Police, in an overwhelming show of force, declared the march illegal almost as soon as it began, firing rubber bullets and canisters of pepper spray and smoke after small bands of anarchists responded to calls to disperse by rolling huge metal trash bins, throwing rocks and breaking windows.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl commended police for their "swift decisions to send a message to the anarchists that we will not tolerate unlawful behavior," adding there was minimal property damage as a result.
Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper said 17 to 19 protesters were arrested and charged with misdemeanors, mainly failure to disperse and disorderly conduct.
Protesters complained about the city's response, saying their rights were trampled and that violence would not have broken out if police had allowed the marchers their say.
Jesse Ericson of the Pittsburgh G-20 Resistance Project, an umbrella organization of protest groups, condemned the city for a "bumbling and violent police action."
The G-20 Resistance Project has encouraged "affinity groups" to protest Friday morning at companies that it says represent greed, exploitation, warfare and other social ills, with potential targets including banks, Starbucks, McDonald's, grocery stores and a Marine Corps recruiting center.
The clashes began after hundreds of protesters, many decrying capitalism, tried to march from an outlying neighborhood toward the convention center where the summit is being held.
City Responds.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl commended police for their "swift decisions to send a message to the anarchists that we will not tolerate unlawful behavior," adding there was minimal property damage as a result.
Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper said 17 to 19 protesters were arrested and charged with misdemeanors, mainly failure to disperse and disorderly conduct.
Ravenstahl said police will be ready.
"We'll continue to make sure our neighborhoods are safe," he said.
Police Responds.
The clashes began after hundreds of protesters, many decrying capitalism, tried to march from an outlying neighborhood toward the convention center where the summit is being held.
The protesters clogged streets, banged on drums and chanted "Ain't no power like the power of the people, 'cause the power of the people don't stop."
The marchers included small groups of self-described anarchists, some wearing dark clothes, ski masks and bandanas and carrying black flags. Others wore helmets and safety goggles.
The marchers did not have a permit and, after a few blocks, police declared it an unlawful assembly. They played a recorded announcement over a loudspeaker ordering people to leave, as well as ear-piercing sirens, then police in riot gear moved in to break it up.
Protesters split into smaller groups. Some rolled large metal trash bins toward police, and a man in a black hooded sweat shirt threw rocks at a police car from Charlotte, N.C., breaking the front windshield. Protesters broke windows in a few businesses, including a bank branch, a Boston Market restaurant and a BMW dealership.
Officers fired rubber bullets, pepper spray and smoke at the protesters and set off a flash-bang grenade. Some of those exposed to the pepper spray coughed and complained that their eyes were watering and stinging.
"The demonstrators were being aggressive toward the officers who felt it was necessary to utilize that kind of force," Harper said late Thursday.
At one point, officers surged onto the sidewalks and grabbed several protesters who had been shouting at them.
Such street demonstrations have become the norm at world economic gatherings, including a G-20 meeting in London in April. The protesters here appeared to number fewer than 1,000, a fraction of the 50,000 that took to the streets of Seattle a decade ago at a World Trade Organization event.
A PNC Bank window falls apart in Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009 in the aftermath of a protest of the G20 summit, expected to begin Thursday in Pittsburgh.
A man shouts as he holds a replica of the Stanley Cup and cheers in support of the Pittsburgh Penguins as riot police gather during protests in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009 ahead of the G20 summit.
A police officer adjusts a protestor's glasses in Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009 during a protest of the G20 summit, expected to begin Thursday in Pittsburgh.
Riot Police march through a street during a demonstration in Pittsburgh where the G20 Summit is expected to begin, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009.
A protester is held in Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009 while protesting the G20 summit, expected to begin Thursday in Pittsburgh.
A broken window is seen in the aftermath of a protest in Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009 before the G-20 summit, expected to begin Thursday in Pittsburgh.
A broken window at a car dealership is seen in the aftermath of a protest in Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009 before the G-20 summit, expected to begin Thursday in Pittsburgh.
Two people are detained by security personnel in the Shadyside section of Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009. Police fired canisters of pepper spray and smoke at marchers protesting the Group of 20 summit Thursday after anarchists responded to calls to disperse by rolling trash bins and throwing rocks
Police make their way through a market on their way to a protest in Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009 before the G-20 summit, expected to begin Thursday in Pittsburgh.
A woman holding a child makes a V-sign as protestors march through the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009. Protestors clashed with security forces ahead of Thursday's G-20 summit in Pittsburgh.
A Pittsburgh police officer uses his baton to keep people away from him as demonstrators march in the Lawrenceville section in Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009 in protest of the G-20 summit, expected to begin Thursday in Pittsburgh.
Protesters begin a march in Arsenal Park in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009, ahead of the G20 summit which is scheduled to begin in Pittsburgh Thursday
A woman holding a child makes a V-sign as protesters march through the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009, ahead of Thursday's G-20 summit.
Police in riot gear redeploy after confrontations with protestors near the Strip District in Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009. Hundreds of demonstrators marched in protest of the G-20 summit, which is expected to begin in Pittsburgh on Thursday.
A woman raises her fist as protesters march past her in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009. Demonstrators marched ahead of the G20 summit scheduled to begin in Pittsburgh Thursday.
A man is detained by security personnel in the Shadyside of Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009. Police fired canisters of pepper spray and smoke at marchers protesting the Group of 20 summit Thursday after anarchists responded to calls to disperse by rolling trash bins and throwing rocks.
A police officer warns protestors as he holds the pin on a canister in Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009 where the G20 summit, expected to begin in Pittsburgh.
Protesters organize at Arsenal Park in Pittsburgh, before beginning a march against the G-20 Summit, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009.
Stephon Boatwright of Syracuse, N.Y. wears a Guy Fawkes mask as he participates in a demonstration in Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009, ahead of the two-day G-20 summit
A protester throws an object at a police car in Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009 while protesting the G20 summit, expected to begin Thursday in Pittsburgh.
Demonstrators march in the Lawrenceville section in Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009 in protest of the G20 summit, expected to begin Thursday in Pittsburgh.
A protester washes the eyes of a fellow protester during a demonstration in Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009. Police fired canisters of pepper spray and smoke at marchers protesting the Group of 20 summit Thursday after anarchists responded to calls to disperse by rolling trash bins and throwing rocks.
Demonstrators march with a banner during a march in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009, in protest of the G20, which is expected to begin in Pittsburgh on Thursday.
Demonstrators begin a protest march in Arsenal Park in Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009 in protest of the G20 summit, expected to begin Thursday in Pittsburgh.
Officers fire pepper spray and smoke at protesters during clashes in Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009 ahead of the G-20 summit, which is expected to begin Thursday evening in the city.
A protester runs from police in Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009 while protesting the G20 summit, expected to begin Thursday in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh police in riot gear redeploy after confrontations with protestors near the Strip District in Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009. Hundreds of demonstrators marched in protest of the G20, which is expected to begin in Pittsburgh on Thursday.
An unidentified man holds his hears and ducks during clashes between protesters and police in Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009 ahead of the G-20 summit.
Demonstrators march in the Lawrenceville section in Pittsburgh, Thursday Sept. 24, 2009 in protest of the G20 summit, expected to begin Thursday in the city.
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