April 9, 2003

By Matthew Hirsch and Steven T. Jones

Whether facing police violence in Oakland or orderly arrest in Concord and San Francisco, the antiwar movement remained resolute during a day of direct action April 7, building momentum for this weekend's rally in San Francisco.

Turning from protests to tactics that might actually slow the war machine, the movement organized simultaneous blockades of the Port of Oakland and Concord Naval Weapons Station, both of which are believed to be used in transporting materials used by the U.S. military against Iraq.

The mood was peaceful early Monday morning at the Port of Oakland, where picket lines blocked the four entrances along Maritime Street with little resistance before 7 a.m. Yet things started to get tense around 7:30 as Oakland motorcycle cops and additional protesters showed up.

Amid the roar of police motorcycle engines and chants from the rally, few in the crowd of about 500 heard the order to disperse. And before those that did had the time to react, another wave of officers in riot gear stormed up behind the motorcycles and began firing rubber bullets, wooden dowels, and bags of metal pellets directly into the crowd. As the crowd retreated, cops hurled concussion grenades, devices designed to disorient people.

Ron Smith was filming the scene with a video camera when he was hit by a rubber bullet that struck his hand. Later at the hospital, he learned the gunshot had broken his hand. He was one of dozens who were hit, many multiple times.

Alicia Grogan-Brown was also hit in the arm, just below the elbow. Grogran-Brown had been using a megaphone, trying to tell the cops that everybody was walking away peacefully, at the time she was shot.

While some members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union had refused to cross the picket lines before the police violence broke out, it wasn't until several dockworkers were shot by police that the port was truly shut down with the blessing of union leaders, albeit temporarily.

Oakland Police Department officials say they resorted to using the nonlethal weapons after being hit by rocks and bolts, but neither a Bay Guardian reporter nor dozens of protesters interviewed for this story saw any cops being assaulted. Police reportedly made 31 arrests.

The scene was more serene in San Francisco, where 18 people out of a crowd of nearly 100 were arrested for blocking the entrance to the Federal Building, and in Concord, where about three dozen showed up for a protest at the weapons station.

Protesters in Concord, mostly from church-based groups, concluded the base wasn't going to be sending any trucks out that day and decided to demand a meeting with the base commander.

Thirteen protesters crossed onto base property to address a Concord police officer, 1 of 100 on the scene. They waited at the base's property line while the officer passed on the request, saying he would have an answer in five minutes.

But instead of the commander, police in riot gear marched up and formed a line across the entrance, preparing to arrest the 13. Bob Hanson of the Mt. Diablo Peace Center was among them, facing his very first arrest. After watching what our weapons are doing to Iraq and to international stability, he said, "It's finally time to take a stand."