video transcript

ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION STORY: Striking police officers took control over police stations in Bolivia on Thursday as they demand wage increases and pension plans. Low ranking officers and their wives stormed a La Paz police station in charge of security for the president among a flurry of tear gas and pepper spray. According to local news reports, the striking officers took the building by force and seized guns and ammunition inside the station and kicked out the police chief amidst clouds of tear gas. The president of a group of wives of police officers, Guadalupe Cardenas, said they wanted to speak directly to Bolivian President Evo Morales to meet their demands. The striking police and their spouses called for a wage increase among other demands. Police earn a base salary of $188 a month and don't have life insurance or a pension plan. The top salary for officers with over 15 years of service is $298. Government minister Carlos Romero has said President Evo Morales' administration is not able to meet the salary demands. The protests have spread to eight of the nine Bolivian departments, shutting down police headquarters in several areas. A police statistics agency said nearly 10 percent of Bolivia's 33,000 police officers were not completing their duties.