Lähettäjä: christian Päiväys: Aihe: [Cerchio] Fwd: [movimento] 1400 arresti a San Francisco
>Dal S. Francisco Chronicle
>
>
>---------------------------------------
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>1,400 arrests in war protest in S.F.
>
>San Francisco -- Sirens wailed through downtown San Francisco and
>helicopters whirred above it all day Thursday as anti-war protesters poured
>into the city by the thousands and seized streets, blocked buildings and
>left beleaguered police and commuters fuming.
>
>Authorities described the day's demonstrations, which began peacefully
>before dawn and grew increasingly antagonistic and occasionally violent as
>the day wore on, as the largest seen in years.
>
>Up to 1,400 had been arrested before the protests finally began to wind down
>after 11 p.m., and about 1,000 remained in custody. Most face citations for
>blocking traffic and failing to follow police orders, but at least 18 face
>felony charges.
>
>"This is the largest number of arrests we've made in one day and the largest
>demonstration in terms of disruption that I've seen," said Assistant Police
>Chief Alex Fagan Sr., a 30-year department veteran.
>
>The vast majority of demonstrators were peaceful as they denounced the U.S.
>war with Iraq and shut down more than 40 intersections beginning at 7 a.m.
>But small bands of protesters clashed with police, accosted motorists and
>vandalized a wide swath of the Financial District.
>
>"Today we saw a ratcheting-up from legal protest to absolute anarchy," Fagan
>said. "These people were bent on shutting the city down, and we're not going
>to allow that."
>
>It was a long day for protesters and police alike. Officers in riot gear
>hustled to keep up with roving bands of demonstrators. Roughly 1,500 of the
>Police Department's 2,300 officers were on street duty, officials said,
>costing the city $500,000 in police overtime.
>
>The worst came during the evening commute.
>
>Hundreds of demonstrators repeatedly tried to storm the Bay Bridge,
>paralyzing traffic for blocks around. A phalanx of California Highway Patrol
>officers and city police turned them back after shutting down two approaches
>to the span and unleashing pepper spray to disperse a crowd near Fremont and
>Harrison streets.
>
>The protests started at dawn and kicked into high gear around 7 a.m. as
>demonstrators fanned out en masse to locations chosen in recent weeks in a
>well-planned campaign to shut down the city. Demonstrators promised to
>continue their protests for several more days.
>
>"We had a beautiful and very successful action today," Ilyse Hogue of Direct
>Action yelled into a megaphone to demonstrators gathered outside the Federal
>Building. "We were able to unplug the war machine for a day."
>
>Because of the fluid nature of protests, no estimates on the number of
>participants were available, but it was clearly in the thousands -- enough
>to leave police exhausted.
>
>"After 16 hours of fighting communists and anarchists, a Red Bull can help
>us go another 16 hours," said Sgt. Rene Laprevotte as he bought two cans of
>the energy drink at a Fifth Street market. "We're here as long as they are."
>
>Despite the size of the demonstrations and occasional acts of violence,
>there were few reports of injuries. One San Francisco police officer
>suffered cuts to his face, and another sprained his ankle in a scuffle with
>a protester who tried to take his handgun, officials said.
>
>There also were scattered reports of protesters injured by police swinging
>batons and, in some cases, motorists and workers frustrated by
>demonstrators' actions.
>
>Some protesters were clearly prepared for violence. Sheriff Michael
>Hennessey said some demonstrators fired bolts from slingshots, and others
>slashed the tires of squad cars. Police clearing a mob from Seventh and
>Mission streets early in the afternoon came away with a haul of pipe
>wrenches, rocks and other makeshift weapons.
>
>"These are supposedly peaceful protesters," one officer said.
>
>The days demonstrations were marked by a sense of anger and tension unseen
>at peace rallies earlier this year.
>
>The protests were centered in the Financial District, Civic Center and
>Mission District. Protesters shut down Market Street and many surrounding
>intersections and streets off and on throughout the day.
