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Indybay Feature

Remember BART PD? Let Them Know You Do at Public Forum on New Police Chief on 12/17/09

by dave id
BART's General Manager Dorothy Dugger, the only person currently empowered to fire a BART police chief, decided that it was appropriate to allow Chief Gary Gee to retire of his own accord with full benefits. Dorothy Dugger is also the only person at BART with the authority to hire Gee's replacement. The BART Board of Directors can fire Dugger, though, and now is the time to reiterate that long-time community demand before she is allowed to install another chief of her own choosing. BART is holding a public forum Thursday, December 17th purportedly to gather feedback on the choice of their next chief and it is likely your last opportunity to give them a piece of your mind on the matter before a decision is made early next year.
gee_dugger_johnson_lying_january122009.jpg
While BART's PR machine saw fit to blame Oscar Grant for his own murder in April, it also recently credited Gary Gee with thirty-six years of "dedicated service" -- this, despite that fact that Gee has overseen an abhorrently dysfunctional and corrupt police force as documented by NOBLE in their review of BART PD and Meyers Nave with their investigation into the events of New Year's Day, and despite the fact that Gee refused to hold a single person accountable related to the murder of Oscar Grant, even going so far as to declare that every officer acted professionally and according to protocol on January 1st. Currently, Gee is on extended medical leave until he cashes out at the end of this year.

Commander Dan Hartwig is now filling in as interim police chief and on November 21st, a BART police officer was again caught on camera using excessive force. In a subsequent meeting of BART's Police Department Review Committee on November 25th, when questioned about supposed increased training of BART officers, especially regarding mental health issues, Hartwig played typical police misconduct apologist and showed open hostility to public accountability by implying that only police officers are in a position to question police brutality. Of course, Hartwig was hired for the job by Dorothy Dugger.

In short, can the community really afford to sit back and allow Dorothy Dugger to choose the next chief of police at BART?


Protest at BART Public Meeting on New Police Chief
Thursday December 17th
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Joseph P. Bort MetroCenter Auditorium
101 - 8th Street in Oakland
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/12/06/18631625.php


BART Committee on Police Violence Caught on Camera, Hiring Police Chief, & New Year's Eve, 11/25/09: audio
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/11/28/18630712.php

Violence again on BART involving police and passenger
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/11/23/18630174.php#18630185

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by Justice for Oscar Grant!
Wasn't that a photo of a press conference back in January, where Gary Gee said on camera that all of the other officers that were present that night other than Mesherle, acted "commendably " and within protocol of police procedure? Two days later, a video emerged of Tony Pirone punching Oscar Grant for no apparent reason and moments just before he was shot. Gary Gee had seen that video when he made those statements, but still lied to the public in order to protect Pirone. HE NEEDS TO BE FIRED! Dorothy Dugger sat right next to him and nodded her head in approval. She too had seen the video, but did not speak up and out. SHE NEEDS TO BE REMOVED BY THE BART BOARD! The fact of the matter is that no one at BART has been held accountable for the events that fateful morning. No one has been fired or repramandid in any way and it has become a major obstacle in justice being delivered for Oscar Grant. I hope that this meeting gets packed with people demonstrating and showing their anger and disgust with the injustice that has gone on at BART in the aftermath of the shooting, because God knows it needs to happen.
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