that is what we do.

Police fired tear gas Tuesday night into a crowd of several hundred protesters backing the Occupy movement who were seeking to retake an encampment outside Oakland City Hall that officers had cleared away more than 12 hours earlier.

Police gave repeated warnings to protesters to disperse from the entrance to Frank Ogawa Plaza at 14th Street and Broadway before firing several tear gas canisters into the crowd at about 7:45 p.m. Police had announced over a loudspeaker that those who refused to leave could be targeted by “chemical agents.”

Protesters scattered in both directions on Broadway as the tear gas canisters and several flash bang grenades went off. Regrouping, protesters tried to help one another and offered each other eye solution.

One wounded woman, who others said had been hit by one of the canisters, was carried away by two protesters.

One protester, 35-year-old Jerry Smith, said a tear gas canister had rolled to his feet and sprayed him directly in the face.

“I got the feeling they meant business, but people were not going to be intimidated,” Smith said. “We can do this peacefully, but still not back down.”

—The San Francisco Chronicle, “Police Tear Gas Occupy Oakland Protesters” (via inothernews)