The Battle of Oakland

By Brandon Jourdan

On January 28th, 2012, Occupy Oakland moved to take a vacant building to use as a social center and a new place to continue organizing. This is the story of what happened that day as told by those who were a part of it. it features rare footage and interviews with Boots Riley, David Graeber, Maria Lewis, and several other witnesses to key events.

The Battle of Oakland from brandon jourdan on Vimeo.

Denial of human rights

Occupy Oakland protesters denied medication in jail

Detainees say medical treatment was conditioned on remaining in jail

Salon, 3 February, 2012

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Department in California has earned itself a reputation for heavy-handed responses to Occupy Oakland. Since Tuesday, allegations of abusive treatment by officers have escalated as arrestees detained during Saturday’s mass Occupy actions in Oakland were released after up to three-day stints in holding cells at the department’s Santa Rita Jail.

Salon has received three firsthand accounts, corroborated by reports from Occupy Oakland’s media team and the National Lawyers Guild, that ill and injured inmates were denied medication including anti-retroviral treatments for HIV-positive detainees.

“I am a person living with HIV and I was held for over 30 hours in Santa Rita and denied my prescription medications on multiple occasions by jail staff,” one 28-year-old arrestee told Salon via email, asking to remain anonymous as his family are currently unaware of his HIV status. “I know three others with HIV and many others with psychiatric prescriptions who were also held without being given their meds,” he added

Carey Lamprecht of the National Lawyers Guild San Francisco Bay Area Chapter and Occupy Legal collective confirmed that “two HIV positive individuals were held without access to medication for over two days at Santa Rita jail.” Lamprecht added that one man who usually takes anti-retroviral drugs every four to six hours went without a dose for over two days and was unable to access a legal counsel for more than a day while detained, as the large number of arrestees were constantly moved around the jail.

Different individuals living with HIV face different risks from missing doses, depending on their T-Cell, viral load counts, anti-retroviral therapy regimens and other factors. The risk, especially for individuals with low T-Cell counts is that the virus mutates rapidly and can develop resistance to medication if doses are inconsistent. The young man who spoke to Salon said that although his T-cell counts are “in the healthy range … none of the guards or medical staff ascertained any of this information” to determine the relative risks of detainees going without medication.

“It felt like we had disappeared. Deputies often didn’t know where individuals were and wandered from cell block to cell block looking for individuals to process,” the man said. “On multiple occasions, my cell block mic checked the guards and led chants, demanding in one voice medicine, food, and other necessities like toilet paper and maxi pads.”

Other stories about mistreatment published in Daily Kos could not be substantiated. Salon found no information to confirm rumors that female detainees were forced to urinate in front of male officers, that detainees were beaten in their cells or that guards sprayed tear gas into the cell vents.

The denial of medication appears to be the most common complaint. According to a release from the Occupy Oakland media team, “detained protesters were kept in painful zip tie handcuffs — some for 8 to 12 hours — were not allowed to access bathrooms and were not given medical treatment for injuries or illness.”

Claire, 28, a special education teacher for the Oakland Unified School District, was another such detainee. She arrived at Santa Rita a little after midnight Saturday, following her arrest as a part of the previous day’s Occupy actions. She suffers from severe depression and anxiety disorders, for which she takes a medication called Celexa twice a day.

“The first person I notified about my need for medication was my arresting officer (Hazelwood),” Claire told Salon, via email. “I believe he noted it somewhere in my paperwork. He told me that I would be able to see a nurse at Santa Rita, and that they have several antidepressants available there,”

On being seen by a nurse, Claire mentioned her condition again and that she had gone 24 hours without medication. “The nurse signed the form to indicate that I was cleared to be put into a holding cell. Several times over the course of the night and next day, I and a few others in my cell told guards outside that we needed medication, but were ignored,” she added.  During her detainment, Claire suffered from a mild but prolonged panic attack, during which she had difficulty breathing and controlling her muscles. She told Salon:

Around five p.m. on Sunday, a guard asked for the women who needed medication to come out of the holding cell, and said we would be processed and seen by a nurse. We were then fingerprinted and had mug shots taken. I again asked if I could see a nurse and explained my condition. I was told that I would not be able to see a nurse unless I wanted to stay in jail. The officer also stated that I would be getting out the following morning (Monday). Around midnight, we were released.

Alyssa Eisenberg, a 44-year-old Occupy activist and single mother, was also not given access to medication for 12 hours during her 18-hour detainment at Santa Rita. Eisenberg suffers from multiple sclerosis and retired early from social services work due to disability. She told Salon that she takes medication at least twice a day for pain and to aid with concentration, as her M.S. has led to cognitive dysfunction and memory loss.

“I was particularly concerned about the cognitive condition, about not understanding quickly what was going on in jail and struggling to process what guards were saying to me,” she said. Like others, Eisenberg informed a nurse of her medical condition and said that she saw at least two other people also express a need for medication. Eisenberg says she was detained for over 12 hours before being told that if she wanted to take pain medication, she would have to remain in jail for at least four more hours for observation. She told Salon that, based on comments from a number of officers, she believed she was soon to be released and so declined the medication, but was then held for six more hours.

“It was more than dehumanizing,” said Eisenberg, noting how lucky she felt that her detainment was so brief compared to long-term inmates.

Sgt. J.D. Nelson of the Alameda Sheriff’s Department said the allegations of mistreatment were “not true.” He described the claims of abuse and beatings as “ridiculous.” He also told Salon that, to his knowledge, no legal proceedings have currently been filed against the department relating to these allegations. When questioned  about reports that medication was withheld from HIV-positive detainees, Nelson said it was the first he had heard of this and noted that all detainees are seen by a medical professional. “People make claims,” he said, “I’m not saying it’s true or not true. A claim is a claim.”

Lamprecht told Salon that the National Lawyers Guild’s first concern would be to address charges facing any of the 400 people arrested during Saturday’s action before considering whether to pursue civil suits against the Sheriff’s Department.

According to the 28-year-old who was denied access to his anti-retroviral treatment, the events at Santa Rita created new, unexpected affinities. “Some of the prisoner orderlies were so inspired by our agitation in jail that they approached us (when out from under the eyes of the guards) and told us they would be joining us at Oscar Grant Plaza when they had finished their time,” he said

This is the police force that arrested 400 OWS demonstrators

Oakland Police Department Only Weeks Away From Being Placed Into Federal Control

Huffington Post, 

27 January,2012

Nearly a decade after the city of Oakland was first threatened with losing control of its police force, Judge Thelton Henderson has severely curtailed the independence of the Oakland Police Department, saying that it could placed under federal receivership as soon as this March.

In 2000, a group rogue of Oakland police officers, calling themselves the "Rough Riders," were found to have planted evidence, used excessive force and falsified police reports. As part of a negotiated settlement three years later, the city was ordered to take 51 specific steps toward reform or else lose operational control of the department. Despite numerous deadline extensions, Oakland has failed to make significant progress on said reforms.

"The court remains in disbelief that Defendants have yet--nine years later--to achieve what they themselves agreed was doable in no more than five years," Henderson wrote in his decision earlier this week.

Henderson's order prevents both department brass as well as embattled Oakland Mayor Jean Quan from making any significant changes--such as granting promotions--without first getting approval from independent monitor Robert Warshaw. Warshaw, a former Drug Enforcement Agency official, has been overseeing the OPD for years; however, his role had solely been in an advisory and reporting capacity.

Henderson gave the department a March deadline to adequately comply with the terms of the settlement or else be forced to completely surrender operational control of the department.

Even though this would be the first time the police department of a major American city was placed under federal receivership, Henderson seems likely to follow through on his threat--he was the one who moved California's prison health care system under federal administration in 2005.

"We believe that the expertise of the monitor, coupled with the new leadership in the Police Department and the city administrator's [office] and my commitment to further incorporate the requirements of the negotiated settlement agreement into OPD's culture, will move Oakland into compliance as quickly as possible," Quan said in a statement to the Associated Press.

This ultimatum comes in response to a report issued by Warshaw last week sharply criticizing the department for its handling of the Occupy Oakland protests. "We were, in some instances, satisfied with the performance of the department; yet in others, we were thoroughly dismayed by what we observed," he wrote. "I cannot overstate our concern that although progress on compliance has been slow, even those advancements may have been put in doubt in the face of these events."

Civil rights attorney John Burris, who negotiated the settlement between the city and the approximately 100 plaintiffs in the Rough Riders case, blames the department's inability to effectively reform itself largely on what he called, "a lack of consistent leadership." In the past decade, Burris told the Huffington Post, there have been a handful a chiefs, none of whom were able to serve long enough to significantly address the department's myriad issues.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

While rare, federal monitors have previously been used by courts to observe how a police department implements changes stemming from a lawsuit. Monitors have been called in to observe police departments in Los Angeles, New Orleans and other cities in recent years, according to the Justice Department. But no local police agency has ever been placed in federal receivership, the Justice Department said.

Many major cities, including San Francisco and New York, have an independent oversight body to monitor for police misconduct and recommend penalties for wayward officers. But in some instances, the oversight organizations are limited in scope and power. Oakland has had a police review board since 1980.

Police brutality at Occupation Oakland

Oakland Travesty

Collape Net

1 Jebruary, 2012

Comments by Mike Ruppert:

Speaking as a former police detective, this tape is excellent admissible evidence and some damn fine journalism. Heinous crimes were committed by both Oakland Police and the mainstream press. It's all here for everyone to see.

Now it is becoming clearer what the strategy of Homeland Security is. Come spring, the crack downs will come within hours of any anticipated movement, very quickly. Via various intelligence gathering measures they have penetrated and understand Occupy strategy. A choreographed and brutal suppression will be implemented (by agreement) away from the media's gaze so that the media cannot be held responsible for reporting the brutality and criminality that will follow.

It is important that this tape go viral. Watch it many times. There is much to be learned. The whole world is watching, right here at Collapsenet.

The future of all that we fight for, all over the globe, is now partially in the hands of trustworthy and exceptional journalism that is (for now) abundant all over the world. We bring the best of it to you here at Collapsenet.

This is no longer the United States of America, especially with the visible criminal complicity of the media we see so clearly documented here. Having served as both a police officer and many years as a journalist I am disgusted and I'm wondering when this rotten taste will leave my mouth.

We are the 99%. This is our year. -- MCR

Really good coverage of violence at Occupation Oakland by Democracy Now!

Occupy Oakland: Over 400 Arrested As Police Fire Tear Gas, Flash Grenades at Protesters

democracynow.org - 

Police have arrested more than 400 Occupy Oakland protesters, as well as a number of journalists, in one of the largest mass arrests since the nationwide Occupy protests began last year. When protesters attempted to convert a vacant building into a community center on Saturday, witnesses say police used tear gas, bean bag projectiles and flash grenades. Several hours later, police said some of the protesters broke into City Hall. However, demonstrators claim they found the door to City Hall already ajar. We play a video report from Oakland filed by John Hamilton of KPFA. We get a response from Occupy Oakland member, Maria Lewis, to Oakland City Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente's accusation that the Occupy Movement is engaging in "domestic terrorism." "They are more interested in protecting abandoned private property than they are the people. The idea that opening up a social center is terrorism, is very telling of the narrative of the police state," Lewis says.

Occupation Oakland

'OWS camps banned - where do we convene?'

RT

The Mayor of Oakland has asked courts to throw any Occupy activist with a record of protest arrests out of the city. Her demand follows one of the most dramatic clampdowns on the movement in its history.

More than 400 people were arrested when what began as a peaceful rally against inequality and police brutality turned rough.

Riot clad cops jumped into action - firing volleys of tear gas and flash grenades at protesters hiding behind makeshift barriers bearing peace symbols. 

First-hand accounts say that police were carrying lists of demonstrators with them, which they used to arrest attendants. 

Sara Flounders, from the International Action Center, believes the Occupy movement is like an alarm clock for a dying American dream.

Arrests in Oakland protests rise to more than 400

Crews cleaned up Oakland's historic City Hall on Sunday from damage inflicted overnight during violent anti-Wall Street protests that resulted in about 400 arrests, marking one of the largest mass arrests since nationwide protests began last year.

Reuters, 

30 January, 2012

At a press conference on Sunday, Oakland police and city officials said they did not have a final tally of arrests. Earlier in the day, the city's emergency operations office put the figure at around 400. The skirmishes injured three officers and at least one demonstrator.

Police said a group of protesters burned an American flag in front of City Hall, then entered the building and destroyed a vending machine, light fixtures and a historic scale model of the edifice. The city's 911 emergency system was overwhelmed during the disturbances.

"While City Hall sustained damage, we anticipate that all city offices will be open for regular business tomorrow," said Deanna Santana, Oakland city administrator.

Oakland has become an unlikely flashpoint for the national "Occupy" protests against economic inequality that began last year in New York's financial district and spread to dozens of cities.

The protests in most cities have been peaceful and sparked a national debate over how much of the country's wealth is held by the richest 1 percent of the population. President Barack Obama has sought to capitalize on the attention by calling for higher taxes on the richest Americans.

Occupy protests focused on Oakland after a former Marine and Iraq war veteran, Scott Olsen, was critically injured during a demonstration in October. Protesters said he was hit in the head by a tear gas canister but authorities have never said exactly how he was hurt.

The Occupy movement appeared to lose momentum late last year as police cleared protest camps in several cities.

Violence erupted again in Oakland on Saturday afternoon when protesters attempted to take over the apparently empty downtown convention center to establish a new headquarters and draw attention to the problem of homelessness.

Police in riot gear moved in to drive back the crowd, which they estimated at about 500 protesters.

BOTTLES, METAL PIPE

"Officers were pelted with bottles, metal pipe, rocks, spray cans, improvised explosive devices and burning flares," the Oakland Police Department said in a statement. "The Oakland Police Department deployed smoke, tear gas and beanbag projectiles in response to this activity."

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan accused a "violent splinter group" of the Occupy movement of fomenting the Saturday protests and using the city as its playground. Protesters have accused the city of overreacting and using heavyhanded tactics.

By early evening on Sunday, about 80 to 100 protesters were gathered in the plaza next to Oakland City Hall, but there was no police presence and the park was peaceful.

Oakland Police warned protesters that they would not tolerate a repeat of the protest actions on Saturday.

Tension also flared on Sunday in Washington where police used a taser on an Occupy protester during an arrest at a park near the White House, U.S. Park police said.

The National Park Service has said it will begin enforcing a ban on Occupy protesters camping overnight in McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza, two parks near the White House where they have been living since October.

That order, if carried out as promised starting at noon on Monday, could be a blow to one of the highest-profile chapters of the movement.

Occupation Oakland arrests

What Really Happened When Oakland PD Attacked Yesterday

the Corporation.com,
29 January, 2012




Jennifer Slattery Reporting on Occupy Oakland

Violent police clashes again rocked the city of Oakland January 28th (#J28) as Occupy Oakland protestors attempted to occupy a vacant building. Their announcement, via a letter to the Mayor referring to the action as Move-In Day, declares their intent to use the building:

“As a social center, convergence center, headquarters, free kitchen, and place of housing for Occupy Oakland. Like so many other people, Occupy Oakland is homeless while buildings remain vacant and unused. For Occupy this is in large part because of yourselves, having evicted us twice from public space that was rightfully ours. For others it is because of the housing bubble, predatory lending, the perpetual crises of capitalism, and far reaching histories of imperialism and systemic violence.”

“As a social center, convergence center, headquarters, free kitchen, and place of housing for Occupy Oakland. Like so many other people, Occupy Oakland is homeless while buildings remain vacant and unused. For Occupy this is in large part because of yourselves, having evicted us twice from public space that was rightfully ours. For others it is because of the housing bubble, predatory lending, the perpetual crises of capitalism, and far reaching histories of imperialism and systemic violence.”

By the end of a long day of marches and failed occupation attempts, three hundred people, from a crowd that swelled at times to 2,000, were arrested. Much of the corporate media reporting on the start of the violence points the finger squarely at the protestors who are alleged to have begun the violence by pelting officers with rocks, bottles and even Improvised Explosive Devices. The claim that peaceful protestors used IEDs is on it’s face false and inflammatory, as first hand accounts and live streaming video footage of the event seems to show that protestors only threw some debris as a reaction to being pelted with explosive percussion grenades, rubber bullets, and tear gas canisters:

Via Occupy Oakland’s twitter feed:

#OccupyOakland #OO OPD claim they ordered us to disperse, after blocking us in & arresting us. Chanting "this is a hostage situation."

"For their first attempt at a kettle, the cops charged the group with police lines from the front and back. They ran towards us aggressively. Us being 1000+ peaceful marching protesters. The group was forced to move up a side street. The police moved quickly to surround the entire area; they formed a line on every street that the side street connected to. Police state status: very efficient. They kettled almost the entire protest in the park near the Fox theater. AFTERWARDS, as in after they surrounded everyone, they declared it to be an unlawful assembly BUT OFFERED NO EXIT ROUTE. Gas was used, could of been tear or smoke gas." 

Similar claims that law enforcement "had to deploy gas in order to stop the crowd and people from pelting us with bottles and rocks." after the violent clearing of the original Occupy Oakland camp had to be walked back, because there was no evidence that any such violence by Occupy had occurred:

“Oakland PD's Chief of Staff, Sgt. Chris Bolton conceded that the department was unable, at this time, to substantiate claims made by Jordan that gas was deployed in order to protect law enforcement personnel from violent demonstrators, despite the Chief's unqualified claim that evening that "the deployment of gas was necessary to protect our officers and protect property around the area and to protect injuries to others as well."

Instead, Bolton softened Jordan's initial claim. The sergeant described it as "the Chief's preliminary belief.”

The claims of the Oakland PD are especially hard to swallow after internal emails show that interim police chief Johnson lied to paint Occupy Oakland as a crime problem in order to garner support for their actions:

“In the days leading up to the Nov. 2 march on the Port of Oakland, city leaders warned about the drain on police resources.

When Jordan received an update that crime was actually down 19 percent in the last week of October, he wrote an email to one of Mayor Jean Quan's advisers.

"Not sure how you want to share this good news," he wrote. "It may be counter to our statement that the Occupy movement is negatively impacting crime in Oakland."

Police and the city said Occupy has had an ongoing impact on their ability to respond to crime.

In all of the emails there was not a single one written by Quan.”

Indeed it seems that the Interim Police Chief is not the man to solve the problems plaguing the Oakland Police Department. The Oakland PD is now facing a Federal Receivership in March. 

While several cities have had to have Federal Monitors installed, this would be the first time in United States history that a department has been completely turned over to Federal control. The Federal Judge ruling in the case expressed his astonishment that the OPD is continuing using controversial and violent tactics in the face of reforms demanded almost a decade ago that still have not been implemented:

"The court remains in disbelief that Defendants have yet - nine years later - to achieve what they themselves agreed was doable in no more than five years," U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson wrote.”

This may be the only way to correct the course of a police department that has long since gone off the rails and has not found the leadership from the Police Chief or the Mayor to make the badly needed reforms.  As the San Francisco chronicle noted:  

“It's a step away from surrendering responsibility for the city's police to federal management. If the city doesn't clean up its act - which doesn't look likely given all the other crises Oakland now faces - the judge made it clear that receivership will be the next step.”

I lived in Oakland during the time of the  Oscar Grant murder and subsequent protests, and personally throw my support behind this action to get the department functioning for the people again. Even in basic everyday interactions, the civility required by the men and women on the force is lacking. This is creating a gap between the police and citizens that endangers all, and the department has had more than enough time to right it's own ship.

Occupiers across the country are mounting solidarity actions today (#J29) to show support for Oakland. The Rise Up Festival announced in the Move in Day letter is confirmed to still be on for today, according to Occupy Oakland’s twitter feed. The group is also asking for supporters to donate as much as they can to the Occupy Oakland bail fund.

Jennifer Slattery is a dedicated human rights activist, former private investigator, and a  member of the Occupy Movement. She lives in NY, and would be happy to answer any and all questions you might have:occupierjenvs@gmail.com    

Anonymous Message To The Citizens Of Oakland

Citizens of Oakland -

Anonymous has been watching. Since the inception of Occupy Oakland, 

We have been actively monitoring your behavior, and exposing the identities and sensitive 

information of Officers of the Oakland Police Department; 

as they have continued to act in an unprofessional and violent manner. 

You tear gassed Us. You shot Us with your weapons. You arrested Us. You beat Us. 

You also did this to Our Friends, and to Our Families. 

We watched as you cut budgets, cut Our jobs, closed Our schools, 

Our parks, and Our libraries, while leaving your own salaries alone. 

We are shocked and disgusted by your behavior. 

Before you commit atrocities against innocent people again, think twice.

You should have expected Us.

From Occupation Oakland

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan Admits Cities Coordinated Crackdown on Occupy Movement

Capitoilette,

15 November, 2011

Embattled Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, speaking in an interview with the BBC (excerpted on The Takeaway radio program –audio of Quan starts at the 5:30 mark), casually mentioned that she was on a conference call with leaders of 18 US cities shortly before a wave of raids broke up Occupy Wall Street encampments across the country. “I was recently on a conference call with 18 cities across the country who had the same situation. . . .”

Mayor Quan then rambles about how she “spoke with protestors in my city” who professed an interest in “separating from anarchists,” implying that her police action was helping this somehow.

Interestingly, Quan then essentially advocates that occupiers move to private spaces, and specifically cites Zuccotti Park as an example:

In New York City, it’s interesting that the Wall Street movement is actually on a private park, so they’re not, again, in the public domain, and they’re not infringing on the public’s right to use a public park.

Many witnesses to the wave of government crackdowns on numerous #occupy encampments have been wondering aloud if the rapid succession was more than a coincidence; Jean Quan’s casual remark seems to clearly imply that it was.

Might it also be more than a coincidence that this succession of police raids started after President Obama left the US for an extended tour of the Pacific Rim?

Occupation Oakland

Here is a picture of the General Assembly of Occupation Oakland, 12 hours after the eviction of the camp by the police.

There is a live blog available at: http://www.mercurynews.com/occupy-oakland/ci_19331752

Occupy Oakland: second Iraq war veteran injured after police clashes

"Kayvan Sabehgi, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is in intensive care with a lacerated spleen. He says he was beaten by police close to the Occupy Oakland encampment. but despite suffering agonising pain, did not reach hospital until 18 hours later."

This is absolutely and totally outrageous and unacceptable. It is even more offensive that a British newspaper (a good one) has to bring us this news in the country where it happened. -- MCR

Occupy Oakland: second Iraq war veteran injured after police clashes

Kayvan Sabehgi in intensive care with a lacerated spleen after protests in Oakland, a week after Scott Olsen was hurt. He says police beat him with batons

the Guardian,

4 October, 2011

A second Iraq war veteran has suffered serious injuries after clashes between police and Occupy movement protesters in Oakland.

Kayvan Sabehgi, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is in intensive care with a lacerated spleen. He says he was beaten by police close to the Occupy Oakland camp, but despite suffering agonising pain, did not reach hospital until 18 hours later.

Sabehgi, 32, is the second Iraq war veteran to be hospitalised following involvement in Oakland protests. Another protester, Scott Olsen, suffered a fractured skull on 25 October.

On Wednesday night, police used teargas and non-lethal projectiles to drive back protesters following an attempt by the Occupy supporters to shut down the city of Oakland.

Sabehgi told the Guardian from hospital he was walking alone along 14th Street in central Oakland – away from the main area of clashes – when he was injured.

"There was a group of police in front of me," he told the Guardian from his hospital bed. "They told me to move, but I was like: 'Move to where?' There was nowhere to move.

"Then they lined up in front of me. I was talking to one of them, saying 'Why are you doing this?' when one moved forward and hit me in my arm and legs and back with his baton. Then three or four cops tackled me and arrested me."

Sabeghi, who left the army in 2007 and now part-owns a small bar-restaurant in El Cerrito, about 10 miles north of Oakland, said he was handcuffed and placed in a police van for three hours before being taken to jail. By the time he got there he was in "unbelievable pain".

He said: "My stomach was really hurting, and it got worse to the point where I couldn't stand up.

"I was on my hands and knees and crawled over the cell door to call for help."

A nurse was called and recommended Sabehgi take a suppository, but he said he "didn't want to take it".

He was allowed to "crawl" to another cell to use the toilet, but said it was clogged.

"I was vomiting and had diarrhoea," Sabehgi said. "I just lay there in pain for hours."

Sabehgi's bail was posted in the mid-afternoon, but he said he was unable to leave his cell because of the pain. The cell door was closed, and he remained on the floor until 6pm, when an ambulance was called.

He was taken to Highland hospital – the same hospital where Olsen was originally taken after being hit in the head by a projectile apparently fired by police.

Sabehgi was due to undergo surgery on Friday afternoon to repair his spleen, which would involve using a clot or patch to prevent internal bleeding.

Thousands of protesters had attended the action in Oakland on Wednesday, taking over the downtown area of the city and blockading Oakland's port.

As demonstrations continued near the camp base at Frank H Ogawa plaza during the evening, a group of protesters occupied a disused building on 16th Street at around 10.30pm, with some climbing up onto the roof.

There had been little police presence during the day, but more than 200 officers arrived after 11pm. Some protesters had set fire to a hastily assembled barrier at the corner of 16th Street and Telegraph, in a bid to prevent access to the occupied building, but police drove 

demonstrators away from 16th Street using tear gas, flashbang grenades, and non-lethal rounds.

Sabehgi said he had not been in the occupied building, and was walking away from the main area of trouble when he was injured.

He said he had his arms folded and was "totally peaceful" before being arrested.

A spokeswoman for Highland hospital confirmed Sabehgi had been admitted. Oakland police were not immediately available for comment.