Students Demand "Books Not Bombs" - Oakland Police Use Deadly Force Against Them

Photo: Laney Contingent (Laney is becoming a seething hotbed of dissent / it’s a start.)

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(My camera “gave up the ghost” after I had taken just two or three shots. Guess I’ll have to write something…)


March 5, 2003
National Moratorium to Stop the War on Iraq, Student Walk Out
Oakland, CA

STUDENTS DEMAND “BOOKS NOT BOMBS”- OAKLAND POLICE USE DEADLY FORCE AGAINST THEM

I walked from Laney College to Frank Ogawa Plaza with a small contingent of Laney students. Though we numbered no more than 15, we “took the street” the entire way. Even on Broadway, we took two lanes - silly, and fun. Got a lot of positive reaction from onlookers.

At Frank Ogawa Plaza, in front of Oakland City Hall, we joined a spirited rally made up mostly of students from East Bay high schools. Hundreds chanted “Books not Bombs” and “Drop Bush not Bombs”. The crowd cheered as each new contingent arrived – representing another school against the war. A large group arrived carrying a twenty-foot banner reading: “No War On Iraq - Not In Our Name”. One young student held a sign reading: “Bush can’t even spell Iraq”. Another held this sign: “No Iraqi ever called me a nigger”.

At one point the students began talking about marching, and decided to do it. Pouring onto Broadway, taking up two lanes, the march was bigger than I had expected. May have been over a thousand.

OPD USES DEADLY FORCE AGAINST PEACEFUL PROTESTERS (MOSTLY CHILDREN)

Motorcycle Cop with Badge #901 / license plate #68A50:
- On Broadway, as the march was heading toward Jack London Square, officer #901 purposely rammed his motorcycle into a man who was taking a photo of the crowd. The man had his back to the officer and didn’t see it coming.

Motorcycle Cop with Badge #988 (and others)
- (On Broadway near 2nd St.? / the train tracks) As the marchers began to make their way back towards City Hall, 7 to 10 motorcycle cops lined up across Broadway, leaving plenty of room between them for marchers to pass. After a significant number of marchers walked past them, Officer #988 and several other motorcycle cops began gunning their engines and drove directly into the tightly packed crowd, a crowd made up mostly of children. I witnessed Officer #988 run into a girl who, surrounded by other marchers, had nowhere to go. The other cops who drove into the crowd, reportedly, hit people with their motorcycles as well.

After this dangerous provocation the police made at least three brutal arrests. One of the arrestees, who appeared to be a minor, looked out from between OPD jackboots, face contorted in pain - head smashed to ground, arm and wrist bent at an unnatural angle with a knee or two in the back. One of the arrestees was, reportedly, bleeding from the mouth and may have had a tooth knocked out.

Here’s how the OPD described the events (according to the Chronicle):
“Police arrested three marchers at Jack London Square who charged a police motorcade, said Oakland Police Deputy Chief Patrick Haw. They were arrested for obstructing a police officer, handcuffed and taken to the station, Haw said. But the majority of students were peaceful…”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/03/06/3MORATORIUM.TMP

Umm…the only charging going on was cops charging into kids with their motorcycles. The students were walking slowly, peacefully marching, not charging. The only violence going on was police violence. “Obstructing”? I heard a few shouts of something like: “Don’t run the children over”, maybe that’s what Deputy Chief Haw means by “obstructing”.

As the Police Violence wound down the march continued back to City Hall – For another rally - with anyone who wanted to speak, rap, recite poetry, coming up to the mic.

Two men in Business attire, apparently on their lunch break, talked as they watched the rally, saying something like:
“This is great!”
“Yep. Looks like another unintended consequence (of Bush’s War). Two or three years ago you never would have seen kids out here for something like this, so fired-up.”

I was thinking the same thing.

The crowd was incredibly inspiring. Seeing so many young people willing to take a stand was a powerful thing to witness.
Gives us some hope for the future.

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For more on the March 5 National Moratorium to Stop the War on Iraq, Student walk Out:
http://www.notinourname.net/