top
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Mon Aug 4 2014 (Updated 08/05/14)
Robert Roche Reinstatement: Oakland Police Impunity Continues
Three-Time Killer Reinstated After Being Fired for Throwing CS Flash-Bang at Scott Olsen
Seconds after an Oakland police officer shattered Scott Olsen’s skull with a lead-filled munition on October 25, 2011, officer Robert Roche threw an explosive teargas grenade at persons who were attempting to come to Olsen’s aid as he lay critically injured on the ground in clear view of the police. Roche was subsequently fired, but on July 30, 2014, an arbitrator overturned the termination and reinstated him with full back pay. Roche officially returned to work at OPD on Monday, August 4.

Robert Roche is known as a three-time killer. In Oakland, on duty, Roche has killed Ronald Brazier, Jose Buenrostro, and Jeremiah Dye. In TV news footage from October 25, 2011, Roche’s helmet number is visible, and there is no dispute that he threw the CS Blast towards Scott Olsen, who was unconscious and bleeding from the head, and those who had rushed to his aid. Roche's actions as an Oakland police officer have cost the Oakland taxpayers almost $6 million in civil settlements to date.

The arbitrator’s decision is not unexpected. In twelve out of the last fifteen personnel arbitrations in which OPD officers challenged their terminations, the officers were successful in getting their jobs back. And the lack of accountability at OPD goes beyond rank and file officers. The arbitrator’s decision was apparently based in part on the fact that Roche had been ordered to deploy gas by then-Captain Paul Figueroa. At the same time, Figueroa authorized the use of “beanbag” impact munitions, on persons who might attempt to throw the teargas devices back at the police. It was inevitable that Scott Olsen and others would be seriously injured or killed, yet Figueroa was not disciplined and has since been promoted to Assistant Chief.

photo Read More | video Scott Olsen speaks out against the reinstatement of Robert Roche

Previous Related Indybay Features: Petition Demands OPD Be Prohibited from Using "Less Lethal" Weapons at Protests | $4.5 Million Settlement Reached In Scott Olsen’s Lawsuit for “Less Lethal” Shooting by OPD | Oakland Occupiers Defiant After Police Raid, Mass Arrests, and Tear Gas/Projectile Attacks
2025-07-22 Palantir Makes Billions Off Surveillance, Deportation, and Genocide Anti-War | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | Peninsula | U.S. | Palestine | Immigrant Rights2025-07-21 Program Pioneered Harm Reduction Model that Centered Voices of Drug Users Front Page | Health, Housing & Public Services | Drug War | Santa Cruz Indymedia2025-07-20 Protests Continue at Trader Joe's Stores Over Chicken Supplier Petaluma Poultry Front Page | East Bay | North Bay / Marin | California | Animal Liberation2025-07-16 Kayakers Declare We Must Fight to Defend Rivers and Wild Lands from Donald Trump Front Page | Environment & Forest Defense | Central Valley | California | U.S. | Government & Elections2025-02-22 Musk and Trump Blasted for Attempting Fascist Takeover Front Page | Labor & Workers | Central Valley | San Francisco | South Bay | East Bay | Peninsula | North Bay / Marin | California | U.S. | Government & Elections | Santa Cruz Indymedia2025-01-14 Healthcare Profiteers Encounter Protest at Investors Gathering Front Page | Health, Housing & Public Services | San Francisco | Palestine2025-01-01 Photography From Gaza By Journalist Ahmed Younis Front Page | Anti-War | Media Activism & Independent Media | Arts + Action | East Bay | Palestine2024-12-31 Launched 25 Years Ago, Riseup.net Continues Providing Vital Infrastructure Front Page | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | Media Activism & Independent Media | U.S. | International2024-12-30 After Quick "Hiatus" Editors of IGD Continue Publishing Front Page | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | Media Activism & Independent Media | U.S.2024-12-24 A Shifting Landscape for Autonomous Anti-Capitalist Media Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | Media Activism & Independent Media | U.S.2024-12-23 Daniel Andreas San Diego Wanted for Questioning in Bay Area Bombings Police State & Prisons | East Bay | U.S. | International | Animal Liberation
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$95.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network