This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Berkeley, Calif. • Three officers and a technician were hurt and six people arrested in Northern California when a protest over police killings turned violent.
The Oakland Tribune reported Sunday that police fired rubber bullets and used smoke and flares during a night-long protest in Berkeley that grew increasingly unruly. Protesters smashed windows and threw rocks and bricks at police, several of whom were struck. Police responded with tear gas. Five adults and one juvenile were arrested. Police didn't say whether any protesters were hurt.
All the officers and the technician were expected to recover. The most serious injury was a dislocated shoulder, police said.
Saturday night's demonstration against police killings of unarmed black men in Missouri and New York began peacefully.
Seven people were arrested in Seattle on Saturday night after protesters threw rocks at police and attempted to block a highway.
The rampage in Berkeley follows violent disruptions of demonstrations in San Francisco and Oakland in recent days. Five San Francisco police officers sought medical treatment after suffering injuries during a protest in downtown on Friday.
On Saturday night, protesters broke away from a peaceful demonstration and began throwing rocks, bottles and pipes at officers.
Scores of law officers from several surrounding agencies joined the Berkeley Police Department in trying to quell the violence that went on for hours.
Berkeley police spokeswoman Jenn Coats said demonstrators threw wrenches, smoke grenades and other objects at officers, and some squad cars were damaged.
Local media reports said about 300 to 400 people participated in the relatively peaceful demonstration before splinter groups broke off.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that at one point, the marchers were face to face with a line of about 100 police in riot gear who turned the crowd back. The newspaper said that it wasn't just protesters who were hit by tear gas. Several concerts had let out from downtown sites, and concertgoers waiting to pay in a nearby garage were enveloped in a cloud of stinging gas, sending them running into elevators.