Officials would'nt be able to get tanks and guns in place in time. A spokesman for the Highway Patrol said on TV the reason police couldn't stop protesters from blocking 880 was that it takes time to formulate a plan of action. Seriously, he said that. Despite the 100 percent certainty that whenever agitated protesters assemble in downtown Oakland at night window smashing will soon begin, followed by other criminal acts as the mob heads toward the freeway.