Oakland interim Police Chief Howard Jordan and Mayor Jean Quan answer questions about the Occupy Oakland camp raid at City Hall.
The decision to raid the camp outside City Hall was made by City Administrator Deanna Santana on Oct. 19 with consultation from interim Police Chief Howard Jordan after campers repeatedly blocked paramedics and police from entering the camp despite reports of violence and injuries.
Quan told a news conference at City Hall on Wednesday that her input on the raid was limited.
"I only asked the chief to do one thing: to do it when it was the safest for both the police and the demonstrators," she said.
The mayor said "I don't know everything" when asked by reporters if she was satisfied with how police conducted the sweep. She said she spent Wednesday meeting with community groups.
She also defended "99 percent" of police officers "who took a lot of abuse" and who "have really been trying to re-establish that connection with the community." But she said she asked Jordan to investigate reports of excessive force and wants a community police review board to look into the police actions.
Tuesday morning's police raid was the city's biggest law enforcement action since Quan took office this year. But Quan said she took a red-eye flight Sunday night to Washington, D.C., for a scheduled meeting and returned to Oakland at 10:40 p.m. Tuesday.
Seventeen law enforcement agencies and hundreds of officers cleared out a squatter city at City Hall's main plaza in the predawn hours. Santana said campers' unwillingness to address reports of violence, sexual assault, defecation and open flames prompted the sweep.
Even though the morning raid involved no reported injuries, the evening was different. Protesters gathered to retake the plaza but were blocked by police. Protesters hurled paint, bottles, rocks and chemicals at officers, who responded with tear gas...
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Matthai Kuruvila @'SF Gate'
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