As images circulate of police firing tear gas at Occupy Oakland protesters, spectators from around the world have descended upon Oakland Mayor Jean Quan's Facebook page to express their anger.

Hundreds of comments along the lines of "What on Earth were you thinking last night?" "Shame!" and "How can you look at yourself this morning?" have been written on her wall. They are nearly all negative.

The conflict that inspired such spite started Tuesday morning when police dispersed protesters who had been camping near city hall for more than two weeks. Later in the day, protesters convened and marched back to the area, where they were met by police in full riot gear.

The Oakland Police Department said in a statement that it used tear gas in defense after protesters threw objects at officers and, contrary to some reports, did not use rubber bullets or flash-bag grenades.







Even before she ordered police to break up protest camps, Quan was actively disliked by some of her constituents. On Monday, The Oakland Tribune reported that a recall petition was in the works. Leaders of that effort cited the city's police shortage as their main complaint.

Visitors to her Facebook page have since added many more.

"I was tear gassed twice while simply trying to take pictures of the protest taking place in my neighborhood yesterday," wrote Joshua Daniels. "As a resident of downtown Oakland I felt much safer with the camp at Ogawa Plaza then with your brutal and reactionary police force tear gassing me and threatening me with arrest for walking around my neighborhood. Recall election!!!"

"Those of us with family who live in Oakland are appalled at your behavior," wrote Greta Berlin.

Quan, who was elected in November 2010, has not responded to any of the comments on her Facebook page since the evening conflict. On Tuesday at 7:30 a.m., long before the second wave of police enforcement, she did post a statement about why the city had decided to remove protesters from the park.

"Over the last week it was apparent that neither the demonstrators nor the City could maintain safe or sanitary conditions, or control the ongoing vandalism," she wrote. "I commend Chief Jordan for a generally peaceful resolution to a situation that deteriorated and concerned our community."

That post now has about 3,500 comments. Among the most recent 500 at the time of this writing, not a single one is positive.

The mayor's office could not immediately be reached for comment.

Update: Shortly after this article was published, wall posts on Mayor Quan's Facebook page were disabled.







Photo courtesy of Flickr, blackhour