Two men were arrested on felony charges during a protest at Tolman Hall Thursday night and several people were injured following a sporadically violent, daylong demonstration against proposed student fee increases.
The men, Drew Phillips, 25, and Richard Clemons, 30, were arrested on Thursday night. Neither are UC Berkeley students.
Phillips allegedly assaulted an officer with a shield he was carrying, said UCPD Lt. Marc DeCoulode. The officer was injured and sought her own treatment, and Phillips was arrested at 7:58 p.m. for wearing a mask for an unlawful purpose, felony battery and obstruction.
While DeCoulode said he has not heard of any student or bystander injuries, seven police officers were injured.
At around 9 p.m., when Tolman Hall closed, tensions heightened as protesters began to attempt to leave the building.
“We had never told people they had to leave, because they seemed to be doing so naturally,” DeCoulode said.
UC Berkeley freshman Stephanie Benitez said she witnessed four police officers attacking a man — likely Clemons, although she did not specify the man’s name — because he tried to exit the building.
“I told the police to just take a second to listen to him scream,” said Benitez. “This isn’t even an issue about tuition anymore. It’s about morality. How can you go to sleep at night knowing you did this to an innocent kid?”
DeCoulode said there was a scuffle at the door at about 9:04 p.m., and Clemons, who appeared to be leaving the building, allegedly assaulted an officer from behind and pushed him. During Clemons’s arrest, police used physical force and batons to take him into custody, for their own protection and because he was resisting arrest, DeCoulode said. He was booked for felony battery and obstruction.
“He may have had some minor injuries, but I am not sure,” DeCoulode said.
This incident escalated the action, according to DeCoulode. Right after the struggle, protesters outside threw a chair, pieces of concrete and a large base of a traffic cone at police officers, he said. A window was broken, and one officer was hit in the head with an object and sustained a concussion.
“There was a short period of time when we didn’t let some people leave because that’s when the objects were being thrown at the officers, and we didn’t think it was safe for (the protesters) to leave,” said DeCoulode.
Phillips is being held at the Berkeley Police Department Jail Facility with bail set at $60,000. Clemons was sent to Santa Rita Jail with bail set at $15,000, according to Alameda County Jail records. Their arraignment is set for 2 p.m. Monday at Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland.
After the noon rally in Sproul Plaza — where students, organizers and community members gathered to protest proposed student fee increases — approximately 150 protesters marched to Tolman Hall, arriving at about 1:20 p.m. According to DeCoulode, a smaller group of about 80 protestors then entered the building, clashing with police — who used pepper spray against the demonstrators — as they entered.
“The police followed protesters to Tolman because we always monitor protests,” DeCoulode said. “We do it to ensure that they are able to do things safely for their safety and to ensure that they don’t block pathways or passageways.”
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