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South Bay Police State & Prisons

Public Outcry against San Jose Police Brutality

by we are watching (eastside6defense [at] gmail.com)

Fri, Jan 19, 2007 1:54PM

People who deal with the SJPD on a daily basis gathered to share their experiences with each other and the Chief of Police, bringing the horrors of police brutality out into public view.

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San Jose Police Accountability Forum
1-18-07

More than one hundred community members came to the second of two public forums hosted by the San Jose Independent Police Auditor's office last night. The Police Chief and members of the City administration listenned to two hours of stories of the experiences of people who are targetted by the police every day. Racism, racial profiling, police brutality, and the arrogance of the SJPD were hammered home by dozens of speakers of all ages and races. The concreted demands were for the police to be held accountable by a community run police review board, firing of police who disrespect and brutalize the people of San Jose, an ongoing community tribunal to investigate police abuse, the banning of tasers, and anger management and cultural awareness instruction for all police.

The stories of the people were horrific. Here are some examples:

by we are watching

Fri, Jan 19, 2007 1:54PM

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A 65 year old Mexicano man who pulled his taco vending truck over to bear witness when he saw someone being beaten on the street by police was himself cuffed, thrown face down onto the street, had his head slammed on the ground many times with a night stick held across the back of his neck, and suffered permanent damage to his right arm. He said that "when you see someone beating a dog, you tell them to stop, but nobody told the police to stop, so I guess I am not even a dog to them." His son (pictured below) spoke with eloquent fury of the need to hold the police accountable for their brutalization of his father and his community.

by we are watching

Fri, Jan 19, 2007 1:54PM

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A 17 year old Yerba Buena High School student was asked by his Math Analysis teacher to remove his grey sweatshirt. When he asked why and was reluctant to do so, the teacher called security, a police officer arrived in the classroom, grabbed for the young man's arm, and when the young man pulled away and asked what was going on the police officer placed him under arrest against the protests of the teacher and cited the 17 year old with attempted assault on an officer with a deadly weapon (apparently the student had a pencil in his hand).

by we are watching

Fri, Jan 19, 2007 1:54PM

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A young Mexicano man and his friends were pulled over, beaten and arrested after leaving a club in Downtown San Jose.

by we are watching

Fri, Jan 19, 2007 1:54PM

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The Mexicano mother of a teenaged daughter told of how her daughter had been the victim of a sexual assault and when the police responded to the complaint, they discounted her daughter's story and called it a "party gone bad" which humiliated the mother and daughter, who had to leave the public program where she had been assaulted.

by we are watching

Fri, Jan 19, 2007 1:54PM

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Arrestees from the 2006 Cinco de Mayo celebration and Copwatch at Story and King (calling themselves the Eastside 6) spoke about their ordeal. The Cinco de Mayo celebration and Copwatch was attacked by riot cops who targetted the people with cameras and arrested 6 people, including a local hip-hop artist and his companion plus 4 Copwatch participants.

by we are watching

Fri, Jan 19, 2007 1:54PM

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by we are watching

Fri, Jan 19, 2007 1:54PM

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A Licensed Vocational Nurse has treated mentally ill prisoners in the jails of Santa Clara County who are routinely beaten, restrained, put in solitary confinement, and administered powerful tranquilizers, worsenning their mental health and their psyches when they really need treatment.

by we are watching

Fri, Jan 19, 2007 1:54PM

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An advocate against tasers told the Police Chief that tasers have killed more than 160 people in the U.S. and that the police departments of Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Scottsdale have prohibited the use of tasers on police cadets during training due to burns and permanent injuries which have led to very expensive lawsuits.

by we are watching

Fri, Jan 19, 2007 1:54PM

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by we are watching

Fri, Jan 19, 2007 1:54PM

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A middle aged Mexicano man was threatenned and had his car trashed by a police search party of several police which cost $6000.00 to repair.

by we are watching

Fri, Jan 19, 2007 1:55PM

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A middle aged white man spoke about how his home was broken into by police several times, the first time surprising his wife in the shower and then interrogating her while calling her names and humiliating her.

by we are watching

Fri, Jan 19, 2007 1:55PM

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Members of the Eastside 6 and their supporters are organizing to defend the right to observe and record the behavior of the San Jose police in order to hold them accountable, as well as to protect the arrestees themselves. If you want to hear updates on the case, provide support, or get involved, please contact us at:
eastside6defense [at] gmail.com

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