UPDATE 3:30 P.M.: CHP responded to LoCO questions by explaining that earlier there had been reports of a vehicle driving recklessly on Hwy 299 and then again on Hwy 101.  An officer spotted the vehicle and attempted to make an enforcement stop.  The driver fled. The female passenger was taken into custody. Additional reinforcements came to the scene but were unable to locate the driver. Officers are now attempting to learn the names of the driver and passenger and determine more about the situation.

According to CHP, the flipped vehicle (only one) was an unrelated incident. The gps coordinates  on the map below refer to the flipped vehicle. (See CHP dispatch here for the flipped vehicle.)

Original post below………………………….

Julia Green, a LoCO reader, described what she called “massive police activity” on Samoa Bld “between the mill and 255.”  Another reader described two flipped over vehicles. A third reader, Melanie Bettenhausen, said there were a “dozen CHP cars, [a]police dog, [and an] airplane on Samoa between Manila and the bridges to Eureka. She added that the scene looked like a manhunt to her with some “officers staked out at the entrance to the bushes” while others were at a distance. 

Information is coming in but the CHP sergeants authorized to give out information are still at the scene, according to CHP dispatch, so the official account 

The green arrow on the map below points to the gps coordinates available on the CHP site but from past experience these coordinates are often don’t accurately indicate the scene of the incident.

View Larger Map

Walking up the hill from Beşiktaş toward Taksim Square yesterday afternoon, perhaps I should have paid closer attention to the weather.

It had rained in recent days, and now a heavy humidity hung in the air, and the skies were overcast. A summer storm was on the way.

But at that moment there were rays of sunshine coming through, and people were out walking and enjoying the day.

It was the 18th day since protesters had descended on Gezi Park in Taksim Square, the heart of the city, in a show of defiance against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s controversial plans to build a shopping center in the park. However, in the past week there seemed to be some positive developments. The prime minister had met with protesters, and agreed to halt construction plans pending the outcome of a court ruling. He had even reportedly agreed to consider a citywide referendum on the park.

With these sunny developments in mind, I entered Taksim Square.

The first thing that stood out was the police presence. Last week, when I visited the park, there were no police in Taksim Square (by government order) and a festival-like atmosphere prevailed. It was almost like being at Woodstock.

Of course, I’d seen the news the following Monday, when police returned to the square with a vengeance, firing tear gas and water cannons at the protesters, and even the Revolution Market, which had been giving out free food, was set ablaze. But then there was the meeting between the prime minister and the demonstrators, the police appeared to back off, and the celebrations had continued. For example, on Thursday night a German pianist had performed a composition, “Light Soldiers,” dedicated to the protesters live on Taksim Square.

Now it was Saturday, just after noon, and with a humid, overcast sky I entered Gezi Park. The protesters had erected barricades at the entrance, including an overturned car, and tourists were taking photos