Brendan is on the scene at 5th & Olive where a tense standoff is blowing up into an all out confrontation between angry protesters and angry police. Pepper spray has been "liberally deployed," reports Brendan, and police are now throwing...
Brendan is on the scene at 5th & Olive where a tense standoff is blowing up into an all out confrontation between angry protesters and angry police. Pepper spray has been "liberally deployed," reports Brendan, and police are now throwing flash bang grenades into the crowd "like they are beads at Mardi Gras"—I could hear several go off near Brendan. "I would not be surprised if someone is hurt right now," says Brendan.
Ansel Herz | The StrangerBANG! Flash bang grenade goes off near 5th & Olive
For their part, protesters are throwing fireworks back at the police, along with other debris. Brendan says he's seen a bottle of water and a rock thrown at police. Stranger news intern Ansel Herz reports seeing rocks, paint balls, flares, and glass thrown by the crowd, though he didn't see any injuries.
"Whatever it's original intent the protest became a tense standoff," says Brendan, after police attempted to arrest several protesters. Other protesters fought back, and Brendan can't be sure i