Protesters chain themselves to Oakland police HQ; 25 arrested
Twenty-five protesters were arrested Monday after they chained themselves to doors and a flagpole at the Oakland Police Department headquarters.
The demonstrators were protesting killings by police in New York and Missouri, including the slayings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown.
A live-stream video via Blackout Collective shows demonstrators blocking a doorway outside the headquarters and singing, “Calling out the violence of the racist police” as they were taken into custody by officers.
Oakland police said Monday afternoon that 25 people had been arrested on suspicion of obstructing and blocking a public safety building and delaying a police officer.
One protester climbed a flagpole and raised a banner, which protesters said commemorated men and women killed by police. Protesters chained shut four of the building's entrances and then chained themselves to the doors.
Using a pair of cutters, officers cut chains from the protesters and removed them from the front doors of the police headquarters, which had been sealed shut.
Elsewhere, Oakland police said a dozen protesters were chained to one another and were blocking the intersection of Broadway and 7th Street. Protesters also were chained together on the northbound Interstate 880 at Broadway, closing access to the freeway ramp.
The Oakland police's hostage negotiating team was on hand to deal with protesters.