[TheRealVille]

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan has experienced poverty, racism and gender discrimination. As a student she went on strike at UC Berkeley in support of ethnic studies and boycotted grapes to support farmworkers. She fought to prevent the eviction of poor Asian seniors from the International Hotel in San Francisco, and she considers Cesar Chavez and Martin Luther King, Jr., her heroes.
But after Tuesday's predawn raid on the Occupy Oakland camp at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, followed that night with police in riot gear shooting tear gas, bean bags and rubber bullets into large crowds of protesters, Quan finds herself in an unusual position. After less than year in office she is being criticized and booed by the working class, underemployed and unemployed -- the so-called 99 percent she has supported, fought for and defended her entire life.
"I'm pretty sad, and obviously it's very painful," she said Friday. Somebody in the national media "said I should have resigned. But I don't have time to think about politics. I have to keep people safe.
"I've been able to organize the communities and balance the budget. It's painful to have all your work defined by one thing. The city probably did make some mistakes. That's why I apologized to the family of Scott Olsen."

Quan, Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan and City Administrator Deanna Santana made the decision last week to remove the Occupy Oakland camp from Ogawa Plaza because it had become a public safety hazard and efforts to communicate with the organizers had failed. Jordan said he needed five days to make the arrangements.
Quan said everyone's priority was for the safety of the police officers and the campers. She said the discussions centered mostly on timing, and the use of force did not come up. "We had been handling the Mehserle protests without less-lethal (ammunition)," Quan said.
She flew to Washington, D.C., Sunday for a prearranged series of face-to-face meetings with White House administration officials to secure money for the Port of Oakland. She said she was just about to go to bed Monday night when she got a call telling her the raid was going to happen. She caught a red-eye flight back the next day.
Quan said she did not tell the chief to hold off, though she said she wished it had happened while she was in town. She said she got an update before she boarded the plane and was told it had gone smoothly and there were no problems.
But by the time she landed at 9:40 p.m., her daughter was texting her to "stop the tear gas."
She drove directly to the Emergency Operations Center and learned that Olsen, 24, a former Marine who survived two tours of duty in Iraq, was struck in the head by a tear-gas canister and knocked unconscious. He was rescued by other protesters who rushed him to the hospital where he underwent brain surgery.
Jordan, Quan and Santana have since tried to justify the city's use of force. They have launched an investigation to determine if it was used properly and whether law enforcement agencies called in to provide mutual aid during the protest followed Oakland's policy on less-lethal ammunition.
The city adopted a crowd-control policy after many innocent bystanders were injured by less-lethal ammunition during an April 7, 2003, anti-war protest at the Port of Oakland.
Clearly the city violated its own policy, said civil rights attorney Jim Chanin, who helped forge the agreement and said he was shocked that once again, it appears that Oakland overreacted with violence against people exercising their First Amendment right to go to a march.
He said the police department needs to be held accountable.
"Quan still has time to show some leadership and hold the police accountable and let the chips fall where they may," he said. "This has obviously been a big problem for her. I think there will be time for judging her when it's over. But this is still happening, and she needs to step up. She has to balance the actions of the police and the rights of the protesters."
As far as leaving the camp be, Quan said the city is continuing to reach out to the protesters to try to make sure that area is clean and safe. She said inspectors walked through the small camp on Friday and other than one propane tank, there were no problems.
"Today it did not seem to be unsafe, we have to make it day to day," she said.
Dwight McElroy, president of SEIU Oakland local, said he was concerned about Quan's leadership and very upset about the use of tear gas on the protesters. He said his members support the Occupy movement and were distressed that they were required to participate in dismantling the camp.
"The (actions during the protest) illustrate a total disconnect between the moving parts that should be in concert, the police and the administration," he said. "I respect that hard decisions must be made, but obviously, the embarrassment of what occurred Tuesday night was not part of the original plan."
Quan said she would continue to try to communicate with the movement, which she supports, and balance the rights of the protesters with the safety of the city.
When asked if she would be able to prevent a repeat of Tuesday's events, the mayor said "I'm going to try my damnedest."

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_19219379

[TheRealVille]

Late last night, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan issued a statement about the police crackdown against Occupied Oakland protesters. In it, she expressed concern for those injured and a commitment to minimize police presence in Frank Ogawa plaza, at least for now. Her statement follows national and international outcry over police treatment of unarmed protestors. Jean Quan wrote that she will “personally monitor” investigations of police misconduct. Yesterday, the ACLU of Northern California and the National Lawyers’ Guild demanded a full investigation. The groups also asked the Oakland Police Department to immediately produce records about the use of force in responding to the early morning raid of the Occupy Oakland encampment and the evening demonstration, and the detention of those who were arrested.

Her statement also expressed “deepest concern for all of those who were injured last night, and we are committed to ensuring this does not happen again.” Iraq Vet Scott Olsen was critically injured by a police projectile and remains at Highland Hospital. Hundreds of others were sickened by tear gas or injured by police violence or projectiles.

Occupy Oakland protestors tore down the fences surrounding Frank Ogawa Plaza Wednesday night and held a general assembly of 2,000. There were no police in sight. The protestors voted for a general strike on November 2nd, the first in over 65 years of Oakland history.

Based on the mayor’s statement, she and Police Chief Harold Jordan are ready to meet with Occupy Oakland organizers as soon as today.





Jean Quan’s complete statement reads as follows:


We support the goals of the Occupy Wall Street movement: we have high levels of unemployment and we have high levels of foreclosure that makes Oakland part of the 99% too. We are a progressive city and tolerant of many opinions. We may not always agree, but we all have a right to be heard.

I want to thank everyone for the peaceful demonstration at Frank Ogawa Park tonight, and thank the city employees who worked hard to clean up the plaza so that all activities can continue including Occupy Wall Street. We have decided to have a minimal police presence at the plaza for the short term and build a community effort to improve communications and dialogue with the demonstrators.

99% of our officers stayed professional during difficult and dangerous circumstances as did some of the demonstrators who dissuaded other protestors from vandalizing downtown and for helping to keep the demonstrations peaceful. For the most part, demonstrations over the past two weeks have been peaceful. We hope they continue to be so.

I want to express our deepest concern for all of those who were injured last night, and we are committed to ensuring this does not happen again. Investigations of certain incidents are underway and I will personally monitor them.

We understand and recognize the impact this event has had on the community and acknowledge what has happened. We cannot change the past, but we are committed to doing better.

Most of us are part of the 99%, and understand the spirit of the Occupy Wall Street Movement. We are committed to honoring their free speech right.

Finally, we understand the demonstrators want to meet with me and Chief Jordan. We welcome open dialogue with representatives of Occupy Wall Street members, and we are willing to meet with them as soon as possible.

http://blog.sfgate.com/aallison/2011/10/...crackdown/

[Hoot Gibson]

The protesters got exactly what th.eir organizers wanted - the destroyed property and provoked a police response. Community Organizing 101. I don't think that these Astroturfed riots are going to help Obama's reelection chances the way that his supporters hope.

[vundy33]

lol, a former Marine that "survived" two tours in Iraq...the only thing he survived was the Starbucks on the FOB being closed down and a mortar here and there. Every Marine I've talked to doesn't claim this guy, and it pisses them off that the only reason anyone knows his name is because he was a Marine. His involvement with Veterans for Peace speaks for itself.

I don't care who it was...they were ordered to get the hell out of there and didn't. The city government wouldn't have even made them leave if the protesters would've been civil and at least cleaned up after themselves...

It's pathetic when some ex-Marine protester gets hit in the head, accidentally, with a gas round or rubber round and the country loses it's minds, but troops getting shot and blown the hell up don't even make the news.

I wonder how many Americans heard about the Army Ranger with 14 deployments dying this past week...I mean shit, just at least mention our dead if you're going to cover this incident.