Police in riot gear patrol a street in Berkeley, Calif., amid smoke and tear gas after a protest over police killings turned violent, early Sunday, Dec. 7, 2014, in this photo provided by Tay Nitta.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. Berkeley police didn’t say if any protesters were hurt.
All the officers and the technician are expected to recover. The most serious injury was a dislocated shoulder, Berkeley police said.
Saturday night’s demonstration against police killings of unarmed black men in Missouri and New York began peacefully, the latest of several in the Bay Area — and the nation — in recent days.
Seven people were arrested in Seattle Saturday night after protesters threw rocks at police and attempted to block a highway. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have been calling for calm while activists push for police reforms. NAACP president Cornell William Brooks, appearing on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” called for outfitting police with body-worn cameras and changing law enforcement policy.