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Indybay Feature

DROP THE CHARGES Against the March 4th Protesters!

by Ronald Cruz (ronaldsf [at] gmail.com)
Action in response to the mass arrest of protesters in Oakland who were standing up in defense of public education the evening of March 4th
640_march4dayofaction_222.jpg

DROP THE CHARGES!

Defending Public Education Is Not a Crime --
Attacking Public Education IS the Crime!

TODAY, March 5th:

Come to the arraignment 9:00AM
Wiley Manuel Courthouse, Dept. 107
(661 Washington St., downtown Oakland)

PROTEST 12 NOON at Sproul Plaza, UC-Berkeley


Response to the mass arrest of protesters in Oakland who were standing up in defense of public education the evening of March 4th.

IndyBay March 4th Coverage Page:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/02/27/18639000.php

§Ronald Cruz, BAMN organizer
by Ronald Cruz (ronaldsf [at] gmail.com)
This is Ronald Cruz, the original poster. There is now NEW INFORMATION - see below.




UPDATE: Arraignments moved to April 5, and update on charges below. Protest at noon today (March 5).

=================================
DROP THE CHARGES!
Defending Public Education Is Not a Crime --
Attacking Public Education IS the Crime!

TODAY, March 5th:
PROTEST 12 NOON at Sproul Plaza, UC-Berkeley

Protest at the arraignments Monday, April 5th
Downtown Oakland. More details forthcoming.

=================================

Police conducted a mass arrest of protesters in Oakland on the evening of March 4th. The protesters are being brought up on charges of Unlawful Assembly (PC 407 M) and Obstruction of a Public Place (PC647C M). Those individuals who were particularly brutalized by police are also receiving charges of Resisting Arrest.

IndyBay March 4th Coverage Page:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/02/27/18639000.php
Add Your Comments

Comments (Hide Comments)
by sumone
please stop encouraging activists to use facebook! it's a data-mining website in cahoots with the cia.
by The Peaceful Protester
Here is a great song in honor of those arrested last night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsaTElBljOE
Are there any updates on the medical condition of the brother that either was shoved or fell 25 feet ? Last Night Channel 2 news reported that he was in critical condition and was ''fading in and out of consiousness''
Any thing more recent ?
Reference: abc helicopter video
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=7313176

Francois was wearing brown pants and a dark sweatshirt over a light t-shirt. It looks like him running up to edge and looking over at 1:05. At this location the freeway is almost 40’ above 5th Ave. This person points and they all run down towards where they are later confronted by cops. At 1:35 they are all near the tree. The freeway is about 25’ above the street here. The tree shakes and you could see a person (woman?) in a white sweatshirt looking over the edge at 1:41. She likely saw him fall. Then she is brought down from behind by cop. At 1:56 you could see me running up to him on the street, waiving my arms cause traffic wasn’t stopping. At 2:15 a cop car comes up wrong direction of street to where we were. It is possible that he may have climbed up on ledge and tried to climb into the tree or that something caused him to fall from here. We saw his body falling adjacent to the tree but not through the tree. There was one small (.5” diameter) branch broken near the top of the tree, no other damage throughout tree. He did not jump - his body was tumbling as he fell through the air and he landed on his back and side of his head, not on his feet. His legs are not broken as would be the case from jumping.

Francois left Highland hospital tonight and is at home in Oakland with his parents and two younger siblings. He has fractures in his skull and pelvis and wrist. He has swelling behind his right eye that may lead to vision problems but for now his vision is good. He is in a lot of pain and feels exhausted. He will not be walking around for a while. His face is purple and swollen. He is in good spirits and happy to be alive and with his folks. He has memory loss and though he remembers going to the protest, he can’t remember with whom or anything about going onto the freeway or laying on the ground with Kathy and I before going to the hospital.

There is another video in which the woman with the white sweatshirt appears earlier and I will try and post a link. Francois’ parents would love to speak with anyone who witnessed what took place from up on the freeway since Kathy and I only saw him from the point where he was tumbling through the air. If anyone knows who the woman in the white sweater is or anyone else who was in that group arrested near the tree, please let me know and I will pass on the info.

In case anyone needs to get ahold of me: beehappy747 [at] hotmail.com
or Kathy at kwallerstein [at] gmail.com

-Pablo Cepero
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