Police Violence
The protests, which effectively began when police burned some protesters' tents, were met with further violent police repression. The police regularly used water cannons and tear gas to suppress the protests. With increasing resistance and even counterattacks from protesters, the streets resembled a battlefield on certain days when the police were particularly aggressive.
Police officers have been repeatedly criticized for using excessive force and misusing crowd control weapons, such as using tear gas canisters against individual targets and/or from too close a distance. The clashes resulted in at least 22 deaths and thousands of injuries.
Some demonstrators organized protests that demonstrated peacefulness against police brutality. These included offering flowers to police officers or reading books in front of the police.
