Tweet
Oakland crowds leave wake of debris after Super Bowl
OAKLAND (AP) — Crowds that took to the streets after the Oakland Raiders' Super Bowl defeat left parts of the city strewn with broken glass, charred hulks of burned cars and a fast-food restaurant with nearly every window broken.
Crowds in downtown Oakland set fires, broke windows and threw rocks and bottles.
By George Nikitin, AP
At least 80 people were arrested Sunday night, mostly for public drunkenness and throwing rocks and bottles at police and obstructing officers, authorities said. Police said they are reviewing videotapes of the violence to try to identify some of those who escaped arrest.
"Unfortunately, you had a convergence of some young men that seemed hellbent on taking advantage of a situation to engage in lawlessness," Police Chief Richard Word said.
Police had assigned hundreds of extra officers to work on Super Bowl Sunday. But trouble broke out after the 48-21 loss to Tampa Bay.
About 10 vehicles were set on fire, and crowds broke the windows of at least one television news van, police and witnesses said. One group of young men set debris on fire in the middle of a street and then posed for news photographers. Rioters broke nearly every window at a McDonald's restaurant, which was also set on fire.
Three firefighters were treated for minor injuries after fans threw bottles and rocks at them, Battalion Chief James Williams said. Fire trucks and other equipment had cracked windshields, dents and other damage, he said.
Police closed off some streets as the trouble shifted through various areas of East Oakland.
People who threw things at officers and passing cars quickly retreated into the crowd, often making it difficult to arrest them, the police chief said.
"We towed about 60 vehicles and we wrote about 400 citations. But we're not done yet," Word said. "We want to take a good look at some of the video footage, identify those that are involved and see that they, too, are arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
It was the second straight week that violence happened after a Raiders game. The previous week, after the team advanced to the Super Bowl, crowds set fires, broke windows and threw rocks and bottles along International Boulevard, the same area hit after the championship game.
Some storeowners in the area closed at kickoff time in hopes of avoiding trouble.
OAKLAND (AP) — Crowds that took to the streets after the Oakland Raiders' Super Bowl defeat left parts of the city strewn with broken glass, charred hulks of burned cars and a fast-food restaurant with nearly every window broken.
Crowds in downtown Oakland set fires, broke windows and threw rocks and bottles.
By George Nikitin, AP
At least 80 people were arrested Sunday night, mostly for public drunkenness and throwing rocks and bottles at police and obstructing officers, authorities said. Police said they are reviewing videotapes of the violence to try to identify some of those who escaped arrest.
"Unfortunately, you had a convergence of some young men that seemed hellbent on taking advantage of a situation to engage in lawlessness," Police Chief Richard Word said.
Police had assigned hundreds of extra officers to work on Super Bowl Sunday. But trouble broke out after the 48-21 loss to Tampa Bay.
About 10 vehicles were set on fire, and crowds broke the windows of at least one television news van, police and witnesses said. One group of young men set debris on fire in the middle of a street and then posed for news photographers. Rioters broke nearly every window at a McDonald's restaurant, which was also set on fire.
Three firefighters were treated for minor injuries after fans threw bottles and rocks at them, Battalion Chief James Williams said. Fire trucks and other equipment had cracked windshields, dents and other damage, he said.
Police closed off some streets as the trouble shifted through various areas of East Oakland.
People who threw things at officers and passing cars quickly retreated into the crowd, often making it difficult to arrest them, the police chief said.
"We towed about 60 vehicles and we wrote about 400 citations. But we're not done yet," Word said. "We want to take a good look at some of the video footage, identify those that are involved and see that they, too, are arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
It was the second straight week that violence happened after a Raiders game. The previous week, after the team advanced to the Super Bowl, crowds set fires, broke windows and threw rocks and bottles along International Boulevard, the same area hit after the championship game.
Some storeowners in the area closed at kickoff time in hopes of avoiding trouble.
Comment