Sit-In at San Mateo DA's Office in Case of Man Murdered by Police Taser

Protesters are calling for the release of videos documenting events that preceded the Oct. 3 death of African-American Chinedu Okobi, killed by San Mateo County sheriff’s deputies. Four deputies and a sergeant were involved in the 36-year-old unarmed father's death by taser; all involved personnel are back on duty. Outraged community members led a protest in the lobby of District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe on Wednesday. They were joined by family members and friends of Okobi at the noisy sit-in, where they chanted and sang songs written for the occasion. They called on the DA to release evidence, including videos and 911 call logs.

Members of Justice4Chinedu, together with the Raging Grannies Action League, led the sit-in. Calling for an independent investigation, both groups said the public should be able to judge for themselves what happened that day. Okobi was walking on El Camino Real in Millbrae when a sheriff’s deputy approached him and without apparent cause called a Code 3 for more officers. Despite asking "what did I do" and pleading for help, Okobi was tased and went into cardiac arrest. There were no attempts to perform CPR and he was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Although the District Attorney was in his office during the sit-in, he did not meet with the activists, who were monitored by plainclothes officers throughout the 2-hour morning event. Demonstrators said they want Wagstaffe to file criminal charges against the deputies involved and enact a moratorium on taser use. The DA's office has hired a use-of-force expert with a background in law enforcement to review the case. While the DA claims that no one else has the expertise to do such a study, community members at the protest said that the choice of Jeff Martin, a former San Jose police sergeant, is suspect. Martin was also formerly employed by BART's Police Department.