"He's finished"

After Parliament fell, hundreds of special police units launched a counterattack from nearby Tashmajden Park, but again the crowds fought back, hurling bricks and stones at police.

Milosevic's security forces appeared spread thin as countless demonstrations erupted across the country. The police showed repeatedly that they no longer had it in them to fight back.

In some instances, the protesters showed goodwill toward the police. One officer was nearly killed by an angry mob, but his life was spared after a good Samaritan talked sense into the crowd. "What will this gain us? He's just another poor victim of this regime, like the rest of us," the man said.

Protesters then focused their attention on the much-hated Radio Television Serbia, which has served as Milosevic's primary propaganda vehicle for 13 years. Thousands converged on the station, which is located only a few hundred yards from Parliament.

The police holed up inside RTS put up a strong resistance, pummeling the crowd with tear gas and rubber bullets. But, as they had done at the Parliament building, protesters set fires to drive the police out of RTS.

Young men tossed Molotov cocktails into the building, then hid behind other buildings as police fired a burst of rubber bullets at exposed protesters.

One man fell unconscious when a rubber bullet struck his head. Citizens rushed in to pull him out of the line of fire, and delivered him to a nearby ambulance.

Another was struck by a massive electricity pole that came loose from leaning protesters. One man died when he was crushed by the same tractor used earlier in the day to take the Parliament.

Police launched volley after volley of tear gas at the growing crowd in front of RTS, but some protesters had already secured police gas masks from their previous confrontations. Still others wore makeshift masks created from the tablecloths of a ransacked restaurant.

The battered yellow tractor that had become a symbol of the fall of the Parliament building made a second appearance, charging the television station. But the farmer steering the tractor was temporarily driven back by a hail of rubber bullets.

Again and again the crowd charged the front doors of the state media. As hundreds retreated from tear gas exposure, thousands of replacements arrived. Finally, some anonymous soul issued the final charge order. Thousands of protesters launched a final attack and poured into the television station courtyard. The building was well in flames by then, and police were simply daunted by the sheer number of people storming the television station.

The next attack came from the rear of the RTS building. Only this time, police fired live bullets on occasion, shooting one man in the stomach. Countless more were struck by rubber bullets, and hundreds suffered massive tear gas exposure.

But the rowdy throng refused to be deterred, and hurled a storm of rocks through the windows where police hid.

More cars were set on fire, and one man played demolition derby in the television parking lot. Cars occasionally exploded below the windows where police made their last stand.

After one hour, the police gave up. A dozen officers emerged from a side door with a handful of RTS employees. They were jeered and taunted, occasionally swatted, but no one was injured.

Around the corner, dozens of police simply surrendered. Apart from an occasional bully, the crowed embraced the officers and chanted, "The blue are ours!" referring to the color of the police uniforms.

"I was only out here to protect myself. I hope it's over!" one officer reflected, standing under a waft of smoke.

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