Philippine police van rams protesters in front of U.S. Embassy

MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine police van rammed into protesters, leaving several bloodied, as an anti-U.S. rally turned violent Wednesday at the U.S. Embassy in Manila.

The van’s driver, police officer Franklin Kho, told reporters he did not deliberately hit the protesters but was trying to drive away because they were hitting the vehicle with wooden clubs and he feared they would commandeer it and use it to attack other policemen. “They were already trying to seize the vehicle,” Kho told reporters.

Associated Press TV footage showed the van repeatedly ramming the protesters as it drove wildly back and forth after activists surrounded and started hitting it with the batons they seized from police.

In front of horrified crowds, the van suddenly charged backward then sprinted forward twice over a space of about 60 feet, barreling through the scattered protesters and hurtling some to the side like bowling pins. A few were run over but somehow managed to stand. Some screamed in surprise, others hurled stones at the van and yelled invectives.

At least three student activists were taken to a hospital after they were run over by the van, protest leader Renato Reyes said.

“There was absolutely no justification for it,” Reyes said of the violent police dispersal of about 1,000 protesters. “Even as the president vowed an independent foreign policy, Philippine police forces still act as running dogs of the U.S.”

More than two dozen policemen were injured, officials said, adding that police observed “maximum tolerance” but protesters kept assaulting officers.

Police lobbed tear gas and arrested at least 29 protesters who broke through a line of riot police and hurled red paint at the officers at the start of the rally at the embassy.