Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Student Activists Beaten After Rally On Interstate


By Brandon Jourdan and David Martinez
From Huffington Post

On March 4th, 2010, demonstrators in California and across the country took to the streets to protest massive cuts at all levels of education and government imposed austerity measures.

In Oakland, thousands of protesters rallied in Frank Ogawa Plaza. A group of some 200 then broke off and marched through downtown before moving to Interstate 880 and later taking over an Interstate 980 exit ramp. The Oakland riot police swept in and without a call for dispersal started swinging batons and beating people before arresting them. The video below shows the beatings 1 minute 47 seconds in.

As police were attacking the crowd, Francois Zimany, a fifteen-year old high school student, fractured his skull after a 30 foot fall off the freeway. Questions have arisen over whether he fell, jumped, or was pushed by police off of the freeway.

Full Article with Video

See Also
Democracy Now! Report