Protesters beat up cop and take his gun

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Black Bloc anarchists break windows near cash machines inside a bus terminal during a protest against Sao Paulo's Governor Geraldo Alckmin in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Friday, Oct. 25, 2013. Protesters are demanding a free public transportation system. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Law enforcement officials say protesters beat up a police colonel and stole his service pistol and radio during a Friday night demonstration demanding lower public transportation fares in Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city.

The Sao Paulo state police department said in a statement posted Saturday on its website that the demonstration turned violent when so-called Black Bloc anarchists shattered store windows and destroyed ATM machines, turnstiles and other installations at one of the city's biggest bus terminals.

The statement said about a dozen protesters attacked Col. Reynaldo Rossi, knocked him to the ground and broke his collarbone.

Police have not recovered Rossi's .40-calibre pistol or his radio.

Anger over the cost of poor public transportation services has helped fuel massive protests that have hit several cities since June.