A crowd of several hundred people blocked traffic on Interstate 880 and descended on West Oakland BART Station, resulting in a brief closure, in another night of sustained protests Friday over high-profile police killings of unarmed black men.
Protests initially over a Missouri grand jury decision not to indict former Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson for the fatal shooting of Michael Brown gained new fuel this week when a New York grand jury did not indict NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo for the chokehold death of Eric Garner.
A few hundred people began gathering in solemn quiet at Telegraph Avenue and 27th Street before 7 p.m. last night. A man stood on the tailgate of a parked truck and told the crowd, "We're not going to stand for the f-ing police killing us every day," but added that breaking windows "don't do nothing -- it just breaks you."
The protest grew as it moved south and met a second march heading north at West Grand and Telegraph avenues, swelling to more than 500 people. Protesters shouted, "Eric Garner, Michael Brown! Shut it down, shut it down!"
Marchers met a line of Oakland police at Broadway and Seventh street, initially blocking the route to the city's police department and downtown jail.
"Yes, all lives matter," a woman standing in front of the police line said over a loudspeaker, "but we are here because this system does not give value to black lives. Black lives fall below the windows of Smart and Final."