Protesters in Berkeley continued their protests on Monday evening, making it the third straight day of active demonstrations in the area. The marchers, numbering more than 500, demand justice for the two recent and prominent victims of alleged police brutality. Despite the same claim of all the protesters, there have been discrepant forms of protest.
The deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner have grasped international attention. The protests in response to their deaths have arguably attracted an equal amount of publicity. Throughout the United States, thousands of protesters have expressed their disappointment with police brutality.
Protests in Berkeley, a city known for its history of political and social activity, have impacted local lives. Violent and peaceful protests have pervaded the city, and have sometimes clashed.
The mayor of Berkeley, Tom Bates, expressed his disappointment towards the violence.
“I am very unhappy with the violence. What people in Berkeley are generally in favor of the issues involved and they are very sympathetic with the people in Ferguson and people in New York. But what has happened is that peaceful rallies have all turned into violent confrontations. We are used to having peaceful demonstrations in Berkeley. But it looks like a whole group of people coming from the outside are bound and determined to get confrontation,” he said in an interview with USA Today.
During the demonstrations, violent protesters set fire to garbage cans and hurled them into the streets; some even attempted to set fire to police cruisers. There have been lootings and defacing of properties as well. Some protesters, who snuck past officers guarding the freeway ramp, blocked the I-80 freeway before being forced back by law enforcement.
Peaceful protesters, however, hardly condone the acts of violence in the protest. According to USA Today, peaceful protesters stopped a masked man from robbing a Radio Shack after he smashed the window and attempted to run off with boxes of merchandise. The protesters threw the merchandise back into the store.
Officers have made 11 arrests throughout the protests. Two officers were injured during the course of the demonstration. Mayor Bates assured that the officers are doing their best to maintain a peaceful environment.
