Occupy Oakland general strike – Thursday 3 November

7.41am GMT: Welcome to continuing coverage of the general strike in Oakland, where it is approaching midnight and police have clashed with protesters. You can read our earlier coverage here.

Here's a quick summary of developments so far:

• Police have used teargas and flash bangs to try to clear Occupy Oakland protesters. Protesters have been chanting "peaceful protest" in response but some have set up a burning barricade and a few have thrown objects at police

• Police estimated that a crowd of about 3,000 gathered at the Port of Oakland by early evening. Some had marched from the California city's downtown, while others had been bused to the port.

• Occupy demonstrators forced a halt to operations Oakland's port which is the fifth busiest port in the US, on Wednesday night.

• In a statement put out by Oakland Port confirming the closure, officials said maritime area operations would resume "when it is safe and secure to do so."

• Acting Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan said a pedestrian hit by a car was taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

7.47am: My colleague Adam Gabbatt has filmed dramatic footage of police using teargas and explosions on protesters.

One protester can be seen throwing an object.

7.55am GMT: There is a livestream of the protests:

It seems a bit calmer, at least where the camera is at the moment.

8.03am GMT: My colleague Adam Gabbatt (@AdamGabbatt) was in the midst of things when the police used teargas. Here are some of his tweets as officers tried to disperse protesters:

Teargas deployed. And loud explosion #OccupyOakland

That was horrible. Don't have a mask #OccupyOakland

Protesters' barricade on fire. Police 100m away warning to move back #OccupyOakland

That fire has really taken off. Police continue to ask protesters to move or face arrest. Protesters chant "peaceful protest" #OccupyOakland

Police secured the blazing barricade. Used teargas and exploding devices (not sure of proper name, like bangers) #OccupyOakland

Second tear gas felt more concentrated than the first. Back on Broadway now. Some protesters have smashed a window #OccupyOakland

Photo: Adam Gabbatt

Adam took the photo above of part of a teargas cannister.

8.10am GMT: Here's an update from Adam Gabbatt in Oakland:

Protesters had occupied a building close to their base at Frank H Ogawa and barricaded off the main road to it when police arrived. Some 200 officers, who appeared to be from different agencies, ordered protesters to move back before firing teargas and what appeared to be flash bang grenades.

Protesters ran back and police claimed back the street entrance and the protesters' barricade of bins and pallets - which protesters had set on fire - before ordering protesters back a second time. A small group of protesters refused, and teargas was again fired and
more than ten explosives thrown by police. The teargas appeared to be a more concentrated dose, afflicting me for some 30 minutes.

One woman, Lauren Freitas, said she was hit in the legs by rubber bullets or other projectiles. A rapid-firing weapon could definitely be heard during one of the two police advances.

At the moment there is an impasse between police and protesters. Two groups of police prevent protesters moving north beyond 16th Street on Broadway and east along 15th.
Some protesters are sat down in front of police lines, clapping as a man plays guitar. The vast majority are back towards their base at the plaza.

There haven't been clashes for around 30 minutes now. Many protesters are regrouping, having treated teargas with a variety of vinegar and lemon solutions .

8.20am GMT: Just as calm appeared to have returned, explosions were heard on the livestream (see 7.55am GMT). The commentator on the live stream said the explosions came from Oscar Grant plaza and police used teargas and flash bangs again. Calm appears to have returned - at least temporarily - again.

8.23am GMT: A man is wailing and being helped by other protesters. They claim he has been shot by a rubber bullet.

8.28am GMT: Adam Gabbatt says police are now 10m back from the Occupy Oakland camp but there are very few people left there.

8.34am GMT: Chris Filippi, from CBS San Francisco reports that more than 40 people have been arrested.

He has posted a picture of them being "processed".

8.48am GMT: Adam Gabbatt, in Oakland, says the man reportedly hit by a rubber bullet (see 8.23am) is believed to be homeless. He says he was wounded in the knee and is being treated by medics.

8.55am GMT: Police are telling protesters over a tannoy that 15th and Broadway is an "unlawful assembly area" and that they are "commanded to leave immediately".

Police in riot gear stand on the streets during Occupy Oakland protests. Photograph: Reuters

The message on the tannoy says:

If you refuse to move you wil be arrested, if you refuse to moved chemical agents will be used.

9.08am GMT: Protesters have been chanting "We are Scott Olsen" in solidarity with the war veteran who suffered a fractured skull at an Occupy Oakland protest last week.

Scott Olsen holds a banner at a protest Photograph: Keith Shannon

He remains in a serious condition after he was hit by a police projectile. Protesters are now chanting "We are Oakland".

9.22am GMT: A video has been posted, purporting to be of the pedestrian, identified by local media as a protester, who was struck by a vehicle in downtown Oakland during the march . Police say he was taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

It appears he was blocking the car from moving and slapped his hands on the bonnet before it accelerated.

9.27am GMT: The Occupy Wall Street account tweets:

Oakland police have reportedly been covering names & ID numbers to avoid being filmed & called out by #Anonymous. #oo #OWS #OccupyOakland RT

The commentator on the livestream @OakFoSho (see 7.55am), is saying that many officers are covering up their badges. Our reporter on the scene, Adam Gabbatt, says he cannot confirm - or disprove - the reports.

9.55am GMT: Here's another update from my colleague Adam Gabbatt:

Since the third use of teargas, close to the Occupy Oakland camp at Frank H Ogawa plaza, it's gone quieter.

The police line is at Broadway across 15th - 14th is the corner of the plaza - while about 150 protesters mill about in front. Some are playing musical instruments, most just sitting down. Lots of calls saying "it's late" and "let us go home". The protesters aren't kettled but are not keen to concede ground so close to their camp.

Police, presumably, cannot afford to backdown now after the use of explosives and teargas
three times earlier.

Away from the police line and 'front line' protesters, a group of around 20 are gathered near the plaza, dancing to drumbeats. It's a tense atmosphere there too, with some people annoyed at what they perceive to be provocative behaviour by protesters wearing black with their faces covered.

Violence has been threatened, although I personally haven't seen any. Mostly people seem tired - it's nearing 3am here and many were up demonstrating on this same street before 9am on Wesnesday.

10.13am GMT: Freelance writer Jon Campbell claims the reports of police officers hiding badges are inaccurate:

Contrary to other reports, cops do have name tags visible. Also, these are not OPD, they are Alameda Sheriff Dept. #occupyoakland

A police officer points his weapon at protesters on Broadway in Oakland, during the Occupy Oakland protests Photograph: James Fassinger

Campbell also says that the man reportedly hit by a rubber bullet earlier (see 8.48am) (unless he is referring to another man) was hit in the chest and not the knee. He says the man - a bystander named Michael - has been taken to hospital.

10.22am GMT: An update from Reuters says more than 200 officers are at the scene, some ferried downtown aboard buses. At is peak, it says the day of rallies drew around 5,000 people although few remian now:

A man is carried away after being apparently being hit by a police projectile during the Occupy Oakland protests Photograph: James Fassinger

At least one protester was carried away with an injury to his leg. Another who had been arrested, his hands bound behind him, lay on the ground with blood streaming down his face.

Police estimated around 60 protesters had been arrested. Dozens of them were lined up seated along a street curb in plastic wrist restraints as they waited to be taken away.

One of them, Adam Konner, 29, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, said he heard a police announcement ordering "campers to move back to your tents," before police advanced again.
"I was trying to figure what they were saying. I was trying to figure out if I could go back into the plaza," he told Reuters. He said he was suddenly confronted by police who knocked him to the ground and placed him under arrest.

10.33am GMT: Some of the Occupy protesters have been repairing the damage done by a small group of people who did employ violence.

Photo - Adam Gabbatt

This picture was taken at the Tully coffee shop, on the corner of the Occupy Oakland camp.

11.11am GMT: Here's another update from Adam Gabbatt:

By the time I left Broadway at 3.30am there were perhaps 30 to 40 protesters left in front of the police line, most looking very tired and many actually lying down. An Occupy demonstrator with a megaphone announced that the group had "done what we came to achieve" and that they should return to the Occupy Oakland base at Frank H Ogawa plaza. Around 10 to 15 joined him, leaving the rest to continue their peaceful protest.

Looking in at the camp on the way back to my car, many tents appeared to be empty. Around 50 people were sat around outside tents, with the police line of 30 people standing guard to the north.

Walking back to the car I had to take a detour to avoid crossing police lines, and it illustrated how large tonight's operation was. Police were present on each corner I passed, with scores of vehicles parked on main and side streets.

Seven people were sat on a curb, hands bound behind their backs, near 17th Street. Reports suggest around 60 were arrested in total.

11.26am GMT: It appears to have calmed down and most protesters have retired for the night (it's approaching 4.30 am in the morning in Oakland) so we're going to wrap up the blog now. You can follow more Oakland updates on our keyword page here.

Here's a summary of the day's events:

• Occupy demonstrators forced a halt to operations at Oakland's port which is the fifth busiest port in the US, on Wednesday night. Officials said maritime area operations would resume "when it is safe and secure to do so". Police estimated that a crowd of about 3,000 gathered at the Port of Oakland by early evening

• Police used teargas and flash bangs to try to clear protesters, beginning from about midnight. At least one man was carried away injured after protesters said he was shot in the leg by a rubber bullet (the cause of his wound could not be independently verified). Reports suggested he was a homeless man.

• There were - apparently isolated - incidents of violence by some protesters. Projectiles were thrown at police, shop windows smashed and a barricade set on fire. Police said around 60 protesters were arrested.

• A pedestrian, identified by local media as a protester, was taken to a local hospital after being hit by a car. Video posted online showed a man blocking the path of a car and banging his hands on the bonnet before it accelerated (see 9.22am).