This is how folks should handle police brutality in 2011.. We are headed down the fascist highway where the folks who are hired to protect and serve are increasingly brutalizing and killing us..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qdxh-KaSBSg
This is How Police Brutality Should Be Handles in 2011
January 3, 2011 By
A Tale of Two Threats: Who Do the Police Let Live When Danger is Present?
November 12, 2010 By
Yesterday something strange and quite frightening took place in the San Francisco Bay Area. A distraught 51-year-old man named Craig Carlos-Valentino hoped in his SUV during the height of rush hour and drove from Antioch to the middle of the Bay Bridge which is one of most traveled spans in the country. Accompanying him was his 16 year daughter.
Carlos-Valentino stopped his car mid-span and called local news station KCBS where he announced that his car was wired with explosives and he had a gun. he then followed up his call to the police where he announced the same thing. Needless to say local authorities went nuts. They stopped traffic, alerted the bomb squad, the free way entrances were closed. People upon hearing this man had a bomb started turning around on the freeway and headed back toward Oakland. Local programming was interrupted and everyone was on edge. We had a man on the Bay Bridge who was ready to blow things up.
Everyone was on edge because they remembered an angry man White supremacist named Byron Williams who back in July was stopped by police on the 580 freeway leading to the Bay Bridge. He was stopped by police for some sort of traffic violation and came out with guns blazing. Williams had on full body armor and had an arsenal fit for a small army. When all was said and done, Williams shot 3 officers and left the freeway strewn with bullets. Williams was on his way to San Francisco to kill liberal workers at the Tides Foundation.
Craig Carlos-Valentino
With respect to Carlos-Valentino and his bomb threat, everyone was on alert. There was a stand-off on the bridge during which this man tossed his gun, allowed his daughter to run off to the arms of police who were near by. He threatened to commit suicide and was talked off the ledge of the bridge, the whole time folks had no idea about his car. Did it or did it not have explosives?
Eventually Carlos-Valentino was taken into custody. We later learned this man was upset because his wife was cheating on him and was gearing up to leave him.
This man causes massive traffic jams and got all sorts of law enforcement involved to make sure he wasn’t a domestic terrorist. Later the police explained his ordeal and Mr Carlos-Valentino will live to see another day.
The key words here ‘He got to live’. Police used caution. They explained away a man who potentially put thousands of people’s lives in danger as someone who was not real threat, but someone who was disturbed. In other words he was humanized. We came away feeling sorry for this man. We don’t know if Carlos-Valentino was abusive, cheated or did anything wrong. He was just a trouble man who issued a bomb threat.
One has to wonder why such caution is not ever afforded to any number of people who have done far far less in terms of endangering the lives of others or themselves, yet wind up being killed by police.
We can look at Amadou Diallo reaching for his wallet.. Shot 41 times. The man had no criminal record and was un-armed.
We can look at the case of Sean Bell who shot 50 times drove away from a club where he held a bachelor party. Bell was unarmed, had committed no crime, but well-trained police thought he and his passengers had reached for a gun.
We can look at the shooting death of 7 year old Ayana Stanley Jones in Detroit. Police busted into the wrong house looking for a suspect, beat her suprised grandmother and shot Jones.
Last month Denroy Henry a star football player at Pace University was shot after being ordered to move his car from in front of club where a fight occurred. Henry who was not involved in the altercation, bumped a police officer with his car. End result was the cop unloading his gun into the car and killing an unarmed Henry.
This list can go on and on. One has to ask the hard questions, why can’t law enforcement show the same restraint they do so many others who arguably do far worse. Hell even Byron Williams is still alive and he shot down 3 cops. Why are these unarmed men and women always being killed by police?
Derrick Jones
This past Monday police were called to the Kwik Kuts barbershop in East Oakland owned by popular 37-year-old father Derrick Jones. Police say Jones was involved in a fight with a woman at the shop, not his wife and when they approached he ran away. Jones who was unarmed was shot 8 times by two officers, one of whom shot him twice while he lay on the ground.
Police said they thought the unarmed Jones was reaching for his waistband. Eye witnesses vehemently dispute the tale. Jones had his hands in the air and was shot by cops who many feel had a vendetta out for him.
According to neighborhood folks, Oakland cops never forgot or forgave the way Jones and his family stood up to police for their brutality and misconduct when he was 16 years old and was accused of stealing his own bike. Disbelieving cops assaulted him and his 19-year-old sister . The family fought back and got two of the officers involved fired.
Over the years Jones was frequently stopped and harassed by police and so were many of his neighbors. As one shop owner who wished to remain anonymous explained, ‘Any excuse to smash on folks near the barbershop was used’. Monday’s altercation was no different. This time the shooting death of yet another unarmed Black man in Oakland came on the heels of killer cop Johannes Mehserle receiving a super light 2 year sentenced for the murder of unarmed Oscar Grant.
We are posting up audio from the rally for Justice for Derrick Jones which took place in front of his barbershop yesterday. Folks need to check out what’s being said to get a full understanding of who he was, what his family did here in Oakland and how this relates to the injustice experienced by Oscar Grant’s family.
Here in pt1 Derrick Jones’ friend speaks about what happened after he got shot by Oakland police and the how witnesses are being intimidated by the police. Also Oscar Grant’s Uncle Bobby speaks and talks about what took place in the courtroom during sentencing. He reminds people what its gonna take to bring about justice and how the shooting of unarmed Derrick Jones and unarmed Oscar Grant are connected.
Minister Keith & Uncle Bobby
We finish off with some enlightening remarks from Yvette of BAMN who runs down what this case is about and why it appears to be some sort of vigilante killing. Jones was targeted by OPD
http://www.swift.fm/mrdaveyd/song/77329/
In pt 2 Minister Keith of the Nation of Islam gives a passionate speech about the legacy of ‘unarmed Black men’ being shot. He also gives details as to how these shootings are supposed to be investigated. He calls out the DA Nancy Omally
Do Not Resist the Police! Oakland Police Conduct Mass Arrest During Oscar Grant Protests
November 6, 2010 By
- Police might as well prepared Marshall Law in Oakland, because they arrested everyone in sight near 6th and east 17th. They declared the entire block a ‘crime scene’ and said everyone within it were arrested as agitators. Police claimed that a rock was thrown at them. Over 150 people were arrested including folks who weren’t even part of the march.
Here’s the link to our special Hard Knock Radio/ Flashpoints broadcast on the Johannes Mehserle sentencing with myself and Sabrina Jacobs…Our guest included Oscar Grant’s uncle Cephus Johnson aka Uncle Bobby,Jack Bryson who’s sons were on the Fruitvale BART platform w/ Oscar when he was killed….We also spoke with Grant family lawyer John Burris, LA correspondent Thiandiswe Chimurenga, M1 of dead prez, Minister Keith Muhammad of the Nation of Islam , Jesse Strauss Dennis Bernstein and Miguel Molina of Flashpoints and Alan Gomez of Puente Arizona.
Here’s a link to the show
http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/65170
———————————————————————-
Tonight Oakland Police showed us what Marshall Law was all about as they conducted mass arrests in East Oakland around 6th and East 17th. All in all over 150 people were arrested and likely to be taken to North County or Santa Rita for the weekend.
This all began when about 500 marchers left downtown where city hall is located and attempted to march to the Fruitvale BART station where Oscar Grant was murdered. OPD had devised a boxed in strategy which was described as a scrimmage line. With the use of helicopters, dozens of patrol cars and undercover cops spread throughout the crowd, police in a series of manuevers tried to corral marchers into a block and immobilize them.
The marchers were a multi-ethnic crowd featuring people of all ages and classes. many were disappointed with the outcome and felt that justice was not served. The overwhelming majority of the marchers were peaceful, in fact this was affirmed early on KGO News who had a reporter in the crowd. As the night went on the narrative changed when it was reported that some car windows were broken. Even though this wasn’t done my 99% of the marchers it was the excuse the police needed. One of the marchers described the police as increasingly aggressive when they found it it difficult to contain 500 people.
When folks arrived at 6th and East 17th the police in riot gear had all sides blocked and declared the area a crime scene. Many of the folks had no idea what that meant and why they were not allowed to leave. Police then announced that everyone except the press would be subjected to arrest. Some marchers were getting conflicting information where they were told they could leave, but when they attempted they were told they could not.
Police were on bull horns telling the crowd ‘This is a crime scene Do Not Resist the Police.” Again no one had any idea why it was a crime scene and what that meant.
Observers from Lawyers Guild were told that a rock was thrown at the police and everyone in the march were going to be arrested as ‘agitators’. This was the story given when I was out there. Imagine our surprise when we got home and saw the evening news running stories saying that someone had snatched a gun from the holster of an officer, and someone else had hit an officer with a car. That wasn’t the 500 people in the march, those were two individuals, both who have been arrested.
We later heard that everyone was arrested for unlawfully assembly. None of this information was made known to the veteran reporters who called into our L’Onda radio show on KPFA including a veteran cop watch leader who was with the marchers as an observer and not allowed to leave with the accredited press.
The police also claim that folks had broken other windows. The question raised is why blame everyone in the march? Police had undercover officers amongst the marchers, they weren’t aware of who specifically violated the law? Why not give folks an opportunity to disperse versus arresting everyone wholesale?
Do Not Resist the Police seemed to be the new mantra from an oppressive force that has now gotten away with murder.
Folks observing the mass arrests were talking about the outlandish remarks attributed to sentencing Judge Robert J Perry. This included him telling the Grant family that with President Obama in the White House folks should not see this incident as racial. He parroted all the talking points of the defense and pretty much blamed Oscar Grant for his own death. Please listen to the radio interview we posted up that features report backs from several people who sat in the courtroom including Grant’s Uncle and news reporter Thandi Chimurenga Here’s the link:http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/65170
Many are trying to figure out ways to remove him from the bench.. here’s a link to that process http://www.ajs.org/ethics/eth_impeachement.asp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nrqf_7nki8Y&feature=channel
Police systematically booked people. from what we observed they seemed to be separating organizers from 'ordinary folk's
Jack Bryson's two sons were on the platform and witnessed Oscar get killed. He was still in shock over some of the outrageous things Judge Robert Perry said before sentencing Johannes Mehersle. He wants see him recalled
There was hundreds of police out in the streets..They out-numbered protestors
To see more photos click link below
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=564744&id=882195719&l=a5315b96a3
NYPD Black and Blue: COP Calls 911 & Gets Severely Beaten & Pepper Sprayed By Other Cops
September 9, 2010 By
photo credit: Panther 1619
This is the second story in less than a year where we had cop on cop violence.. Folks may recall it was about a year ago an off duty cop named Omar J Edwards came upon a robbery and was shot and killed by fellow officers . It was reported that Edwards did what a good officer should do he tried to apprehend a suspect who fled the scene. As he was pursuing the suspect he was shot and killed by fellow officers who thought he was the thug.
In this latest drama we have a NYPD cop’s wife who called for help against a gang of thugs including a man brandishing a gun.. When officers arrived on the scene they beat Larry Jackson a fellow NYPD officer. Here’s what the story reads
An NYPD cop whose wife called 911 for help against a gang of thugs says he was brutally beaten by baton-wielding fellow officers who stormed his Queens home. Larry Jackson suffered a broken right hand and multiple bruises from kicks and billy-club blows he said he got from the men in blue called to his home when a gunman menaced guests at his daughter’s birthday party. “To get my butt beat like that was unnecessary,” said the six-year veteran assigned to the 110th Precinct. “We called the police, and this is what happened to me.”
“I’m shocked, angry and disappointed,” said the 6-foot-3, 300-pound Jackson.
Prosecutors and the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau are probing his claims.
His hand in a cast, he met with the Daily News on Wednesday and lifted his shirt to show the scars from Sunday’s early morning confrontation. Jackson, who is black, said the excessive force by the cops, who were white, might have been racially motivated.“They didn’t treat me like a house-owner calling for help,” he said. “Everyone who lives in the 113th Precinct is not a perp.”
You can continue reading the story HERE
As you read this we need to ask ourselves at what point do we step up and turn a corner on what appears to be a war against Black folks and people of color? These incidents are happening way too often to be accidents. There’s a pervasive culture within the police departments and in society in general that sees us as enemies to be feared and contained and not as friends and neighbors who need to be respected and helped. We also need to be asking when will cops on the force step up and separate themselves from this poisonous culture and see themselves as a part of a larger community that is being targeted? It should be obvious that at the end of the day they aren’t being respected by fellow officers..
-Davey D-
August 11 1965-Los Angeles Erupted:The Watts Riots-have Things Changed Much?
August 11, 2010 By
Have things changed much since 1965? For many of us not really..Here’s a brief run down of the Watts Riots courtesy of Wikipedia.. One thing we should keep in mind is the tyrannical rule of LAPD Chief William Parker. His policy was to bring in southern cops to patrol the streets of LA specifically to contain Black residents and let them know the police were in charge. He also had a policy of having his officers engage every Black male they came across at a young age so they would have fear of the police instilled in them..
August 11, 1965, in Watts, a neighborhood in Los Angeles Lee Minikus, a California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer, pulled over Marquette Frye, who Minikus believed was intoxicated because of his observed erratic driving. Frye failed to pass sobriety tests, including walking in a straight line and touching his nose, and was arrested soon after. Minikus refused to let Frye’s brother, Ronald, drive the car home, and radioed for it to be impounded. As events escalated, a crowd of onlookers steadily grew from dozens to hundreds.[1] The mob became violent, throwing rocks and other objects while shouting at the police officers. A struggle ensued shortly resulting in the arrest of Marquette and Ronald Frye, as well as their mother.
Burning buildings during the riots.
Though the riots began in August, there had previously been a buildup of racial tension in the area. The riots that began on August 11 resulted from an amalgamation of such events in Watts, and the arrest of three Frye family members broke the tension as violence spilled onto the streets of Watts for four days.
Watts suffered from various forms and degrees of damage from the residents’ looting and vandalism that seriously threatened the security of the city. Some participants chose to intensify the level of violence by starting physical fights with police, blocking the firemen of the Los Angeles Fire Department from their safety duties, or even beating white motorists. Others joined the riot by breaking into stores, stealing whatever they could, and some setting the stores themselves on fire.[2]
LAPD Police Chief William Parker also fueled the radicalized tension that already threatened to combust, by publicly labeling the people he saw involved in the riots as “monkeys in the zoo”.[2] Overall, an estimated $40 million in damage was caused as almost 1,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed. Most of the physical damage was confined to white-owned businesses that were said to have caused resentment in the neighborhood due to perceived unfairness. Homes were not attacked, although some caught fire due to proximity to other fires
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbElAfALWbM
Man Facing 16 Years for Videotaping the Police..A Full Fledged Police State Looms Larger
August 5, 2010 By
Police are pushing hard to make it a crime to videotape them.. They are making the case that even though they are public servants filming them without permission should be off limits.. This is not good at all… We been talking about this for weeks, how police departments all over the country, have been making moves to get laws passed making it a felony to videotape them. They have been citing wiretapping laws and parts of the Patriot Act.
Up to now, having video cameras has been the saving grace for many for many police brutality cases. Imagine if the murder of an unarmed Oscar Grant at an oakland subway station wasn’t videotaped? If folks recall, the day after he was shot, police released his criminal record to local newspapers and spun a narrative which suggested that he deserved to be shot because he had done wrong in the past. This information had huge impact as defenders of Johannes Mehserle, the cop who killed Grant, have touted his criminal background as a reason to side with the convicted officer and see his action as ‘accidental’.
The push to shut down videotaping is coupled with most police departments having what is known as the Police Man’s Bill of Rights or some other Police protection law that allow officers to keep reports of violent incidents hidden, restrict them from having to polygraph tests, have their lockers searched and even have records of complaints excluded during any sort of criminal proceedings. We saw this play out during the Grant case. The world got to know about Grant past but not the unsavory things of Mehserle who was no angel. Add all that up to this new tactic to enforce wire tapping laws and we now see the a full court press to keep citizens at a severe disadvantage.
Where might one wish to videotape the police? Let’s say we have concerns that racial profiling laws are being violated in Arizona under the controversial SB 1070. There’s a sizeable population of people who feel concerned that police will go overboard or that indviduals like Sheriff Joe Arpiao will defy court restrictions and direct officers to push the envelop and be aggressive in stopping people. Videoapes would be the best way for all concerned to keep everyone honest, but if we have wiretapping laws being cited and possible jail time being the result, this is more then chilling.
You wanna see where this has troubling effects? Look at the news Blackout that took place last year during the student protests in Iran. Many of us were upset and thought it barbaric that Iran had restricted journalists and were beating and jailing protestors who videotaped police who were brutalizing protestors. How in the world did we here in the US get to a place where we are behaving like the country’s we heavily criticized? What will the public do when law enforcement starts putting into place new mass arrest techniques like Operation Falcon which has been damn near ignored by Main Stream media. How will we keep officers involved with that operation accountable?
I’ll leave you with one more food for thought…In recent days we learned that Google is working with the CIA to monitor websites. Does Google which owns Youtube start working with local law enforcement to restrict police videotapes from being loaded up. Police departments have been upset with Youtube stating that it puts officers in bad light and even in danger. We disagree. Videotaping keeps folks accountable and brings attention to rogue cops.
What’s even more troubling is Google now working with Verizon to cut a deal to end Net Neutrality… Imagine if we have situation where a website monitoring or video of police abuse is suddenly restricted or made to load frustratingly slow on the internet. Folks the day is coming where the flow of information is being shut down and blacked out..
Below is the video that has Anthony Graber in hot water.
-Davey D-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK5bMSyJCsg
Should Videotaping the Police Really Be a Crime?
By ADAM COHEN
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2008566,00.html?xid=huffpo-direct#ixzz0vjwcZVun
Anthony Graber, a Maryland Air National Guard staff sergeant, faces up to 16 years in prison. His crime? He videotaped his March encounter with a state trooper who pulled him over for speeding on a motorcycle. Then Graber put the video — which could put the officer in a bad light — up on YouTube.
It doesn’t sound like much. But Graber is not the only person being slapped down by the long arm of the law for the simple act of videotaping the police in a public place. Prosecutors across the U.S. claim the videotaping violates wiretap laws — a stretch, to put it mildly.
These days, it’s not hard to see why police are wary of being filmed. In 1991, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) beating of Rodney King was captured on video by a private citizen. It was shown repeatedly on television and caused a national uproar. As a result, four LAPD officers were put on trial, and when they were not convicted, riots broke out, leaving more than 50 people dead and thousands injured (two officers were later convicted on federal civil rights charges).
More recently, a New York Police Department officer was thrown off the force — and convicted of filing a false report — because of a video of his actions at a bicycle rally in Times Square. The officer can plainly be seen going up to a man on a bike and shoving him to the ground. The officer claimed the cyclist was trying to collide with him, and in the past, it might have been hard to disprove the police account. But this time there was an amateur video of the encounter — which quickly became an Internet sensation, viewed more than 3 million times on YouTube alone.
In the Graber case, the trooper also apparently had reason to want to keep his actions off the Internet. He cut Graber off in an unmarked vehicle, approached Graber in plain clothes and yelled while brandishing a gun before identifying himself as a trooper.
Back when King was beaten, it was unusual for bystanders to have video cameras. But today, everyone is a moviemaker. Lots of people carry video cameras in their pockets, on iPhones, BlackBerrys and even their MP3 players. They also have an easy distribution system: the Internet. A video can get millions of viewers worldwide if it goes viral, bouncing from blog to blog, e-mail to e-mail, and Facebook friend to Facebook friend.
No wonder, then, that civil rights groups have embraced amateur videos. Last year, the NAACP announced an initiative in which it encouraged ordinary citizens to tape police misconduct with their cell phones and send the videos to the group’s website, www.naacp.org.
Law enforcement is fighting back. In the case of Graber — a young husband and father who had never been arrested — the police searched his residence and seized computers. Graber spent 26 hours in jail even before facing the wiretapping charges that could conceivably put him away for 16 years. (It is hard to believe he will actually get anything like that, however. One point on his side: the Maryland attorney general’s office recently gave its opinion that a court would likely find that the wiretap law does not apply to traffic stops.)
Last year, Sharron Tasha Ford was arrested in Florida for videotaping an encounter between the police and her son on a public sidewalk. She was never prosecuted, but in June, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida sued the city of Boynton Beach on her behalf, claiming false arrest and violation of her First Amendment rights.
The legal argument prosecutors rely on in police video cases is thin. They say the audio aspect of the videos violates wiretap laws because, in some states, both parties to a conversation must consent to having a private conversation recorded. The hole in their argument is the word “private.” A police officer arresting or questioning someone on a highway or street is not having a private conversation. He is engaging in a public act.
Even if these cases do not hold up in court, the police can do a lot of damage just by threatening to arrest and prosecute people. “We see a fair amount of intimidation — police saying, ‘You can’t do that. It’s illegal,'” says Christopher Calabrese, a lawyer with the ACLU’s Washington office. It discourages people from filming, he says, even when they have the right to film.
Ford was not deterred. According to her account, even when the police threatened her with arrest, she refused to turn off her video camera, telling her son not to worry because “it’s all on video” and “let them be who they continue to be.”
The police then grabbed her, she said, took her camera and drove her off to the police station for booking.
Most people are not so game for a fight with the police. They just stop filming. These are the cases no one finds out about, in which there is no arrest or prosecution, but the public’s freedoms have nevertheless been eroded.
Ford was right to insist on her right to videotape police actions that occur in public, and others should too. If the police are doing their jobs properly, they should have nothing to worry about.
Cohen, a lawyer, is a former TIME writer and a former member of the New York Times editorial board
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2008566,00.html?xid=huffpo-direct
Police Terrorism Hits France, Black Women Brutalized in this So Called Enlightened Country
August 2, 2010 By
This comes courtesy from our good friends over at Playahata.com
http://www.playahata.com/?p=10270
As u watch these video keep in mind its this sort of treatment that led to the huge riots France endured back in 2005.. I guess things have not changed.. So much for Paris being this enlightened place…Now watch all the police apologist find some sort of flim flam excuse for this.. -Davey D-
“A disturbing video has emerged showing French police evicting African immigrants with babies and children during a housing protest in a Paris suburb. Police arrived in the north-east Parisian suburb of La Courneuve last Wednesday and asked a group of about 60 mostly women and children to move, said Michael Hajdenberg, a journalist with the French media organization Mediapart. The group had been living in the street since being evicted from their council homes on July 8 to make way for a new housing project, he said. When the group failed to respond to the request, Hajdenberg said police officers forcibly removed them. “NSFW OR NSFH this is apalling.
The footage shows a screaming woman with a baby wrapped to her back being dragged along the pavement. Another scene shows a pregnant woman lying on her back on the street.According to France 24 the footage was recorded on July 21 by an observer from the Droit au Logement (Right to Housing) association and uploaded on the internet by French news site Mediapart and broadcast by CNN on Tuesday.Most of the immigrants are from the Ivory Coast. Some of them had been living in France for ten years and were not illegal immigrants. click link and Watch at your own risk…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOKtIH4x7Ws&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r2FsNTF9jw&feature=player_embedded
Another Cali Police Killing 15 year old Boy shot 15 Times..Family Threatened
July 26, 2010 By
15 Year old James Rivera
On the morning of July 22 at around 11:30 16 year old James Rivera was assassinated in premeditated murder, according to his family and witnesses.
According to James Rivera’s mother police came to her house late at night/early morning before the murder and terrorized the family. Police held guns at 2 even younger children and told them they were going to kill him.
Later, according to friends, he was pulled over then released and then chased. As he crashed into a fence and made a u turn , police rammed the back of the blue van which caused the van to go out of control. The van went onto a lawn of a corner house on Salters Dr and Bancroft Way, finally crashed straight into the garage wall where the van seemed to be lodged into.
Officers exited their vehicles and asked James to exit the van twice but 2 seconds later they began to shoot. Over 30 rounds have been estimated to be found. They executed those rounds with 9mm handguns and fully automatic M-16 assault riffles.
Witnesses say that the ambulance arrived with out their sirens and left without them, as if there was no urgency. The people believe that he was dead at the scene. They saw officers pull him out and slap his face and then do nothing.
Reporters are saying that police stated the pursuit began at 10:30 after finding the van that had been part of a carjacking with a shotgun. It has not been said if this was the van, and the police do not mention any previous encounters with James Rivera.
The media has yet to report the truth, i know we heard the people speak the truth and that’s not what they are printing.
People came out in rage of what they had just witnessed. “NO JUSTICE NO PEACE” the people chanted until the officials Chaplin later came to them and asked them to be quiet.
in the Stockton Record Stockton Police Spokesperson Pete Smith agreed that the crowd was “upset and very vocal about their concerns” but was also recorded threatening the community “Let officers complete their investigation and not unduly create any other situations that would need any kind of police investigation”
continue reading http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/07/24/18654635.php?show_comments=1#18654644
Mooncricket: When Two Worlds Collide-The Mehserle Rally Raw & Uncut-Race Does Matter…
July 25, 2010 By
Oakland Film Maker Mooncricket
Big shout out to film maker Mooncricket who captured not only the rally that took place for killer cop Johannes Mehserle in Walnut Creek but also caught the ignorance and huge disconnect that many have when it comes to dealing with issues of race and police brutality..
In the clip below you hear the confrontations but more importantly you hear how deeply embedded racial perceptions are. pay close attention to the woman who wants to lecture one brother about genocide in Rwanda and then tells him about OJ Simpson.. It was a constant theme repeated over and over again which suggested that revenge from the OJ trial was sitting on everyone’s mind.
In this video listen to the other woman who attempts to tell us why people get pulled over and profiled and finds it hard to believe the police are doing anything wrong…This same woman is later caught on film yelling that mexicans should go back to Mexico.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE2N1B_K2sg&feature=related
This is an intense confrontation and highlights what’s far too often typical when dealing with issues of police brutality which is a variation of blaming the victim. ‘How come you aren’t here protesting when ‘Blacks are killing Blacks‘ is usually the retort one hears from both whites and blacks when police brutality issues come up. It’s a misplaced argument on a number of levels. First, many organizers are involved in programs, vigils, marches, churches etc about violence in their communities. For example, today Saturday June 24th there was a big Silence the Violence Rally in San Francisco that deals with urban crime. There are dozens of organization in Oakland that were started and still around to help foster conflict resolution and provide alternatives. They range from Youth Uprising to Love Life Foundation, Nation of Islam, Omega Boys Club to Urban Peace Movement etc..Such outlets under different names exist in every city around the country.
The second question that usually pops up is ‘Well if you have so many organizations why is there still crime in the hood?’ The question is a disingenuous one. My experience shows that most who ask those questions have not been involved in many of the community efforts to help push back on crime, yet they’re expecting miracles. The fall back answer that many like to give is that they push back on crime by supporting the police. But even the police are looking for both volunteers and funds for their own programs like PAL and DARE… Those same people asking all these hard questions aren’t involved in those outlets.
Lastly one can look at the huge array of tough 3 strike type laws, harsher sentencing guidelines, zero tolerance directives, higher budgets, new training and weaponry given to the police over the past 15-20 years and yet crime still persists. Should we not change some things about their approach?
A racist Mehserle supporter screams that people should go back to Mexico.. Wow so this is how they think in Walnut Creek?
With that being said, protesting Black on Black crime is not a criteria for addressing police misconduct. One has nothing to do with the other. The thug on the corner committing crimes is not a public servant. The police are. The thug on the block has not been granted a badge, a license to carry a gun, received months of training and given the trust and duty to protect and serve the citizens of various communities. The police have been given that which means they are directly accountable to the community. The thug has not made that contract with the community and so its bit unreasonable to expect folks to openly confront a criminal the way they would the police to seek redress.
One could easily ask that question to citizens in Walnut Creek or neighboring Concord if they are outside with signs protesting in front of meth houses which exist out there? Are they in front of the homes of people who commit domestic violence or any other number of crimes? …Most aren’t yet they wish to ask all these questions. There’s an old saying don’t ask of others what you aren’t doing yourself?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFtjO91dW9g&feature=related
In the scenes below you see some more intense arguments and some of the blatant racism that folks in the crowd are will to shout out at those who support Oscar Grant.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgsWpQijbsk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWdvhXifyM8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzmiTiEwdyc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4C8J4mVj7E&feature=related
Below we see the Peaceful ending to rally in Walnut Creek ..As marchers leave and head toward the BART station they come top find the gates have been shut closed on the Grant protesters.
Official Press Release for the Rally for the Killer Cop Johannes Mehserle in Walnut Creek
July 19, 2010 By
Wanted to make sure Folks got a better understanding of the ‘spin game’ these folks are attempting play with todays rally for Killer Cop Johannes Mehserle. It’s being couched as a support rally for Law EnforcemenT.. I think Krsita Kreatin who pens the column Revolutionize Yo Block sums it up best
I do not find there to be even an inkling of a way to draw parallels between supporting a cop who killed a young man while laying face down and shooting him in the back and supporting loved ones of police officers killed in the line of duty. It is a crock that people have come together under some guise that a pro-Mehserle rally is honoring fallen cops and their families. I personally had a family friend whose father was shot in the line of duty (thankfully surviving) and this rally disrespects his service, his commitment, his sacrifice and his integrity as an honest police officer. This rally is a disservice to those honest, hard working, quality police officers who practice restraint and live and breathe to protect and serve their communities. What a shame. What a sham.
R.I.P. OSCAR GRANT
Lastly I will remind folks of two other things.. 1-Expect this rally to get tons of coverage because Walnut Creek is a key place where Neilson Boxes which determine television ratings is located.. It was a smart move by the organizers of this rally to hold it there. Its a spot I been suggesting to activists for years…
Second point there will be a press conference today in oakland with organizers around the Oscar Grant Movement.. During the big Next Steps Meeting this past Thursday in West oakland, folks voted not to go out to Walnut Creek for a variety of reasons. There may be some white allies to this movement who roll up…
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Kristin ******** July 17 at 11:38am
To all guests of In Support of Johannes Mehserle and L.E.O. Rally
Rally Coordinators July 16 at 7:35pm To the Public:
To the Public:
All good cops should not support a rally for this man
We have received many requests for an interview from various news groups and reporters regarding the upcoming rally scheduled for Monday. It has been impossible to answer all requests due to the sheer volume, however we are releasing this press announcement in regards to Monday’s events.
Contrary to what has been portrayed in the media, this rally is NOT about dividing communities, inciting a race war or a political debate. The Walnut Creek location was chosen primarily out of convenience to allow for a central location accessible to many from different communities all over the Bay area. Many reporters throughout our community, but especially the Contra Costa Times and Claycord.com, decided to leak this event to the community before speaking with any event planners, thus creating an angry stir with some individuals and groups. As a result of their negligent reporting and failure to properly convey the meaning for the rally early on, hundreds of angry and hateful comments have been reported by various people and the true meaning of this event has not been conveyed properly. For this reason, no interviews will take place that will allow anyone to misconstrue what was said and the entire press release will be available for all to see.
This rally is NOT about inciting violence, destruction, intolerance, hatred, racism, riots, or to upset the Grant family and their supporters. Rather, this is an opportunity for those in our communities to come together in peace to grieve and voice their support for a former Law Enforcement Officer, Johannes Mehserle and his family and friends. There is great support for Mr. Mehserle as well as for all other Law Enforcement Officers and we recognized that an avenue needed to happen to allow these individuals to express their feelings and offer others support and encouragement.
We do NOT believe that Mr. Mehserle intentionally took the life of Mr. Grant. We believe this was a tragic mistake that occurred while on active duty and one that could have been easily preventable if BART Police demanded its officers wear their tasers on the opposite side as their gun and be made to draw that taser with their weak hand. During the course of Mr. Mehserle’s trial, evidence and witness statements provided insight that truly showed the action was not intentional. No one believes that Mr. Grant deserved to be killed nor is anyone happy that this happened. Oscar Grants family and friends have lost someone that they loved. Johannes Mehserle’s family, friends and fellow law enforcement officials have also lost someone they loved, respected and admired, but healing and forgiveness is only going to take place in our community if we make way for dialogue and truly come to understand the pain on both sides.
Throughout the last 18 months, Mr. Mehserle and his family and friends have been the victims of politics and persecuted in the public eye. While we recognize that some individuals are angry and hurt at what occurred on January 1, 2009, no one in our community has taken the time to get to know the person Johannes is. He is not the cruel and racist person he has been portrayed to be. We believe as a group that if people would truly open their eyes, get to know him and his family as well as other officers, lay the race issue aside, and open way to dialogue, that healing in our community can take place and change can happen that can benefit both sides.
Furthermore, this rally is also to support all Law Enforcement Officers and to show our thanks and appreciation to them for the work they do in our communities. Our Officers have a very stressful and difficult job, but everyday they work around the clock trying to make our communities better and safer for everyone to the best of their abilities. Law Enforcement Officers are rarely thanked or appreciated for all they do for us. To thank our officers for protecting our communities is not as some people have stated, “a racist move” – police come in all shapes, sizes and colors…. This is to truly thank them for all they do for us and nothing more.
We hope that those of you that attend the rally on Monday will show respect for both sides and for the City of Walnut Creek and the officers on duty. We ask that you resist name calling and intimidation, remain peaceful and truly allow a dialogue to take place that will promote healing for everyone. Let us know who Oscar Grant was. Ask who Johannes Mehserle is and get to know him through the people who know him. Talk with officers and get to know how they feel about their jobs, their communities, what they go through on a daily basis, how our officers can better serve you and vice versa. This rally is about opening doors of communication and setting aside our differences to promote tolerance and peace within our communities.
For those of you with ulterior motives in mind to cause harm to anyone, incite riots, violence, or destruction, we ask that you do not bring that mentality to this rally. Rather, we ask you to be respectful of those who want to be heard, regardless of whether their opinions and feelings align with yours or not.
We thank everyone for their support and look forward to Monday’s event.