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Berkeley Police Laugh About Beating Black Man
Pictures from South Berkeley: photos of officers involved in beating a Black man, and photos of Officer Hong laughing about it.
SOUTH BERKELEY: COPS BEAT BLACK MAN, ANGRY CROWD PREVENTS FURTHER VIOLENCE
March 14 2002 8:30pm - South Berkeley residents have known for a long time that their city's liberal reputation does not apply to the aggressive and violent Berkeley police who occupy their neighborhood. Tonight, the violence was public and an angry crowd of Black people prevented a disaster from happening as two white cops and an Asian cop beat a Black man on the corner of San Pablo and Haskell Street.
Around 8:30pm, Officer Freedman, Officer Hong and Officer Lindenau of Berkeley Police Department attacked a Black man standing outside a neighborhood store. Using excessive force, the cops repeatedly smashed the man's face, all three of them attacking at once. As the beating continued, a crowd of Black people gathered, and the cops called in back up. At least one of the witnesses saw the attack in its entirety. The on-lookers exchanged information for Berkeley Copwatch and the Berkeley Police Internal Affairs office, exchanged phone numbers, and vowed to each other to not let these cops get away with their brutality. Many spoke out about the daily harrassment and violence experienced by South Berkeley residents at the hands of BPD. A request to arrest the officers on the scene for assault was denied.
Officer Hong and Officer Lindenau were both laughing about the beating, and on-lookers said that they seemed to enjoy every second of it.
Another officer, badge number 108, repeatedly instructed this photographer to back off, preventing close up photos of the man's injuries. (He said that there were "plenty of pictures," which is not only a lie, but a really bad and unbelievable lie.) Officer Afson, #124, further prevented photography by saying that "[the victim] doesn't want to be photographed," which was also not true.
A Black man who witnessed the beating said, "Drugs get into our communities by higher-ups in society who also control the police, then they go after our young men for slavery camps they call prison. You'll never see the police go after any real criminals, because they are the real criminals."
Berkeley Copwatch and other groups have been monitoring increased police brutality by BPD. Through a combination of neighborhood outreach and information, a campaign against the occupation of South Berkeley by violent thugs in uniform is growing.
Report filed through San Francisco Indymedia.
For more information about police brutality in South Berkeley, see:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2001/06/101132.php
http://www.indybay.org/news/2002/01/114015.php
March 14 2002 8:30pm - South Berkeley residents have known for a long time that their city's liberal reputation does not apply to the aggressive and violent Berkeley police who occupy their neighborhood. Tonight, the violence was public and an angry crowd of Black people prevented a disaster from happening as two white cops and an Asian cop beat a Black man on the corner of San Pablo and Haskell Street.
Around 8:30pm, Officer Freedman, Officer Hong and Officer Lindenau of Berkeley Police Department attacked a Black man standing outside a neighborhood store. Using excessive force, the cops repeatedly smashed the man's face, all three of them attacking at once. As the beating continued, a crowd of Black people gathered, and the cops called in back up. At least one of the witnesses saw the attack in its entirety. The on-lookers exchanged information for Berkeley Copwatch and the Berkeley Police Internal Affairs office, exchanged phone numbers, and vowed to each other to not let these cops get away with their brutality. Many spoke out about the daily harrassment and violence experienced by South Berkeley residents at the hands of BPD. A request to arrest the officers on the scene for assault was denied.
Officer Hong and Officer Lindenau were both laughing about the beating, and on-lookers said that they seemed to enjoy every second of it.
Another officer, badge number 108, repeatedly instructed this photographer to back off, preventing close up photos of the man's injuries. (He said that there were "plenty of pictures," which is not only a lie, but a really bad and unbelievable lie.) Officer Afson, #124, further prevented photography by saying that "[the victim] doesn't want to be photographed," which was also not true.
A Black man who witnessed the beating said, "Drugs get into our communities by higher-ups in society who also control the police, then they go after our young men for slavery camps they call prison. You'll never see the police go after any real criminals, because they are the real criminals."
Berkeley Copwatch and other groups have been monitoring increased police brutality by BPD. Through a combination of neighborhood outreach and information, a campaign against the occupation of South Berkeley by violent thugs in uniform is growing.
Report filed through San Francisco Indymedia.
For more information about police brutality in South Berkeley, see:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2001/06/101132.php
http://www.indybay.org/news/2002/01/114015.php
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If the police were in the wroung then of course they should be sent to prison, but could you do their job. I dont think I could.
Official corruption, which has raged for years in the nation's big cities, is spreading to the hinterlands. So rampant has it become that the number of federal, state and local officials in federal prisons has grown fivefold over the last four years, increasing from 107 in 1994 to 548 today, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons
Police corruption spreading, prison statistics show
By Jack Nelson and Ronald J. Ostrow / Los Angeles Times
http://www.angelfire.com/ny2/bluewall/link9.html
the problem of police brutality is a symptom of a dark evil mental disease that has been circulating throughout the U.S.A for over 300 years without any real hope of
resolution.( hopefully I'm wrong) I am deeply disturbed with the current state of racial relations here in the U.S that I'm seriously considering a move to Europe or Canada.
THE NEW KKK IN AMERICA - ARMED AND DANGEROUS
What's even more frightening is the fact that " KKK in Blue" AKA "White Police Officers" are supported, protected and
defended by the white majority and the American Justice System for acts of brutality against blacks.
The irony here... The American justice system of yesteryear also defended, acquitted and fully protected Klansmen for unspeakable atrocities they committed against
Black Americans ... after all in the eyes of their peers they were justified in ridding the community of one more ">>>>>"
So how far has America come since the notorious days of the KKK? Not very far, I'm afraid.
Today, police brutality is nothing short of a shift from white men in white to white men in blue. What's even more
disturbing, the current climate mimics the days when the Klan experienced wide acceptance by the white populace.
Likewise police brutality for the most part is totally accepted and defended by White America.( at least the majority)
Their continued silence is clearly acceptance.
So when will the American Leaders/Sport Stars/Celebrities - stand up to America and call the ugliness of police brutality
WHAT IT REALLY IS - "THE NEW, SAFER, WIDELY ACCEPTED WAY TO LYNCH A >>>>>" (pardon the expression, but that's what
the majority of white Americans think when they see this happening over and over again and just turn the other way.
Has the President denounced it? How about religious leaders? What about celebrity figures? Hmmm - no one, except for a few black
voices) makes one wonder about the relevance of Black Americans in this country.
Black, Brown & White America have become complacent on the ongoing war for civil rights. The 1960's accounted for a battle fought
and won, ( for every other minority and White females) but I'm afraid Black Americans lost the war.
New Leaders (Black/White/Brown)must emerge... eloquent, strong, powerful voices with innovative and creative minds----
Marketing Geniuses, with the ability to reframe the ugliness of police brutality on blacks in a way to bring real attention on a global scale.
If America do not care... we must make them care!
The approach, has to be revolutionary, Pro-active not reactive and yes controversial and it will be!
It should be unconventional and yet non-confrontational. It must go farther that political incorrectness to a moral imperative. It should challenge, America's beliefs and find it at the core of its being- past all the hidden agendas, the self-imposed white superiority beliefs, stereotypes and biases.
Like MLK, we must be able to champion the cause in the "WAR" against ongoing injustices still suffered by Black Americans in this country- We must boycott the American Media (namely the entertainment side although the news side is not much better, but frankly, the news media is a necessity in this campaign ) we must wage an all out war against poverty, crime and poorly educated black youths. We must fight for the cause of the Ebony Woman and defend her womanhood, We must fight for absolute acceptance into mainstream America.. these and other measures must be taken to ensure
the survival of the Ebony race here in America... if not, I'm afraid we are at the brink of the annihilation of a people.
First Item in the "WAR" against "The New KKK IN AMERICA" - is a powerful, provocative, well designed website, over publicized, calling attention to this serious issue.
________________
I read somewhere on the net, I'm paraphrasing - The future will not be whites against blacks but everyone else ( whites and other ethnicities ) against blacks.
This is not far from reality considering, the American Media continues to subliminally teach that Black Americans are the "Under Class" and "Misfits" in the U.S.A
In the event, the above statement becomes a reality, I would most certainly move back to my island home in the Caribbean or select a location in the Mediterranean, Europe or Canada and say Goodbye to America and with good reason. If America hopes to be the beacon of light for the rest of humanity, she must clean up her act
at home first, starting with an end to police brutallity and stiff penalties to officers who willfully violate civilians civil rights.
In conclusion, these are my thoughts on the troubling issue of Police Brutality on the Ebony People here in the U.S.A. I hope these words will rise from this email and find their way on whirlwind of creative energies to incite someone to act... to act before it becomes to late.
Signed
A Visionary for Racial Harmony among all men
the problem of police brutality is a symptom of a dark evil mental disease that has been circulating throughout the U.S.A for over 300 years without any real hope of
resolution.( hopefully I'm wrong) I am deeply disturbed with the current state of racial relations here in the U.S that I'm seriously considering a move to Europe or Canada.
THE NEW KKK IN AMERICA - ARMED AND DANGEROUS
What's even more frightening is the fact that " KKK in Blue" AKA "White Police Officers" are supported, protected and
defended by the white majority and the American Justice System for any acts of brutality against blacks.
The irony here... The American justice system of yesteryear also defended, acquitted and fully protected Klansmen for unspeakable atrocities they committed against
Black Americans ... after all in the eyes of their peers they were justified in ridding the community of one more ">>>>>"
So how far has America come since the notorious days of the KKK? Not very far, I'm afraid.
Today, police brutality is nothing short of a shift from white men in white to white men in blue. What's even more
disturbing, the current climate mimics the days when the Klan experienced wide acceptance by the white populace.
Likewise police brutality for the most part is totally accepted and defended by White America.( at least the majority)
Their continued silence is clearly acceptance.
So when will the American Leaders/Sport Stars/Celebrities - stand up to America and call the ugliness of police brutality
WHAT IT REALLY IS - "THE NEW, SAFER, WIDELY ACCEPTED WAY TO LYNCH A >>>>>" (pardon the expression, but that's what
the majority of white Americans think when they see this happening over and over again and just turn the other way.
Has the President denounced it? How about religious leaders? What about celebrity figures? Hmmm - no one, except for a few black
voices) makes one wonder about the relevance of Black Americans in this country.
Black, Brown & White America have become complacent on the ongoing war for civil rights. The 1960's accounted for a battle fought
and won, ( for every other minority and White women) but I'm afraid Black Americans lost the war.
New Leaders (Black/White/Brown)must emerge, eloquent, strong, powerful voices with innovative and creative minds----
Marketing Geniuses, with the ability to reframe the ugliness of police brutality on blacks in a way to bring real attention on a global scale.
If America do not care... we must make them care!
The approach, has to be revolutionary, Pro-active not reactive and yes controversial and it will be!
It should be unconventional and yet non-confrontational. It must go farther that political incorrectness to a moral imperative. It should challenge, America's beliefs and find it at the core of its being- past all the hidden agendas, the self-imposed white superiority beliefs, stereotypes and biases.
Like MLK, we must be able to champion the cause in the "WAR" against ongoing injustices still suffered by Black Americans in this country- We must boycott the American Media (namely the entertainment side although the news side is not much better, but frankly, the news media is a necessity in this campaign ) we must wage an all out war against poverty, crime and poorly educated black youths. We must fight for the cause of the Ebony Woman and defend her womanhood, We must fight for absolute acceptance into mainstream America.. these and other measures must be taken to ensure
the survival of the Ebony race here in America... if not, I'm afraid we are at the brink of the annihilation of a people.
First Item in the "WAR" against "The New KKK IN AMERICA" - is a powerful, provocative, well designed website, over publicized, calling attention to this serious issue.
___________
I read somewhere on the net, I'm paraphrasing - The future will not be whites against blacks but everyone else ( whites and other ethnicities ) against blacks.
This is not far from reality considering, the American Media continues to subliminally teach that Black Americans are the "Under Class" and "Misfits" in the U.S.A
In the event, the above statement becomes a reality, I would most certainly move back to my island home in the Caribbean or select a location in the Mediterranean, Europe or Canada and say Goodbye to America and with good reason. If America hopes to be the beacon of light for the rest of humanity, she must clean up her act
at home first, starting with an end to police brutallity and stiff penalties to officers who willfully violate civilians civil rights.
In conclusion, these are my thoughts on the troubling issue of Police Brutality on the Ebony People here in the U.S.A. I hope these words will rise from this email and find their way on whirlwind of creative energies to incite someone to act... to act before it becomes to late.
Signed
A Visionary for Racial Harmony among all men
Considering the fact that the vast majority of crimes committed against blacks are crimes committed by blacks; why do some idiots insist on blaming the police? Why do some amongst us continue to perpetrate the myth of widespread police brutality - when such a silly assertion is obviously nothing more than a fairy tale?
Certainly there are a few bad cops, but there are a hell of a lot more bad citizens (numbers wise and percentage wise). This entire excuse is nothing more than a ploy to excuse your poor behavior.
We agree on that much.
I've not excused the bad cops. Nor will I excuse the criminals.
Immediately finding fault with police actions, while completely ignoring criminal activities, isn't exactly a shining example of coherence. It is however, a rather glowing sample of bias and ignorance.
Not to worry though - you wear it well.
This is just trying to make the police look good by putting them next to criminals (instead of putting them next to the average citizen, or his ideas of legitimacy). That's saying alot if it is the *only* way you can argue that the police are OK.
our neighborhoods and police. We want law and order.We do not want to have to be victims of force that is inhumane to subdue or apprehend.As a pedistrian I have experienced law enfrocement profiling to the point I felt my life was in danger. Over a long period of time I had these patterns of profiling. i called the local
activist office. I wrote a letter.They were relentless in this pattern of harrassment. I did not know who i could trust nor if I should place my family in jepordy. I could not understand why this was happening during the course of my day to handel typical family errands. THese officers had a pattern of encircling me if I was driving. One patrol vehicle would circle one block and end of meeting me as I proceeded to my destination. This even the small children passengers realized. They knew we had not offended the law. This was alarming for them also. For the times this occurred it waas very stressful for us. One evening at a coin phone the officers on patrol drove thru the business lot then turned around upon their returning the sped pass the coin phone wwe were on and missed the vehicle impact with one of the children. Had I not pulled that child back the vehicle would have made contact with the childs body. This behavior was extremely hazardous. They were not serving and protecting . They were showing callous reckless behavior based on the bias streotype view they have for people of my neighborhood. Knowing they protect each other . Reprisal are apart of many lawenforcers mentality. Even when they are wrong you should be concerned about retialiations. If you do not have a strong network behind you to pursue their misconduct you are just left with extreme stress of having endured the ill act!!!!!!!!!!!