A march protesting the killing of an Oakland, California man on New Year's Day turned violent Wednesday evening as a group of marchers attacked a police car and lit a dumpster on fire.
An estimated 700 people gathered at the Fruitvale Bay Area Rapid Transit station Wednesday afternoon to protest the shooting of Oscar Grant III by BART police.
Police were forced to respond to the crowd in riot gear after acts of vandalism and fires broke out.
At one point a police vehicle trapped in the middle of the crowd was jumped on by angry protesters.
As they hit the car with sticks, broke windows and another group of protesters pushed a burning dumpster towards the vehicle.
Protest organizers said a group of anarchists, who were not part of the original protest, attacked the police cruiser and set the dumpster on fire.
Police could not confirm the report.
Around 8:45 p.m., Mayor Ron Dellums met a group of protesters on 14th Street in downtown Oakland.
He spoke with the protesters and marched them down 14th Street towards Broadway near city hall.
The mayor asked police to leave the scene and he assured the protesters that an investigation was underway and any proper charges would be filed.
Dellums continued to speak with protesters at city hall for more than 30 minutes, but around 9:35 p.m. Dellums abruptly left the crowd and walk into city hall after a disagreement.
The crowd booed the mayor as he walked away.
The Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer who shot and killed Oscar Grant III at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland early on New Year's Day has resigned.
BART spokesman Jim Allison said Officer Johannes Mehserle's attorney and his union representative submitted his letter of resignation at a meeting with BART investigators.
BART investigators have urged Mehserle to meet with them and to cooperate with the investigation, Allison said.
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