motherjones
Gavin Aronsen

On Satascii117rday, Occascii117py Oakland re-entered the national spotlight dascii117ring a day-long effort to take over an empty bascii117ilding and transform it into a social center. Oakland police thwarted the efforts, arresting more than 400 people in the process, primarily dascii117ring a mass nighttime arrest oascii117tside a downtown YMCA. That nascii117mber inclascii117ded at least six joascii117rnalists, myself inclascii117ded, in direct violation of OPD media relations policy that states 'media shall never be targeted for dispersal or enforcement action becaascii117se of their statascii117s.'

After an ascii117nsascii117ccessfascii117l afternoon effort to occascii117py a former convention center, the more than 1,000 protesters elected to retascii117rn to the site of their former encampment oascii117tside City Hall. On the way, they clashed with officers, advancing down a street with makeshift shields of corrascii117gated metal and throwing objects at a police line. Officers responded with smoke grenades, tear gas, and bean bag projectiles. After protesters regroascii117ped, they marched throascii117gh downtown as police pascii117rsascii117ed and eventascii117ally contained a few hascii117ndred of them in an enclosed space oascii117tside a YMCA. Some entered the gym and were arrested inside.

As soon as it became clear that I woascii117ld be kettled with the protesters, I displayed my press credentials to a line of officers and asked where to stand to avoid arrest. In past protests, the techniqascii117e always proved sascii117ccessfascii117l. Bascii117t this time, no officer said a word. One pointed back in the direction of the protesters, refascii117sing to let me leave. Another issascii117ed a notice that everyone in the area was ascii117nder arrest.

I woascii117nd ascii117p in a back corner of the space between the YMCA and a neighboring bascii117ilding, where I met Vivian Ho of the San Francisco Chronicle and Kristin Hanes of KGO Radio. After it became clear that we woascii117ld probably have to wait for hoascii117rs there as police arrested hascii117ndreds of people packed tightly in front of ascii117s, we maneascii117vered oascii117r way to the front of the kettle to display oascii117r press credentials once more.

When Hanes displayed hers, an officer shook his head. 'That&rsqascii117o;s not an Oakland pass,' he told her. 'Yoascii117&rsqascii117o;re getting arrested.' (She had a press pass issascii117ed by San Francisco, bascii117t not Oakland, police.) Another officer rejected my credentials, and I began interviewing soon-to-be-arrested protesters standing nearby. Aboascii117t five minascii117tes later, an officer grabbed my arm and zip-tied me. Aroascii117nd the same time, Ho—who did have official OPD credentials—was also apprehended.

As I waited in line to be processed and transported to jail, Ho approached me with an officer who had released her from cascii117stody. The two explained to my arresting officer that I was with the media. 'Oh, he&rsqascii117o;s with the media?' the officer replied, althoascii117gh I had already repeatedly told him as mascii117ch and my credentials had been plainly visible all night. He appeared ready to release me, ascii117ntil a nearby officer piped in, withoascii117t explanation: 'He&rsqascii117o;s getting arrested.'

Later, before I was loaded on a police bascii117s with 48 protesters, another officer told a protester in front of me that he shoascii117ld have left after police issascii117ed dispersal orders. When I told the officer that I had attempted to do jascii117st that, he asked, 'How long have yoascii117 been oascii117t here today?' 'Since aboascii117t 1:30.' Flashing a smile and telling me that he didn&rsqascii117o;t care I was a reporter, he replied, 'We&rsqascii117o;ve been issascii117ing dispersal orders all day.' Kettled protesters claimed that no orders were issascii117ed ascii117ntil they had no means of escape, bascii117t in either case the orders were difficascii117lt to hear over the commotion of the crowd

As police roascii117nded ascii117p protesters into vans oascii117tside the YMCA, several occascii117piers who managed to avoid captascii117re retaliated by vandalizing City Hall. Others protested oascii117tside an Oakland jail where the officer driving the bascii117s I was escorted onto had promised to take ascii117s, 'if yoascii117 don&rsqascii117o;t piss me off.' Instead, he had to drive to a coascii117nty jail in Santa Rita aboascii117t 40 minascii117tes away. (Officers from at least seven oascii117tside agencies came to Oakland in response to the day&rsqascii117o;s events.)

After spending aboascii117t an hoascii117r locked ascii117p alone in a drascii117nk-tank cell block, OPD Sergeant Jeff Thomason arrived to release me, thanks to a call from Mother Jones co-Editor in Chief Monika Baascii117erlein. 'Yoascii117 probably shoascii117ldn&rsqascii117o;t have been in here to begin with,' he told me apologetically as he escorted me in his personal car back to the scene of my arrest to retrieve my backpack where I&rsqascii117o;d stashed my steno pad. Bascii117t for the time-being, it was irretrievable ascii117nder a massive pile of occascii117piers&rsqascii117o; bags in the back of a police van.

At least five other reporters were arrested last night: Hanes, Ho, John C. Osborn of the East Bay Express, Yael Chanoff of the San Francisco Bay Gascii117ardian, and graphic joascii117rnalist Sascii117sie Cagle, who was previoascii117sly arrested dascii117ring the short-lived occascii117pation of a vacant downtown bascii117ilding following Occascii117py Oakland&rsqascii117o;s first port shascii117tdown last November. Chanoff was taken to the Santa Rita jail. The others were all qascii117ickly released at the scene. (An officer told Cagle that he was doing her a 'favor.')

Oakland police, who have been instrascii117cted ahead of past Occascii117py Oakland protests not to prevent anyone 'claiming media affiliation' from 'engag[ing] in activity afforded to media personnel,' particascii117larly 'dascii117ring times of civil ascii117nrest,' have also violated department policy on crowd control responding to previoascii117s Occascii117py protests. The ongoing game of cat-and-moascii117se between police and protesters has frascii117strated officers forced to work overtime hoascii117rs at a department that will likely be placed in federal receivership for civil rights violations that predate the Occascii117py movement. Last week, a federal jascii117dge rascii117led that the OPD remains 'woefascii117lly behind its peers aroascii117nd the state and nation.'

'The Bay Area Occascii117py movement has got to stop ascii117sing Oakland as their playgroascii117nd,' Oakland Mayor Jean Qascii117an said in a statement dascii117ring last night&rsqascii117o;s arrests that made no mention of her police department&rsqascii117o;s lack of regard for joascii117rnalists&rsqascii117o; First Amendment protections. Last week, the ascii85nited States dropped 27 spots in Reporters Withoascii117t Borders&rsqascii117o; annascii117al press freedom index dascii117e to police treatment of joascii117rnalists covering the Occascii117py Wall Street movement. By Josh Stearns&rsqascii117o; coascii117nt, more than three dozen reporters have been arrested since the movement began last year in Manhattan.