Anti-Police Tension Builds Across Oakland on Eve of Bratton Decision

As the full Oakland City Council prepares to make a decision this evening on the hiring of Bratton as a consultant for the Oakland Police Department, a series of tense standoffs with OPD have unfolded across the city in the past day.

On Monday afternoon during the Martin Luther King holiday, Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. son of slain revolutionary Fred Hampton Sr. of the Black Panther Party was detained and intimidated by OPD swine during his visit to Oakland. Fred Hampton Jr has been in town these past days to help coordinate with those organizing locally against the police. While driving through neighboring Emeryville, Fred and the other passengers in his car were pulled over by seven or more Oakland and Emeryville police cruisers and ordered to put their hands in the air as pigs approached the car with guns drawn. All those in the car were handcuffed and detained for three hours during which time police asked questions that revealed they were directly targeting and intimidating Fred. At the end of the ordeal, Fred and the others were released and the police left as if nothing had happened citing some unsubstantiated claim that they were investigating the case of a stolen cell phone.

Later that evening across town in East Oakland, an undercover officer patrolling the 1700 block of Seminary Avenue was allegedly confronted in the street and shot in the arm by a group of people. OPD’s immediate response was indicative of their role as a militarized state-sponsored gang on a campaign of repression and containment in the flatland neighborhoods of Oakland. Military-style SWAT patrols blanketed the neighborhood in a series of house raids and door to door searches while snipers with assault rifles patrolled the streets perched out of armored personal carriers. As of this writing, the patrols and raids continue in the neighborhood.

This has all unfolded in the past 24 hours as the city prepares for another tense night in City Hall as the council finalizes its decision to hire William Bratton, the stop and frisk enthusiast, Pig consultant who has made a career out of helping cities across the country transform into heavily controlled police states. Once again, calls have gone out to swarm city hall in a 5pm rally before the meeting and to pack the chambers throughout the deliberations.

The Oakland Tribune has issued its own call for Oakland’s “silent majority” to “take back the city” from the “anti-police mob”. The paper is working along with council member Kernighan to encourage law and order and business minded defenders of OPD to counter the anti-police presence at the meeting this evening.

Should be an interesting night. Make sure you get to City Hall at 5pm sharp! It’s gonna be crowded!