Feature Archives

Thursday, May 5th was the one-year anniversary of the death of Cammerin Boyd, who was shot and killed by San Francisco police in the Western Addition. Boyd, an African American disabled man, was gunned down by undercover officers while his hands were raised in the air surrendering. Various communities gatherered starting at 5pm, in Jefferson Square Park on Laguna between Eddy and Turk Streets, across from Larch Way, where Cammerin was killed. A brief press conference was held, and later a rally, followed by a march past the parking spot where the police shot Cammerin, and then through the Western Addition, to SF City Hall. Photos: 1 | 2 | 3

During the rally, uniformed and plainclothes officers were examining a van that was parked on Laguna, calling in to check if there was any reason they could cite the van's owner. When the Boyd family was packing up the rally materials in preparation for the march, they received notice that the Office of Citizen Complaints will be charging police officers who are responsible in Cammerin's death. The night before, at the police commission meeting, it had seemed as though the possibility of charging the officers was left to Police Chief Heather Fong. At some time during the rally, the car of Marylon Boyd, Cammerin's mother, was broken into. Report from Mesha Monge-Irizarry

After one year and seven more officer involved shootings in San Francisco, no one has been held accountable in the shootings or in the murder of Cammerin Boyd. Police accountability was required by the voters when they approved Proposition H in 2003. Family, friends, and the community are outraged at the lack of any real independent investigation and the refusal to prosecute the offending officers. The San Francisco district attorney's office in late April cleared police of criminal wrongdoing in the shooting, saying the 29-year-old fired first at officers and appeared to reach for his gun again before he was killed. The Boyd family and supporters feel that a Federal investigation is necessary and imperative. They are upset that although the police admit that Boyd did not have a gun in his hands when they fatally shot him, the police have still told the public that he was shooting at them.

The City and County of San Francisco's medical examiner stated "one cannot exclude that the hands were raised when the abdominal gunshot wound occurred." Cammerin Boyd's family says, "Such a declaration constitutes clear evidence of criminal conduct by the officer who shot Cammerin Boyd." Reports of witness intimidation and harassment by police of the residents who witnessed the murder, particularly targeting young African American men, still continue a year later after the incident.

Flyer | Cammerin Boyd website | More flyers on the Cammerin Boyd MSN group | Past Indybay Coverage: 6-month anniversary protest | May, 2004 story | More photos

The "Attica to Abu Ghraib" Conference is taking place on Friday, April 22nd & Saturday, April 23rd, 2005 in Berkeley. Organizers say, "Torture, illegal detention and other human rights abuses have always been weapons used by the US government to crush resistance. Today we see a terrifying escalation in that repression, whether against Iraqis and Afghans half a world away -- or immigrants, prisoners, and political activists here at home. Our strength lies in building on the experiences of those who resist - here in the US, in Latin America, Palestine, the Philippines, the Caribbean, and in countless communities throughout the world."

Friday, April 22nd was the Opening Night, from 6PM - 9PM at the wheelchair accessible St. Joseph the Worker Church -(1640 Addison St., Berkeley). It featured Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who has recently returned to office in a ringing vindication of her outspoken opposition to U.S. torture and human rights abuses. Embattled attorney and political prisoner Lynne Stewart was allowed to travel to the Bay Area, so she spoke at 7pm. The event also included spoken word by Rima Chaudry, music by Caminante, and more.

The Working Conference will take place on Saturday, April 23rd, beginning at 8:30AM at Barrows Hall on the UC Berkeley Campus. The program is divided into three broad areas of focus and analysis. Each of these, organizers say, is a key component of the workings of U.S. empire and provides a focus for linking movements within and outside the U.S. This event is the culmination of work by conference organizers and community organizations who have helped to fundraise to make this weekend possible.

Read more on Attica to Abu-Ghraib's website

4/6 Update: Peace groups in Fresno have found out they they have again been infiltrated by law enforcement agents.

Bay Area United Against War (or B.A.U.A.W.) was visited by the SFPD on April 2nd. The police were waiting at Centro del Pueblo when BAUAW members arrived for their meeting on Saturday. The police, who claimed to have been sent by Lt. Lynch of the Richmond Police Station, asked questions such as how many people would attend the meeting and how many were expected for the upcoming "demonstration" at Washington High School. When they were told that they didn't belong at the meeting, the police officers said that they were "part of the community," so they should be allowed to be there for the public meeting. In a statement, BAUAW said, "Police Officers do not have a right to attend and ask questions at an antiwar meeting! Their presence is intimidating." Lt. Lynch, when he was confronted on Sunday, said that this statement reflected BAUAW members' negative attitude towards the police.

As part of B.A.U.A.W.'s campaign to implement Proposition N, the ballot measure that S.F. voters approved last year to bring all the troops home now from Iraq, they were planning a counter-recruitment information table at a career fair at the school for Tuesday, April 5th. This is not the kind of demonstration that would require police-issued permits. BAUAW says, "The police have no right to show up at our meetings where we discuss our antiwar work. We have filed a formal complaint against the police for this intrusion on our rights and are seeking legal advice to prevent them from doing it again without good cause." Read more

BAUAW's website

Cop Watch keeps an eye on police in San Jose, where on Friday nights the popular downtown area is saturated with patrol cars. The patrol cars park in the middle of Santa Clara street surveilling citizens and stopping them for mostly minor infractions. This practice bothers many young and Latino drivers, who feel they are being profiled. Led by an activist called Quetza, the Cop Watch crew spent a couple of hours out on the street April 1 and into the early morning of April 2. Indybay reporter Peter Maiden, who has been covering police issues in San Jose for the last five months, came along to document their efforts.
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From Fault Lines Issue # 9: Law enforcement in San Jose is taking heat for putting its citizens at serious risk. Between 1990 and 2000 San Jose had a higher ratio of killings by police to the overall homicide rate than any other of the largest 50 U.S. cities. In the wake of the killing of a young woman, shot for waving a vegetable peeler in her kitchen, tasers were brought into use by the San Jose Police Department, theoretically in order to lower the rate of use of deadly force. A report soon to be issued by the Coalition for Justice and Accountability says that since tasers were introduced, the rate of killings by the SJPD, instead of decreasing, showed a dramatic increase. Additionally, from April until September of last year, tasers— which are potentially lethal—were used 90 times. Tasers were used on mentally ill people in situations that then escalated, ending up in two deaths at the hands of police.

In addition, an undercover agent, Michael Walker, is now on trial for the killing of Rudy Cardenas, who was unarmed when Walker shot him in the back in downtown San Jose a year ago. The San Jose Main Jail, meanwhile, which houses 4,000 inmates, is a murky world of violence and abuse. For a glimpse at what goes on behind the locked doors of the Main Jail, Fault Lines acquired interviews with a former staff member, Nancy Rutherford, and a former inmate, Martín Rodriguez. Rodriguez is seeking legal recourse. Read Peter Maiden's Faultlines Article

4/7 Update: "After all of our efforts, they decided to keep it a closed grand jury. This is not the end for us though. We will continue to fight this." Supporters of Eric's family are asking for people to call the Santa Clara County D.A.'s office and complain as a concerned citizen that this case should NOT be a closed Grand Jury. Read more

Eric Kleemeyer was killed by Santa Clara Police on January 4th, 2005. He allegedly did not pull over, as he was driving to his mother's house. He was unarmed and feared for his life, due to a previous beating that went unreported. Police boxed him in a driveway across the street from his mom's house. He was 22 years old. Without identifying themselves or asking him to step out of the car, they opened fire and shot him 9 times. An ambulance arrived, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The family and their attorney have had their case juggled by several people in the District Attorney's office, and they received very short notice of the hearing that will take place on April 1st. The family recently learned of a third car that had pinned Eric in when he was shot. His family believes that after the shooting, the cars were moved to make the scene look like Eric had rammed a police car.

Eric's family is trying to get an open Grand Jury to consider the case. There was a protest on Friday, April 1st at 12pm. It was held at the District Attorney's office, at the corner of Hedding and First Streets at 70 W. Hedding in San Jose. Eric's cousin Katrina says, "We need as much help as we can get. We owe it not only to Eric and Rudy Cardenas, but to the community at large. Thanks in advance for your time and your help." His family is also asking for people to call George Kennedy at the District Attorney's office, at 408 299-3099 and demand an open grand jury. Read more | Justice for Eric Kleemeyer online journal

Friends of Willow and the Transit Workers Solidarity Committee are organizing a benefit for Willow Rosenthal's medical needs. Willow Rosenthal was permanently injured by the Oakland Police when they were dispersing a protest against the war on Iraq on April 7th, 2003. She was one of 60 people who were wounded when the OPD opened fire on nonviolent protesters and workers with wooden bullets, shot-filled sacks, and concussion grenades; and charged people with motorcycles for two hours. The event will take place on Thursday April 7th, 2005, at 7 pm, at Café Van Kleef (21 and over), near Telegraph and 17th. Willow's friends are encouraging people to either spread the word about the benefit, to show up on April 7th, or to donate money to help with Willow's medical expenses.

Musical performers at the event will include Andrea Pritchett, Shelley Doty & Friends, and Henri Ducharme with TaraLinda playing New French music and beyond. There will also be a spoken word performance and a screening of “Shots on the Docks” the documentary depicting the events at the Oakland Docks. "Shots on the Docks" was made by Steve Zeltzer of the Labor Video Project. Speakers will include Jack Heyman, an ILWU activist who was arrested by police on April 7th, 2003 and who fought and won bogus charges against him; and Antonia Juhasz, who is a writer about corporate globalization and how it relates to the war on Iraq and is also an antiwar educator and organizer. A member of the Campaign for Community Safety and Police Accountability will also speak.

Read more about April 7th and Willow's Injury