Oakland police chief Anthony Batts' "keep the peace" robocall (2010)

by Dave Id

Wed, Jan 2, 2019 10:13AM

Oaklanders with a landline telephone in 2010 received this "keep the peace" robocall from Oakland police chief Anthony Batts in advance of Mehserle's sentencing.

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(video :32, combines robocall audio recording with portrait of Batts)

On November 5, 2010, Johannes Mehserle received the minimum sentence of two years from Judge Robert Perry (of which Mehserle served less than half before being released). Hundreds rallied at Oakland City Hall to protest the light sentence and 152 were arrested in a subsequent march.

On the night of Mehserle's sentencing, Justice for Oscar Grant protesters were unlawfully mass arrested by Oakland police and a civil rights lawsuit was filed by the NLG.

Protesters won over $1 million and, importantly, court-enforced crowd control policy changes. Oakland police can no longer scoop up wide swaths of random protesters and send them all to jail.

Indybay's full archive of Justice for Oscar Grant coverage:

For more information: http://www.indybay.org/oscargrant

§Robocall audio

by Dave Id

Wed, Jan 2, 2019 10:13AM

Listen now:

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(audio :32)

http://www.indybay.org/oscargrant

§Oakland police chief Anthony Batts

by Dave Id

Wed, Jan 2, 2019 10:13AM

Batts resigned as police chief in October 2011, a year after recording this robocall. From Oakland, Batts moved to Baltimore, where he was fired as police commissioner in July 2015.

http://www.indybay.org/oscargrant

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