150 arrested after I-80 blocked in Berkeley
BERKELEY, Calif. -- Amtrak and I-80 have reopened through Berkeley after protesters managed to shut them both down Monday night. Demonstrators turned out in the largest numbers yet over alleged police brutality cases across the country.
The California Highway Patrol arrested 150 people for getting onto I-80. Protesters blocked traffic for about an hour and a half in both directions. Officials say demonstrators were able to get onto the freeway because they broke through the fence that lines the perimeter.
Officials say as CHP officers tried to move them, they were met with violence; some protesters threw rocks at the officers. They were booked into jail for offenses such as resisting arrest and obstructing a police officer.
RAW VIDEO: Protesters in Berkeley shut down I-80
A woman trapped in the backup went into labor. Firefighters met her on the side of the freeway in Berkeley around 10:30 p.m. An ambulance was also called. She was put on a stretcher and taken to the hospital.
Dozens laid or stood on the Amtrak tracks near the Berkeley station. Some of them climbed on the safety gates and signals. Amtrak put stranded passengers on buses and other trains to get them where they needed to go.
Berkeley police also made some arrests on city streets. They took nine people into custody, including a juvenile. The list of the offenses has not been released yet. Officials say the protest drew about 1,500 people and they did not see the looting or the destruction of businesses that they saw the past two nights.
