Berkeley police learning how to deal with violent protests

Supporters of the president held a rally for him at Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park — a demonstration that’s not unlike entering an angry bull’s pen and waving a red flag in front of his face.

It didn’t take long for the scene to turn violent and bloody.

The Berkeley Police Department, which has been criticized for allowing bloody encounters to happen, attempted to contain the fighting so it didn’t spread.

They could’ve stepped in, shields raised and batons brandished, but that most likely would’ve led to even more violence, police believe.

“We always work to ensure that the police response is not the focus of the event,” said Sgt. Andrew Frankel, a spokesman for the Berkeley Police Department. “The more times we do it, the more effective we’re going to be at taking action only at those people who are responsible for breaking the law.”

At least on Saturday, one-time rules imposed on Civic Center Park allowed officers to confiscate weapons before people entered the park.

Think about that for a second longer: There was a checkpoint to walk into a public park — and more than one knife was confiscated.

“Because that’s what it’s come to,” Frankel said as he sipped from a glass of coffee at Caffe Strada on Wednesday morning at a Coffee With a Cop event.

Frankel was one of more than 10 Berkeley police officers there for the community-engagement event — the second of the year — that lets concerned citizens get some face time with officers.

Here, in a cafe where students in ripped jeans hunched over their laptops, was an opportunity for officers to hear from people upset by rallies that have turned into hand-to-hand melees. Frankel defended the department’s approach.

“It was clear that we weren’t the provocateurs at any of these events,” he said. “I think we’ve learned from lessons of the past about how we respond to these situations. Every time we have one, we evaluate them very closely for lessons learned.”

I hope officers are studying as hard as those students, because there are going to be more events, especially if right-wing pundit Ann Coulter visits Berkeley.

And more people will get hurt. How long until someone dies?

Berkeley firefighters reported treating 11 people for injuries on Saturday. Officers made 20 arrests for alleged crimes ranging from public intoxication to battery to assault. At least eight officers were hurt.

Still, not everyone who showed up for Coffee With a Cop had violent rallies on their minds.

What Sabe Hundenski came to talk about was traffic safety. A pedestrian had been hit by a car on Tuesday night near her home on Ashby Avenue.

“His mouth was bleeding. Lots of neighbors came out to help,” Hundenski told me as we waited for officers to arrive at the coffee shop. “He had to go to the hospital. His mouth was bleeding and he had knocked out some teeth, and they weren’t sure whether he had a concussion or neck problem.”

Another person who came to talk to officers was Alana Mirabella, who was walking on Bancroft Way toward her car when I caught up to her. She had come to Caffe Strada because she was curious about why the brawls outside of the park weren’t stopped on Saturday. Mirabella, who lives in Lafayette, spent probably 20 minutes talking with an officer who told her he had briefly lost hearing after a bomb — a firecracker placed into a bottle — detonated near him on Saturday.

“I was wondering why wouldn’t they do something,” said Mirabella, whose daughter attends the College Preparatory School in Oakland. “What’s stopping them from stopping the crime is the question.”

Does protecting freedom of speech now mean standing by while people assault each other?