Town Hall on 74th Avenue OPD SWAT Raid and Mehserle's Change of Venue Motion, 10/3/09: audio

(audio 54:07)


Minister Keith discusses the venue change motion filed by Johannes Mehserle to move the trial out of Alameda county, and he notes that it has historical revisionism, with history of Black Panther Party (former DA Tom Orloff failed to convict Huey Newton twice) and knowing what issues the mention of Black Panthers raises. Motion says Blacks can't be fair jurors but if Blacks couldn't be fair, the U.S. would have been burned down a long time ago. The notion that Black people can't be fair jurors is an insult and a lie. Current case in Chicago of a Black man killing another Black man on video and the arrest for that was made right away. Mehserle's defense attorney Rains is trying to taint the view of the current judge. Minister Keith called for activists to gather at 11:30am Tuesday, October 6th, to speak at noon, just before Mehserle's change of venue motion is to be heard. Rain's problem is not the judge, or the jury, but his client Mehserle and what in did, instigated by other BART officers Domenici and Woffinden. New DA O'Malley should consider if Pirone needs to be charged. BART needs to fire him. Emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss reports from NOBLE and Meyers Nave. Should BART have police with part-time Board overseeing lethal force? 51% of officers wish they didn't work for BART in NOBLE poll. BART police are demoralized. Who wants them armed on trains? Rider poll wanted officers on trains but BART cops don't want to deal with people. Unarmed escorts could make people feel safer in parking lots rather than armed officers. NOBLE didn't answer question well about if BART needs police force. NOBLE didn't resolve question if BART needs SWAT team. Show up Tuesday at 11:30am at court house for family of Oscar Grant and we the people who love justice. Opposition to venue change motion to be posted at http://www.indybay.org/oscargrant tonight -- 17 pages. There's no precedent that "we" would be unfair, but there's hundreds of years of precedent of courts being unfair to us. We don't want the court house torn down or physical confrontations with police, but we've seen police taunting protesters at previous demos. Mehserle and Pirone were the violent ones. 100% of victims at BART were Black, even if BART police kept no records as per NOBLE on racial profiling or other police actions. We are looking to be serious and stand up for truth on Tuesday. Chip Johnson of the SF Chronicle wants a venue change, and why is he the voice against justice? He ought to be ashamed of himself. Chip ought to come to the Town Hall and we'll try him here for treason. Opposition motion to venue change filed by DA declares we can't know about fairness issue until seating of a jury, but Rains argues that no African Americans can be fair without even calling any. Image of justice is a woman with blindfold and scale. Female capacity for fairness, but even she has to be blindfolded. Race, religion, etc should not be a factor. Rains has been granted about every delay he's wanted. Even with 995 attempt to delay due to witness illness. Judge gave few extra days. He tells a story about Lie and Truth going skinny dipping. Lie took Truth's clothes and put them on and ran off with Lie's clothes, so naked Truth was chasing after a well-dressed Lie. Rains can't be serious that Black American has been unfair to white cops.


previous Town Hall for Justice on Mehserle's Change of Venue Motion with BAMN Presentation, 9/26/09: audio
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/10/03/18624345.php


Town Hall Meetings
Every Saturday 4pm - 6pm
Olivet Institutional Missionary Baptist Church
807 27th Ave, Oakland