The East Bay city of Oakland is once again the focus of the national Occupy movement as Occupy Oakland called for Wednesday to be a "general strike" day.
More than a thousand protesters marched through downtown Oakland beginning at 9:30 a.m. The one thing that was missing from the crowd was police officers. Most reporters on the scene said they had not seen even one police officer as they followed the marchers from spot to spot.
Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan acknowledged the lack of a police presence during a midday press conference.
"Yes, it is minimal," Jordan said.
The chief said he expected about 5,000 people to march to the Port of Oakland at 5 p.m. and he said his officers would help them get there safely. Some occupiers said the goal was to shut the port down.
The morning march that began at 14th and Broadway traveled down Broadway to the State Building. It was loud but peaceful according to NBC Bay Area's Jodi Hernandez. Occupiers stopped at a few banks and businesses along the way shutting some down for a time. At noon hundreds of people surrounded a Chase bank.
The reason behind the strike is the basic Occupy movement against the highest paid one percent.
Local
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