California sees protest arrests, little violence

OAKLAND, Calif. — Protests over the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin returned to California’s streets with small crowds marching in several cities, but there were few arrests and no reports of major violence, authorities said Saturday.

More demonstrations were planned over the weekend.

In Oakland, about 250 people marched and rode bicycles through downtown and blocked a few streets before dispersing by midnight. Police arrested more than a dozen people for crimes including assault on an officer, as well as pointing a laser at police and at a television news crew, the Oakland Police Department said in a tweet.

Some chanted: “Whose streets? Our streets” and “No ICE, Black and brown must be free,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

At one point, the paper said, police deployed smoke bombs into a crowd. A police officer who declined to identify himself to the Chronicle said protesters were assaulting officers who were trying to make an arrest.

On Wednesday night, some protesters set fires, broke windows and vandalized businesses.

In San Jose, a crowd spray-painted graffiti on Mayor Sam Liccardo’s home with phrases that included “BLM,” Jacob Blake and profanities.

At least six people were arrested in San Diego after police stopped a car that had run a red light while following the protesters, police said.

The crowd “surged” to the spot and several people were held after shining lasers at officers and a helicopter, punching an officer and spraying a “chemical irritant” at officers, according to police tweets.

In Sacramento, police tweeted that 150 to 200 people were marching and said many had “helmets, shields, armor and weapons.” However, live helicopter reports from KCRA-TV appeared to show far fewer people.