Tweet
Oakland, California native MC Hammer has spoken out against the police’s treatment of protesters supporting the Occupy Wall Street movement in Oakland.
According to reports, a number of demonstrators and police were involved in skirmishes near Frank Ogala Plaza at City Hall, where police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Over 100 people were arrested during the clashes that took place throughout the day yesterday (October 25).
“The unabated abuse of the PEOPLE can never be tolerated!,” MC Hammer tweeted early this morning. “They were expressing systemic frustration and pain, peacefully. You knew this would happen. You cannot eliminate the middle class and expect quiet resolution.”
The police established their presence the previous evening on Tuesday, when officers raided the Occupy Oakland campground on Frank Ogala Plaza at City Hall, drawing criticism.
Oakland’s internal police chief Howard Jordan defended the tactics, which included the use of tear gas and beanbag rounds to disperse a crowd of about 1,000, some of whome claimed police actually used rubber bullets.
“We deployed it to effect an arrest because some officers were being pelted with rocks and bottles,” Oakland’s interim Police Chief Howard Jordan told local CBS Channel 5 in San Francisco.
According to legendary Hip-Hop journalist and longtime Oakland resident, Davey D. who was present, the protests remained calm in the face of the police, who donned riot gear.
“With all the tear gas canisters and I counted 6 rounds tonight, folks have remained relatively chill,” Davey D. tweeted.
Two officers suffered from minor injuries in the scuffles, including several who had allegedly been shot at with paintball guns and other items by the crowd, who had been in the plaza for almost two weeks.
Police officers were ordered to break up the gathering on Tuesday, when they stormed the area, to break up the Occupy Wall Street protests, which are rallying around the country, against economic injustice and corporate greed.