I was hanging out at my house late last night, when I saw some Facebook posts from MotorMavens, Sam Attal, about the Occupy Oakland riots that were happening. I was really bummed I had missed the one a few weeks, since the LB crew was up at Thunderhill for the Kris Hackenson Scary Halloween Drift. I was pissed I had missed this one too. We got to talking and he kept me updated on the situation for a while. It seemed like it was dying down and it wouldn’t be worth going to, but i felt like I’d regret it more than anything if I didn’t try. So I packed my 135mm 2.0, 24mm 1.4 and a 580EX flash and headed out.
When I arrived to Telegraph St, around 12:30 AM, it was almost completely empty. Cars were abandoned in the middle of the streets and the only people I saw for a few blocks were just rows and rows of cops! I knew stuff was still going down because there was a helicopter surrounding an area not too far, so I bypassed the officers around the building and made my way to the action.
The closer I got, the more people I saw. And the more people I saw, the more I realized I was sorely unprepared for this. Almost everyone was wearing goggles, bandanas, gas masks, and even helmets!
From out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a large group of police officers, maybe about 150 running down the street. I thought, “These must be the reinforcements Sam was telling me were coming”.
I followed them down the street to see what was going on. As I was following them, a few would yell at me to get back, but I figured they had bigger problems than just a photographer, so I just kept up.
I heard beer bottles crash upon the ground and soon after, flash bang grenades and tear gas was deployed, right in the middle of where the protestors had set up a camp for the night. It seemed as if they were trying to draw a line in between two large mobs as there were people on either side of the cops.
The tear gas is no joke, at first it smelt like a firework, but soon it becomes nearly impossible to breath through the nose or mouth, and you’re better off trying to navigate with your eyes closed than trying to see through that stuff. It was gnarly!
Fortunately, the protestors came with their own medics who offered assistance to their wounded and there were also designated people walking around offering water to those who needed it.
I never found out what happened to this guy, he seemed to be in a lot of pain. I thought he might have been shot with one of the bean bag guns, seeing as how his knee has a large bruise on it.
Unable to walk, his comrades carried him off to safety.
The officers weren’t too happy with me taking pictures of them. A few of them would often point their flashlights directly at my lens.
I moved to Broadway where tensions were growing. Police officers were beginning to arm themselves with lethal weapons.
Some people took a peaceful stand in their protest.
while most joined arms and were prepared to stand against whatever faced them.
The standoff lasted over an hour, it was close to 2:30AM at this point and people were starting to leave. I made my way back to my car. Oakland is torn to pieces. You can see broken windows and graffiti like this all up and down Broadway.
I’m really glad I came out. For however short of a time it was that I spent out there, it was totally worth it. Next time, I’ll be coming more prepared and I hope to be there much longer.
::Ayala
deviated septum surgery
dillards credit card
physical therapy salary
ford focus rs
home depot promotion code
|