for themselves, or the people in the city that supported the cause with them!?! I am disappointed that we (hard working, considerate, loyal) Americans have to now further support these "low lifes" by paying their way through criminal proceedings, and the cost to jail them, etc. The sign said, "you can't shoot all of us." If that is not provoking enough?
To bad these youth will more than likely never see the light, and find their true potential in life, and thus will probably only contribute to the problem, and not the solution!

I am almost a fan of hard labor camps... Those N. Koreans might just have an idea, when it come to that!

[Frequent Visitor]

“L.A., Oakland, the same things go on both places,” [said] Grant.

Well, he's got THAT right. Both have a sizable population of youthful thugs who pose as "protestors" that will use ANY excuse to loot and vandalize (witness the Lakers victory).

[Chico Gonzalez]

These imbeciles would've rioted and looted no matter what the outcome of the verdict was.

[Ray]

After watching the video, clearly the cop murdered the guy.

[Scooter]

The sins of slavery have been visited upon the children, the grandchildren, the great-........

[Newman]

Any excuse to loot.

[Arcadian]

hahahha looking at the picture, its funny, heres a guy trying to record the rioting and trying to gain fame.
the people in any looting should be arrested and the parents of oscar grant and lawyers should be held accountable for any rioters damages inflicted on the city, they should be out spoken and tell everyone to go home, if they want to riot they should do in their own home, not businesses that has no say in any of this. all looters and protester should be charged also.

[Dan Melanson]

The looters were not there to protest. They were there for their own personal gain, no matter how much against the law that may have been. They were there to use the death of a man as a reason to cause trouble and to steal whatever they could get their hands on. Great bunch of people, aren't they?

[Matches Malone]

I'm confused. LA riots when they get the verdict they don't want, and Oakland riots when they do? Someone needs to explain this one to me....

[wiljago]

Batts has no idea what the politics of the masked people throwing rocks are, and to blame every act of property damage done by protesters on anarchists is dated and inaccurate.

Also it's not like riots broke out and then the cops swooped in to the rescue. They had been roaming the streets in full force for hours and hours before anything happened. Between the fear and agitation they were spreading, and the media's role in doing the same, I wonder how much of the window-breaking wasn't the result of a social self-fulfilling prophecy.

In any case the article makes this point as well: most of the protesters were not violent. About 80 people were arrested, who knows how many of them deserved it. In a city surrounded by more cities I have no trouble thinking that a mere 80 people might just get worked up enough over the hype to come see if they can get away with smashing some windows. I almost got arrested for just standing on the sidewalk and peacefully observing. I was told that I wasn't allowed to observe because I was not police-friendly. I hadn't said a word or done anything other than watch them, but apparently that's illegal if they don't like it.

[Barbara]

As usual even though some may want to strive for being educated, non RACIST or whatever little groups they make ; its the lessors that seem to ruin it for them, thus by proving in the actions they take. Funny ? Now once the damage is done ; guess who's back that nonsense fall upon?

[markiemark]

I know lets burn down our own town-that'll show 'em

[Tom M.]

Anarchists are really just Idiots....

[dana]

I'll never understand the destroying of ones on city. These kids were looking for a reason to loot and destroy- not to rally behind Grant. There's a difference.

[Casual observer]

I wonder if the same people protesting the verdict in the Oscar Grant case, were also protesting the jury's verdict in the OJ Simpson case?

[turk fontaine]

the people who riot after a racially charged trial ends like this are themselves captives of racist and victim mentality. they are losers who will take any opportunity to break the law. so who atones for this crime - asian shopkeepers?

oakland's a great little city, it could be one of the country's best in quality of life. but there is a criminal element that hangs on to old ways and dead ideas. they must grow old and die out before oakland blooms.

[John Lieto]

This reminds me of the riots that occured when the murderer OJ Simpson was acquitted. Oh wait a minute, there were no riots over that, were there?

We have conditioned our minority communities to throw temper tantrums everytime sonething doesn't go their way. And let's face it, 14 years in prison for a former cop is equivalent to a death sentence anyway.

[kgoddess]

As someone who lived in an area of LA that was serously damaged during the Rodney King riots, my sympathy goes out to the majority of Oakland residents...honest, hardworking people just trying to keep a roof over their heads. Unfortunately it only takes a few idiots to ruin lives & neighborhoods.

[jschneiter]

What a great example of why that guy was shot.
We don't like the verdict. hurray... now we can destroy our own town... Lets loot and then cry when no businesses want to open in our area.. animals plane and simple. And that is why the officer was scared and reacted poorly. They actions are the root cause of there own problems.

[Mark Blurman]

Amazing how stuff like this is used as an excuse to loot and steal.

Way to go guys.

[lookatthebigpicture]

"Oakland says guilty". Um, he was found guilty. Although not guilty of 1st or 2nd degree murder, the guy is guilty of killing an unarmed man. If people do not think this is enough for justice to have been served, they should go and read the penal code book (187 PC) and then apply all the evidence presented in court to the situation that happened on 1/1/09. I seriously doubt any other verdict would be concluded.

As far as the looting, that is typical on an ignorant people looking to take advantage of a sad situation.