Oakland Protesters Chain Themselves To Trains
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A group of protesters on Friday chained themselves to trains and temporarily interrupted service from Oakland to San Francisco in the latest demonstration in the San Francisco Bay Area against a grand jury decision in Ferguson, Missouri.
Police arrested 14 of 25 people who chained themselves and shut down the West Oakland BART station, Bay Area Rapid Transit system spokeswoman Alicia Trost said. Demonstrations have persisted in Oakland since a grand jury on Monday declined to indict Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson, who is white, in the Aug. 9 killing of Michael Brown, who was black.
About 125 protesters wearing T-shirts reading "Black Lives Matter" gathered at the station and interrupted service for about two hours until police cleared the station and service restarted, Trost said.
Authorities have arrested 181 protesters in Oakland, and there could be more after officers review video and pictures of the demonstrations, Oakland police spokeswoman Johnna Watson said.
Since Monday, some protesters in Oakland have smashed the windows of businesses, blocked freeways, sprayed graffiti and set trash cans on fire.
Groups nationwide are protesting on Friday with an economic boycott to further draw attention to their anger over the grand jury's decision. A large protest against spending money on Black Friday was slated to start in West Oakland and end at a Wal-Mart store several miles away.
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