UC Berkeley: 7 arrested at Berkeley’s People’s Park

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — University of California, Berkeley police officers arrested seven people during a clash with demonstrators protesting a controversial student housing project at the historic People’s Park in Berkeley, university officials said Thursday.

The police officers were standing guard Wednesday as a construction crew began cutting down trees when protesters knocked down a chain link fence and entered the park. They destroyed construction materials and faced off with officers, injuring two of them, the university said in a statement.

They were arrested on various charges, including battery on a peace officer, trespassing and resisting an officer. One of them was taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries, the university said.

The work was halted due to safety concerns and officials will in the coming days assess the best way to proceed to build “this urgently needed student housing project,” the university said.

The university plans to build a complex that would accommodate about 1,100 students as well as 125 formerly homeless people. Part of the park will be set aside to commemorate its historic significance in the civil rights movement.