Berkeley Post Office Protest Turns Violent

By Doug Oakley
Staff Writer
Bay Area News Group
doakley@bayareanewsgroup.com

BERKELEY -- Protesters camping on the steps of the Berkeley main post office are tied to a number of violent crimes in the area, including a stabbing and an incident in which a dog bit off a large chunk of a man's hand, city officials say. 

People camping there and handing out fliers are opposed to the U.S. Postal Service July 18 decision to sell the building. 

And in more bad news for those protesting the sale Mayor Tom Bates reported on Tuesday that the Postal Regulatory Commission dismissed a request he made asking to halt the sale. 

"This process represents the worst case of government bureaucracy that I have experienced in my 35 years of public services," Bates said. "I believe the Postal Service is simply playing shell games with the community and we are going to continue to fight to preserve this historical site." 

Bates said the rejection, which was made without prejudice, "leaves the door open for appeals in the future." 

Two weeks after protesters started camping out on the property on July 27, led by Save the Berkeley Post Office, other groups and individuals joined in and "criminal incidents related to the encampment began to occur," according to a memo sent Monday from City Manager Christine Daniel to Bates and the City Council. 

"In addition, local businesses have reported harassment of customers and activity that is affecting their operations," the memo said. 

Campers at the site, including Dave Welsh with Save the Berkeley Post Office, say many of the crimes detailed in the memo have not occurred on the post office property and that the city is unfairly trying to connect campers to the incidents. 

"This is typical of what happens on Shattuck Avenue every week and the police are seizing on this to try to discredit the camp, and it's not going to wash," Welsh said. 

Sally Nelson, 71, who was at the post office handing out fliers on Tuesday, said Daniel's memo "is the usual kind of misinformation they spread when they have an agenda." 

The memo includes a detailed list of crimes and arrests in the area connected to campers at the post office since Aug. 10. 

On Aug. 15 a male camper at the site slapped a woman and then picked up a pipe and a chair and threw it at other campers who came to her defense, police said. The campers chased the man down the street but he turned on one of them and stabbed him in the leg. On Aug. 21, police said a camper got involved in an altercation with a person walking a dog. The dog bit the camper, taking off "a large section of his right hand," the memo said. 

In addition, police have arrested a sex offender for failing to register and have confiscated an 8 ½-inch knife and a 17-inch club from people at the site. 

In one incident, four suspects punched and dragged a victim from the post office across the street to Berkeley High School where they smashed the victim's head into the sidewalk, police said. 

The postal service is trying to decide how to handle a possible clearing of the site, which would include arrests for trespassing. Postal inspectors are talking with the Alameda County District Attorney's Office and the U.S. Department of Justice about which agency will have jurisdiction to arrest and prosecute individuals who may be asked to leave, said Postal Inspector spokesman Jeff Fitch. 

"We're trying to coordinate and do this in an organized fashion," Fitch said. "The main concern from the beginning has been the safety of everyone. There is no timetable." 

Fitch added that some of the protesters are relieving themselves in trash cans in the post office lobby. 

Berkeley Police spokeswoman Jennifer Coats said the police department will not hesitate to respond to crimes committed at the post office and nearby as they have done nine times since Aug. 10, but they are waiting to "determine how to proceed, whether (trespassing) enforcement is handled locally by the Alameda County district attorney or federally." 

Doug Oakley covers Berkeley. Contact him at 510-843-1408. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/douglasoakley