17 arrested as Seattle May Day protests turn violent

(CNN) A May Day protest in downtown Seattle turned violent Wednesday night with police saying they resorted to pepper spray to disperse demonstrators who pelted them with whatever was at hand.

Seattle Police said the crowd tossed rocks bottles metal pipes fireworks and even a skateboard.

The clashes left eight officers with injuries and police said they arrested 17 people on various offenses including property destruction and assault.

The injured officers suffered mostly bumps and bruises with the exception. One officer however was struck in the knee by a fist sized rock Seattle Police said.

May Day protests turn violent in Seattle Hundreds of supporters of Marine Le Pen leader of France's far right National Front party took to the streets on May Day Wednesday as part of the day's celebrations in images captured by iReporter Batareykin. A police officer and demonstrator clash during May Day demonstrations in Seattle on Wednesday May 1. A peaceful protest turned violent and police say they sprayed demonstrators with pepper spray after they threw everything from metal pipes to fireworks at officers. Hundreds of thousands of people across the globe take to the streets on May 1 to demand better working conditions during what is known as International Workers' Day. iReporter TTeixeira captured this image from a May Day protest in Porto Portugal. People protested with great order but showed discontent against the government who they blame for this economic crisis she said. They want the government to resign and the Troika out of this country. Tens of thousands of workers and labor activists march through the central business district in Jakarta Indonesia. Photographer Michael Kandel was out at the May Day protest in Washington yesterday evening when protesters veered off the marching path and stormed a GAP store. Police intervened to secure the entrance and a skirmish broke out according to CNN. Demonstrators in Madrid take part in a Labor Day protest against the Spanish government's austerity policies. Indonesian workers wearing ant costumes to depict the exploitation of workers participate in a march to the presidential palace in Jakarta. In Taipei Taiwan more than 20 000 workers staged a protest against President Ma Ying jeou's pension reforms. Police prepare behind a line of barbed wire before thousands of Indonesian workers arrive outside the presidential palace in Jakarta. Members and sympathizers of the Hungarian communist party the Munkaspart march in Budapest. A protestor holds an oversized mask of billionaire tycoon Li Ka shing the chairman of Hutchison Whampoa as hundreds of dock workers protest pay and working conditions in Hong Kong. People march in a May Day demonstration Athens. Participants raise their fists during a demonstration in Athens. A May Day protestor uses catapults during clashes in Istanbul. Supporters of the nationalist party Red and Black march in Tirana Albania demand the resignation of Premier Sali Berisha. An elderly activist attends a traditional May Day Communist rally in Moscow. Government employees protest for better pay and job security in Srinagar India. Demonstrators march against the Spanish government's austerity policies in Barcelona. A Cambodian worker stands on a vehicle as he attends a May Day protest in Phnom Penh. Indian members of the All India Trade Union Congress take part in a rally in Hyderabad. Russian communist party activists carry red flags and banners during their traditional May Day rally in Moscow. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 May Day protests around the world

During the clashes police deployed flash bang grenades and tackled unruly protesters to the ground.

Other demonstrators ran through the fog created by tear gas wearing masks and holding protests signs.

A woman who was driving by the protest scene was wounded slashed by glass when a protester hurled a glass bottle at her car shattering her window police said. She was treated by a medic at the scene.

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Things have quieted down for the night. Officers will continue to patrol the department tweeted early Thursday morning.

The clashes came after a day of peaceful marches in the city CNN affiliate KING reported.

Hundreds of thousands of people across the globe take to the streets on May 1 to demand better working conditions during what is known as International Workers' Day.

In Washington on Wednesday two May Day groups with differing views fought in Lafayette Park near the White House police said.

The skirmish between a group calling itself the White Student Union and another the May Day Workers escalated as combatants threw bags of urine and flag poles at each other.

One person was arrested U.S. Park Police said.

We were here to protest communism and to stand up for the blue collar working class. And then I got urine thrown on me said Matthew Heimbach president of the White Student Union. So it shows really how tolerant these people are.

John Zangas who was with the May Day Workers said people were offended by some of the statements from the White Student Union.

I don't even want to characterize them but they're fairly bigoted said Zangas.

CNN's Tina Burnside contributed to this report.

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