Oakland community forum on police violence

The Oakland community meeting on the April 7 police violence was tonight at the First Congregational Church of Oakland. Several hundred people were there, a mix of longtime police activists, people from communities of color, and people affected by the April 7th police violence. The crowd was energetic and responded enthusiastically to speakers linking repression of protesters to repression of workers, people of color, and Iraqi civilians. Davey D (host of KPFA's Hard Knock Radio and longtime figure in the local hiphop scene) did the emceeing honors and did a great job keeping the energy level high, as you might expect if you hear his show.

Speakers included representatives from ILWU and the Alameda County Labor Council, from PUEBLO and from People's Nonviolent Response Coalition, and from Vice Mayor Nadell's office (the community liaison who was present at the docks). Two eyewitnesses, Sri Louise and June Brashears, spoke of their experiences at the docks that morning.

Sri Louise (whose picture went around the world that day) spoke calmly but forcefully about the mentality of the police officers who assaulted her. June Brashears was arrested early for trying to speak with a truck driver; she testified about the kind of unprofessional and vindictive comments she could overhear from the police officers in the paddywagon and their police radio. The speakers were followed by the reading of a letter from US Rep Barbara Lee (written specifically to this meeting!) in which she asked Mayor Jerry Brown to investigate and report to her concerning the OPD's use of force. The event concluded with a showing of a short video montage compiled from the footage shot that morning by citizen journalists.

Davey D and other speakers repeatedly encouraged the crowd to come to tomorrow's meeting at Oakland City Hall at 2:30 pm, and to bring a friend. People who can't take time off from work or can't attend for any other reason were encouraged to call Mayor Brown's office (510-238-3141) and express their opinions about the incident, the possibilities for investigation, and the ongoing issue of police accountability in Oakland.

The flyer from the event encouraged callers to ask Mayor Brown to:
-Hold the Oakland Police Department accountable for its use of excessive force
-Disclose the party that authorized the plan of action at the Port
-Support the prosecution of any officers found to be in violation of the law, and
-Punish officers who violated OPD policies.

The April 7 Response Coalition also passed out a flyer with specific suggestions for what to ask for in tomorrow's public hearing (or by contacting elected officials outside of the hearing). The flyer suggested the following (this is all a direct quote):

We call upon the Oakland City Council to take a proactive stance in response to this violence as follows:
1. Initiate an independent investigation of police actions on the morning of April 7, 2003 at the Port, including all of the following:
-We want investigators who are not police, and who the OPD does not control or oversee in any way;
-We want to know the names of all the responsible parties who gave orders;
-We want to know why police were in riot gear and carrying riot control weaponry when the arrived;
-We want to know why and in what ways the shipping companies were involved in making the decision about what kind of policing this rally required;
-We want to know what roles Jerry Brown, Robert Bobb, Richard Word and Port officials played in the decision-making;
-We want to know whether the Department of Homeland Security or any other Federal Government representative was involved;
-We want to know why the police continued to shoort rubber and wooden bullets at a dispersing crowd in the back for two hours;
-We want investigators who will be hired by the Oakland CPRB [Citizen Police Review Board] in the future, so that we are not constantly reinventing the wheel every time there is an investigation into OPD activities.

2. Fire those responsible for what happened on April 7.

3. Provide the Citizen's Police Review Board (CPRB) with a full complement of investigators, and fill open positions on the CPRB with members who reflect Oakland's diverse community.

4. Apologize for the deceitful portrayal that April 7 protestors initiated the violence.

5. Adopt a "cite and release" policy for protestors, so that individuals arrested for nonviolent protest do not have to wait hours or days in detention in city jails.

6. Change outdated existing municipal codes to ensure that the right to peacefully protest, and the right of labor to picket, is clearly stated in a city ordinance.

[I have retyped this flyer here because I believe they wanted this message spread as far and wide as possible. No copyright infringement intended.]