Protests continued to rage in Berkeley, Calif., on Monday night, with demonstrators lying on train tracks and blocking roads following sometimes violent clashes with police over the past few days.
Frustrated by the failure of two grand juries to indict police officers in the killings of unarmed black men, hundreds of protesters and activists took to the streets in Berkeley for the third night in a row.
Picture of protesters in Berkeley blocking an Amtrak train tonight, via @AP pic.twitter.com/SiPxAo7hnB
— Jim Dalrymple II (@Dalrymple) December 9, 2014
There was intermittent looting and arson on Sunday night, with cars torched and windows of corporate buildings smashed. On Monday night, protesters blocked Interstate 80 in both directions, after a 1,500-person protest march. According to the New York Times, there was little sign the protests were abating: “Both the crowd and the police presence seemed larger.”
Similar protests are being held nationwide: In New York, where Eric Garner died after being placed in an illegal chokehold by a police officer, activists attempted to cause a symbolic “shutdown” of an NBA game attended by British royalty on Monday evening.
In Berkeley, protesters were organising and sharing photos on social media using the hashtag #BerkeleyProtests, as well as #EricGarner and #ICantBreath—a reference to Garner’s last words, and a phrase that has fast become a protest chant.
We are back at the train, which is still blocked. #Berkeley #ericgarner photo: @Benttinen pic.twitter.com/5RDoFcFD8y
— Becca Bowe (@ByRebeccaBowe) December 9, 2014
#BerkeleyProtests Shutting down freeways and stopping trains in their tracks: pic.twitter.com/3YgkFMBIQZ
— ziraffa™ (@ziraffa) December 9, 2014
12/8 ~5:30pm: Protestors march on College and Haste calling on students in dorms to join them #berkeleyprotests pic.twitter.com/IP5R6qwJ6Z
— Tim Hyon (@tim_hyon) December 9, 2014
These cop busses are new to me. #berkeleyprotests pic.twitter.com/NWsanL4x7U
— tree (@treekisser) December 9, 2014
https://twitter.com/Joshuapope44/status/542245607063453696
UPDATE Protesters shut down I-80 near University Avenue in #Berkeley http://t.co/GtoDRBwkgj #berkeleyprotests pic.twitter.com/67Xj1FIpKz
— KTVU (@KTVU) December 9, 2014
Police faced heavy criticism on Saturday night for deploying tear gas against protesters.
Photo via Introvert/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5) | Remix by Rob Price
