SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) — A violent confrontation between police and protesters in Oakland, California, which left an Iraq war veteran seriously injured, exposed the hazards for local politicians in tackling demonstrations sparked by the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan has come under withering attack for authorizing the police to dismantle the camp of hundreds of protesters in a public plaza near City Hall this week. Authorities cited unhealthy and unsafe conditions at the camp, which they said was operating illegally.
After protesters attempted to retake the plaza Tuesday night, police responded and drove them back with tear gas and bean-bag projectiles. It was during one of those clashes that former Marine Scott Olsen suffered a serious head injury.
Protesters said he was hit with a police projectile, and a YouTube video showed what appeared to be a tear gas canister being detonated as people tried to help him. Olsen, 24, was upgraded to fair condition from critical overnight. Police said they were investigating the incident.
[See a collection of political cartoons on Occupy Wall Street.]
After an estimated crowd of more than 1,000 people descended on downtown Oakland Wednesday night, Quan reversed her position and said the protesters would be allowed to reoccupy the plaza.
The protesters are angry about high unemployment, economic inequality in the United States and government bailouts of big banks. Demonstrations have spread across the nation and overseas, although crowds remain relatively small in most cities.
The Oakland clash has swollen the ranks of protesters in both Oakland and San Francisco, which could further complicate efforts by city officials to deal with what they say are serious public health and safety issues in the camps.
Occupy Oakland organizers said Thursday they voted to stage a general strike next week after what a spokeswoman called the "brutal and vicious" treatment of protesters, including Olsen.
Quan is in a difficult position because she has had a poor relationship with the police department since being elected last autumn. Just two weeks ago, Anthony Batts, the popular police chief, resigned and blamed his departure on a lack of support from City Hall. Oakland is facing a budget crisis that has forced large reductions in the police force even as it confronts an increase in crime.
HARD CHOICES
Corey Cook, a political scientist at the University of San Francisco, said Quan, who has a background as a civil rights activist, faced hard choices in deciding how to deal with the Occupy camp.
"If she doesn't do anything, she continues to undermine her police department," he said, noting police concerns about condoning unlawful activity.
But Cook added there was broad sympathy for the protest movement in the Bay Area and that the political action infuriated many residents.
[See photos of the Occupy Wall Street protests.]
Democratic U.S. Representative Barbara Lee, who represents Oakland, said in a statement, "I shared my outrage and grave concern about the police brutality in Oakland directly with the Mayor."
Wes Francis, 43, a student who joined the Oakland protest, said of Quan: "Before, she had just this camp to deal with. Now she's got Oakland -- everywhere."
Across the bay in San Francisco, police massed around the Occupy camp along the downtown waterfront Wednesday night but took no action. Mayor Ed Lee has said activists would not be permitted to sleep overnight, and police dismantled a camp outside the Federal Reserve building earlier this month. But the events in Oakland may give pause to San Francisco officials.
San Francisco is in the middle of a mayoral campaign and none of the candidates, including Lee, is eager to confront the protesters in the left-leaning city.
A San Francisco police department spokesman said Thursday that police were "continuing to have dialogue with the campers, requesting voluntary compliance in regard to the health and safety issues." He said the increased police presence Wednesday night was in response to the situation in Oakland, and declined to say whether any action to clear the camp was being contemplated.
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