Power is the people
By: [author not identified]
Publisher: producer not identified
Place of publication: San Francisco, Calif.
Language: eng
Subjects: History
Notes: Between April 20 and May 15, 1969, thousands of people spontaneously transformed an eyesore of a vacant lot in San Francisco into a pleasant, relaxing, slightly chaotic and messy park. University of California at Berkeley took no action to stop what was taking place in People’s Park, but university officials then changed their minds and decided to reclaim the land. At 4:45 a.m. on May 15, 1969, hundreds of officers from the California Highway Patrol and the Berkeley and San Francisco police departments arrived at the park.  Word of the police occupation of the park and the erection of the fence spread quickly through a telephone tree and word of mouth. The police resorted to tear gas and when they ran out of tear gas, the deputies turned to shotguns, some loaded with non-lethal birdshot and some loaded with buckshot, which has an effective lethal range of 50 yards.