Dozens arrested as Oakland, Los Angeles demonstrations turn destructive

Despite the torching of a police car and dozens of arrests, police said a second night of protests was 'much better' than the arson and widespread violence the night before. Protesters in Ferguson inspired demonstrations across the U.S. VPC

Police in Los Angeles and Oakland, Calif. were making arrests as protests over the grand jury decision in Ferguson, Mo., turned to vandalism and repeated attempts to block traffic late Wednesday.

In Los Angeles, police tweeted that a 'mass arrest for failure to disperse' was underway in the city's downtown at 6th Street and Hope.

An 'unruly crowd was declared unlawful assembly' in downtown Los Angeles and is now subject to arrest, said California Highway Patrol for Central Los Angeles.

Earlier in the day, police arrested nine people after they sat in a bus lane alongside the U.S. 101 freeway near downtown Los Angeles.

Respect the rights of everyone -- Vandalizing, running in traffic lanes, causing accidents, and inciting violence is not permitted!

- CHP Central LA (@CHPCentralLA) November 27, 2014

In Oakland, 150 to 200 protesters marched peacefully for the first two hours. But then pockets of protesters broke off, vandalizing buildings and spraying graffiti in the streets around Telegraph Avenue, according to a report from KCBS. The protest, which started downtown, briefly spilled into residential areas in West Oakland. The Oakland Tribune building was damaged, according to the report, and at least three people were arrested.

The California Highway Patrol, Oakland, said it had a large number of officers around Oakland 'as protesters have begun vandalizing buildings and throwing rocks and bottles at officers.'

Demonstrators took to the streets in cities from New York to Los Angeles starting Monday after a grand jury declined to press charges against Darren Wilson, the white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager in August. Protesters in Los Angeles and Oakland have been trying, sometimes successfully, to block highways and several small businesses have suffered damage and looting.

Police arrested 135 people in Oakland in relation to the protests on Monday and Tuesday.

After two days of violent confrontations with the police in Ferguson, Mo., the ravaged town was relatively quiet Wednesday as snow fell.

Contributing: the Associated Press

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