Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Memorial Service & Demand for Justice for Chinedu Valentine Okobi
A resident of San Mateo County is nine times more likely to get arrested if they are a Black person than if they were white. It can happen just as it did to Chinedu Okobi. On February 13, Okobi's birthday, a memorial event was held at the approximate location where Okobi was tased to death by county sheriff's deputies on October 3, 2018.
Photos by Dan Ryan, ProBonoPhoto. Please credit the photographer.
San Mateo County has one of the highest disproportionate arrest rates of Black and people of color in the United States.
Relatives and friends of Chinedu Okobi demanded justice at a memorial service on what would have been the victim's 40th birthday this week. They commemorated his life and recalled how he was was profiled, attacked, and tased repeatedly until dead. The San Mateo Sheriff's department has to this day offered no credible explanation for the use of deadly force against a citizen for allegedly jaywalking.
Despite using batons, pepper spray and multiple Taser deployments, the five deputies involved were cleared of criminal charges by the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office. An internal investigation supported the DA's decision.
The group Fixin’ San Mateo was founded as a direct result of a lack of accountability after egregious actions by the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, including the murder by police of Chinedu Okobi. Spokespersons for Fixin' say the county's Board of Supervisors needs to create an oversight board in light of the deaths of Okobi and others.
San Mateo County has one of the highest disproportionate arrest rates of Black and people of color in the United States.
Relatives and friends of Chinedu Okobi demanded justice at a memorial service on what would have been the victim's 40th birthday this week. They commemorated his life and recalled how he was was profiled, attacked, and tased repeatedly until dead. The San Mateo Sheriff's department has to this day offered no credible explanation for the use of deadly force against a citizen for allegedly jaywalking.
Despite using batons, pepper spray and multiple Taser deployments, the five deputies involved were cleared of criminal charges by the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office. An internal investigation supported the DA's decision.
The group Fixin’ San Mateo was founded as a direct result of a lack of accountability after egregious actions by the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, including the murder by police of Chinedu Okobi. Spokespersons for Fixin' say the county's Board of Supervisors needs to create an oversight board in light of the deaths of Okobi and others.
Add Your Comments
Comments
(Hide Comments)
40 years and 5 months ago it was ‘Back to School Night at St. Paul’s Primary School in Noe Valley, San Francisco.
I met my 5-year-old daughter Mildred’s best friend “Ekene”. Naturally, I met her best friend’s mother as well, Amaka Okobi.
Amaka and I had much in common:
Our 5-year old daughters
We were both nurses
We were both mothers of large families
We were both pregnant;, me with #6, and she with #5,
her son, her baby, her Chinedu.
Over the next few years, my little girl went to the Okobi home many Sundays, going to church with them, eating, and playing, as I worked weekends.
Fast forward to an afternoon 30 later. October 3, 2018. Amaka heard a news bulletin:
“36-year-old black man dies during police encounter”.
She remembers thinking “I feel so sorry for his mother”.
A few hours later the coroner arrived at her home. The man who had been killed was her son, her baby, her Chinedu.
To Amaka:
To quote William Wordsworth:
“Be now forever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
of splendor in the grass,
of glory in the flower,
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind;………”
The strength is needed to do our job. Our job is to come together to stop this hateful divisive sentiment that exists in our hearts, homes, cities, country and world. When our hearts are hearts are right correct action will follow.
Merrie Jo Musni, Friend to the Okobi Family, CNA Nurse
I met my 5-year-old daughter Mildred’s best friend “Ekene”. Naturally, I met her best friend’s mother as well, Amaka Okobi.
Amaka and I had much in common:
Our 5-year old daughters
We were both nurses
We were both mothers of large families
We were both pregnant;, me with #6, and she with #5,
her son, her baby, her Chinedu.
Over the next few years, my little girl went to the Okobi home many Sundays, going to church with them, eating, and playing, as I worked weekends.
Fast forward to an afternoon 30 later. October 3, 2018. Amaka heard a news bulletin:
“36-year-old black man dies during police encounter”.
She remembers thinking “I feel so sorry for his mother”.
A few hours later the coroner arrived at her home. The man who had been killed was her son, her baby, her Chinedu.
To Amaka:
To quote William Wordsworth:
“Be now forever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
of splendor in the grass,
of glory in the flower,
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind;………”
The strength is needed to do our job. Our job is to come together to stop this hateful divisive sentiment that exists in our hearts, homes, cities, country and world. When our hearts are hearts are right correct action will follow.
Merrie Jo Musni, Friend to the Okobi Family, CNA Nurse
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$170.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network