Two arrested after renter protest at Alameda City Hall
ALAMEDA, Calif. (KTVU) - Paramedics were called to Alameda City Hall Wednesday night after police officers subdued a man outside a city council meeting.
Officers held the man on the floor before handcuffing him and taking him away. Video shot by one of the protesters showed blood coming from a cut on the man’s head and staining the floor as he screamed.
Mobile app users can watch the video here (video courtesy Duane Moles).
Police say the man was part of a tenants' rights group outside the chambers who tried to force their way inside. He was arrested on battery charges for allegedly pushing an officer when he tried shoving his way through the chambers. Police say another man was arrested for injuring the assistant city manager who was trying to keep the doors shut.
The meeting was called to consider a two-month moratorium on rent increases and evictions.
Renters said the deck was stacked against them with more landlords than tenants allowed to speak.
A crowd of tenant protesters was kept out of the meeting hall, among them the man taken into custody.
"What happened tonight was just the fear and the passion of being shut out of the very meeting we had asked for," said Catherine Pauling of the Alameda Renters Coaltion.
Police Chief Paul Rolleri says based on the video he’s seen so far, he does not think his officers acted inappropriately and that a use of force review is common procedure anytime something like this happens.
The meeting continued after a recess. Ultimately the council did approve a 65-day moratorium on rent increases above 8 percent. The vote came in at 1:30 a.m.