If leaders in San Francisco and elsewhere appear to be acting more cautiously toward “Occupy Wall Street” protesters, likely part of the reason is that they don’t want to stumble the way Oakland has. First, Oakland police sweep the protesters’ City Hall encampments, then, along with a dozen or so other agencies, heavy-handedly disperse protesters trying to take back Frank Ogawa Plaza. One of them, a Marine who has served two tours of duty in Iraq, is critically injured by a police projectile.
Mayor Jean Quan distanced herself from it all yesterday, leaving the impression that she was out of the loop with the cops in their handling of the unrest. Then last night, Quan flips course and says the protesters may return to the plaza after all, as long as they stay peaceful. Whew!
Add: The Bay Citizen reports that longtime Quan friend and legal advisor Dan Siegel is threatening to resign over the fiasco: “I think a big mistake was made yesterday. A big mistake. I have made that clear to the mayor.”
Noted: The image is one of Oakland officials who, to put it mildly, don’t know what they’re doing, or even want to do.
