Oakland protests over Ferguson decision turn violent

Tina and her son Pharoah, walk up near the line of police at Jackson Street and 6th Street where protesters tried to get to the on ramp to highway 880 during local protests about Ferguson Police shooting of Michael Brown on Tuesday, November 25, 2014, in Oakland, Calif. less Tina and her son Pharoah, walk up near the line of police at Jackson Street and 6th Street where protesters tried to get to the on ramp to highway 880 during local protests about Ferguson Police shooting of ... more Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 33 Caption Close Oakland protests over Ferguson decision turn violent 1 / 33 Back to Gallery

A second night of coast-to-coast protests over a Missouri grand jury’s decision not to indict a white police officer for fatally shooting a black man found fertile ground — again — in Oakland, where protesters looted businesses, lit fires, attacked police and shut down two freeways.

The violence began at 6:30 p.m. when about 300 protesters marched from downtown Oakland to Interstate 980 and surged onto the freeway by the 18th Street onramp. They temporarily stopped cars in both directions, shouting, “Shut it down for Michael Brown,” before officers forced them onto a frontage road.

At around 9 p.m., the group entered Interstate 580 near Telegraph Avenue, disrupting traffic before police quickly moved them off.

From then on, the evening devolved into lawless rambling by mobs of protesters who lit debris and trash can fires, shattered windows on businesses, including a Mercedes car dealership, and threw bottles and bricks at police. They looted several businesses, including a T-Mobile store and a paint store as they traveled miles through the city.

Police and fire crews attempted to avoid direct confrontations as much as possible, but officers detained several protesters and fired flash-bang grenades before 10 p.m. The clashes spread from downtown to beyond 40th Street on Telegraph Avenue, angering and frightening residents with each new burst of commotion.

Worried about two large fires in the street in front of his house on Telegraph Avenue, Patrick Taylor emerged with a fire extinguisher to douse them. As he sprayed, he vented his disgust with the chaos.

“I’ve lived in Oakland my whole life,” he fumed. “F— these mother—. It’s f— stupid, these out-of-town, lifelong activist whatevers.”

Meanwhile in San Francisco, nearly 150 demonstrators marched in the Mission District chanting slogans just after sundown, and that gathering remained calm and not disruptive.

They walked along Mission and Valencia streets between 16th and 24th streets, pausing at the Mission police station to repeatedly shout out what has become the Ferguson protest’s national slogan: “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot.”

Many among Oakland’s more militant crowd said they view this week’s protests as being about more than the Ferguson crisis. It involves a cumulative grievance against racial injustice and police relations, they said, encompassing many facets from the Oscar Grant shooting by a BART police officer in 2009 to the Occupy Movement of the past few years.

“There were many Mike Browns before this Mike Brown,” Bakari Olatunji, a spokesman for the Black is Back Coalition, said as he joined protesters near Oakland police station. “We denounce the verdict in Ferguson. What happened there happens across the country everyday.”

Video: Ferguson protest in Oakland on Nov. 25

Oakland officials had hoped in vain that there wouldn’t be a repeat of the night before, when protests erupted into looting, fires in the streets and attacks on police soon after the evening announcement that a grand jury in St. Louis County, Mo., had decided not to indict Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting Aug. 11 of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was unarmed.

The most chaotic thievery and destruction in the nation on Monday happened in Ferguson, but as demonstrations broke out across the nation Oakland’s also stood out for its violence. I-580 was shut down in both directions off and on for a couple of hours by crowds of chanting demonstrators before they were forced off by lines of officers in riot gear, and after midnight mobs smashed into at least two stores and stole armfuls of goods including coffee, booze and dog food.

Oakland police arrested 43 people on suspicion of crimes including assaulting officers, burglary, failure to disperse, resisting arrest, vandalism and public intoxication, said police spokeswoman Officer Johnna Watson.

Video: Police issue a dispersal order at 40th Street and Telegraph Avenue in Oakland

Mayor Jean Quan said no one was critically hurt Monday, but officials said three officers were injured, including one who suffered a concussion when he was hit in the face with a brick. The mayor, police chief and others staged an afternoon press conference to denounce the violence and call for more reasoned expressions of outrage.

Bakari Olatunji and other protesters were making no promises as Tuesday night began.

“I’m not going to tell anyone how to express themselves,” he said. “They’re telling everyone to be peaceful, but you don’t hear them telling that to the police that bring the violence into out neighborhoods.”

At San Francisco’s demonstration in the Mission District, Shani Harris-Bagwell said she was saddened by the violent clashes across the bay. But she added: “I understand the rage. I won’t condone it, but I’m not going to denounce it.”

In contrast to Oakland’s violent flash points, San Francisco protest organizers stressed the long-term effort it will take to make societal change. The gathering and march ended at 7:30 p.m.

Video: Ferguson protesters in SF on Nov. 25, 2014

Vivian Ho, Kale Williams, Kevin Fagan and Jill Tucker are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: vho@sfchronicle.com, kwilliams@sfchronicle.com, kfagan@sfchronicle.com and jtucker@sfchronicle.com.