Youth Radio - Topic: Police

UC Berkeley Responds To Lawsuit

denise — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 19:09:09 -0600

By: Denise Tejada, Turnstyle News

The University of California, Berkeley released a statement today in response to the filing of a lawsuit by 24 students that includes demands for compensation after experiencing police brutality and false arrest, and for violations of First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights, during a peaceful demonstration on Berkeley’s campus on Nov. 9. The statement reads:

“It is disconcerting that the plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit that is filled with so many inaccuracies. For example, the claim that members of the administration are opposed to the “protesters’ defense of affordable, public education” is completely unfounded.

“Since arriving at UC Berkeley, Chancellor Birgeneau has established a consistent record of aggressively advocating for increased state funding for public higher education, and speaking out against the disinvestment that has led to dramatic increases in tuition. UC Berkeley’s administration is fully committed to preserving the public character, access and excellence of this university.

“The chancellor has also been very clear about the extent to which the events of Nov. 9, even if legally justifiable, are disturbing and inconsistent with the character and traditions of this institution. For that reason he has asked that the students, faculty, staff and community members who sit on our independent Police Review Board expedite the investigation of the confrontations. Their findings and recommendations will guide any changes in policy and practice that are needed to ensure we never have a repeat of the events of Nov. 9. At this point our attention is focused on supporting the board’s comprehensive review, for it is this process — not litigation — that will help us move forward together as a campus community.”

UC Berkeley Students To File Lawsuit Against University, Police

denise — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 13:22:04 -0600

By: Denise Tejada, Turnstyle News

On Wednesday, 20 students -- along with a civil rights group, BAMN (By Any Means Necessary) -- will file a lawsuit against UC Berkeley administrators, the UC Police Department, and Alameda County Sheriff's officers. The lawsuit is demanding compensation for police brutality and false arrest, and the violation of students' First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights, during a peaceful demonstration on Berkeley's campus on Nov. 9.

On that day, police were filmed shoving and beating protesters, many of whom were UC Berkeley students, on campus during a peaceful demonstration. Some of the students were arrested after the ordeal.

Students were shocked by the treatment they received from police. “A police officer jabbed me three or four times in the lower abdomen,” said Ashley Pinkerton, a UC Berkeley Peace and Conflict studies student. “Each time it was a jolt more than the pain because my adrenaline was rushing so much, so I didn’t really feel that stuff till much later.” Pinkerton found herself standing up against campus police after helping another student who she saw being “strangled” by officers.

Pinkerton has been a supporter of the Occupy movement and has attended the general assemblies in Oakland. She said she's now proud to support the Occupy movement at her school. “I think, overall, just being in something that is so collectively active, it gives you this really righteous feeling...you share something really intense."

But for UC Berkeley graduate student Francisco Alvarado, that violent night was the first time he showed his support to the Occupy movement. “It was very lovely, people were being very friendly... I decided to stay. I had my books [and] I thought, 'I can do my homework on the steps of Sproul Hall,'” Alvarado said.

The 30-year-old was the first person to start locking arms to protect the few tents that were on Sproul Hall and was also the first person to be arrested.

“All I kept hearing from the cops was ‘move, move, move..’ and as I was getting hit, and I don’t know how, but I started screaming, ‘I can’t move, you’re hitting me!' ” Alvarado said. The next thing he remembers is police pulling him from the group, putting zip-ties on him, and arresting him.

Turnstyle reached out to UC Berkeley about the lawsuit, but the university would not comment since the lawsuit has not been filed. However, on the day after students and campus police clashed, spokeswoman Claire Holmes of the university gave a statement, saying the administration stands behind campus police and their actions. “We watched what was happening in Oakland, and decided we couldn’t let that happen here…Police were asked to enforce our policy, and that’s what they did,” Holmes said. “We never like to hurt our students or anybody here. We tried to warn them in advance.”

For Alvarado, standing side-by-side with fellow students and speaking against fee increases was important for him. “When I started going to undergrad at San Jose State -- even going to a state school, it was harsh, making the payments and continuing education.” Alvarado said. “Fee hikes were happening then, too. Having that background and having lived through an undergrad experience of struggling, I knew that as a graduate student I had to take that stance.”

Pinkerton and Alvarado say it’s amazing to see the support UC Berkeley students are receiving, but it’s also important for those attending the movement to ask themselves “You, as the 99 percent what are you bringing to the table?” They also want this lawsuit to help spark the conversation that police brutality is not acceptable on campus and against students.

Chapter Closes on Oscar Grant Shooting Trial, 152 Arrested [SLIDESHOW]

wilmer — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 19:00:03 -0500

OAKLAND-Police corralled and arrested 152 protesters in the area east of Lake Merritt Friday, the evening after the sentencing of former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle. Mehserle had been convicted of involuntary manslaughter in July for shooting 22-year-old Oscar Grant in the back when he was face down and in custody.

From the Los Angeles Court House, Judge Robert Perry issued the minimum sentence, two years in state prison for the officer, sparking anger from Grant's family and their allies around the country. Mehserle was given double credit for time served, so his actual sentence is one year, 2 months and 13 days or less.

About 300 people gathered in front of Oakland City Hall throughout the afternoon in a peaceful demonstration, listening to speeches. At dusk, more demonstrators joined the crowd and they headed out of the downtown area, marching towards Fruitvale BART, scene of the Grant's shooting death. Youth Radio's Haldun Morgan reports that police started to chase the crowd, and that "protesters played cat and mouse with the police," weaving through neighborhoods. At one point, protesters tore down a resident's fence near Lakeshore Boulevard to run from the police. Then police surrounded about protesters when they were on 6th Avenue between 17th and 18th Streets. Police circled the demonstrators and would not let them exit. Police proceeded with arrests.

Oakland Speaks

wilmer — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 12:58:56 -0500

Youth Radio is gathering reflections from people in downtown Oakland as the city awaits today's sentencing of former transit cop Johannes Mehserle in the shooting death of Oscar Grant. Below are the writings and impressions coming from the streets. These will be updated throughout the day, and some will appear in Youth Radio's Grant Station magazine.

Mehserle Sentencing and The Unanswered Question: Should Transit Cops Have Guns?

wilmer — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:53:34 -0500

By Charlie Foster

Just how long Johannes Mehserle goes to prison for fatally shooting an unarmed train passenger will likely come down to one thing: his gun. Because while the ex-transit cop’s involuntary manslaughter conviction carries a sentence of as much as four years in state prison, a gun enhancement could tack on an additional ten years, taking the potential sentence to 14 years total.

A judge will sentence Mehserle on Friday for killing 22-year-old Oscar Grant during an arrest on Jan. 1, 2009, on a station platform in Oakland. In July, after deliberating for less than seven hours, a jury decided the death was unintentional. But by adding the gun enhancement, they seemed to reject Mehserle’s claim that he had mistaken his gun for a Taser.

Meanwhile, the shooting has generated a much longer and sweeping deliberation in the Bay Area and around the state about the weapons BART police officers carry on the job.

“The whole case raises the question of why BART cops even carry guns,” former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown wrote this summer in his column in the Chronicle. Guns, he argued, dont fit the job description for police whose jurisdiction revolves around trains and their stations. “It's not like they are real police officers out on patrol. They are transit cops.”

As certified peace officers, BART police do in fact wield the same authority as their counterparts who work the streets of Oakland, Los Angeles and every other California municipality. But officers at the various police agencies don’t all wield the same equipment, and those varied arsenals can include nightsticks, pepper spray, Tasers, pistols and shotguns.

Critics of armed BART officers say they are about as likely to face violent crimes as mall cops. It’s a claim even Lynette Sweet on BART’s Board of Directors concedes. “Our big problem right now is at Dublin-Pleasanton garage where somebody is stealing wheels off cars and putting the cars up on crates -- I mean, that’s our big crime right now,” Sweet told Youth Radio in July. She also said that BART police have a bad record of using deadly force. Of the agency’s two other fatal shootings by officers, one involved an unarmed 19-year-old, shot in the back while running away, and the other happened when an officer gunned down a mentally ill man who had grabbed his nightstick.

But Sweet disagreed that BART police should lose their guns.

“In a post-9/11 world, we want to have some means to defend ourselves if need be,” she said. “Instead they should be relieved of their Tasers to avoid confusing them with their guns. I know that sounds silly because guns are deadly, but more thought goes into pulling a gun than a Taser,” she said.

Many police say the debate is not about choosing weapons, but rather how much officers are trained to use them. While all police in the state receive the same basic, police academy training, including firing handguns, law enforcement agencies have varying levels of on-the-job training. Oakland Police Department, for instance, provides officers much more continuous gun training than BART cops receive.

In a brief to Judge Perry seeking a lowest possible sentence, Mehserle’s defense lawyer cited that the former officer was not trained well by BART.

At Napa Valley College Police Academy, where Mehserle graduated in 2006, he is now used as an example of what happens if a officers skills get rusty.

“Especially when we go down to the firing range and were practicing our shooting and drawing drills,” said Brent Hardy, a 24-year-old cadet. “They say, Hey muscle memory, muscle memory know what your gun feels like without looking at it.”

Hardy said the academy teaches how to use pepper spray, but not Tasers.

“It’s my personal belief that he wasn’t training enough,” said Hardy. “He simply grabbed the wrong weapon. I understand why that happened, but if he was training more outside of his work, on the weekends or whatever, he might not have made that mistake.”

Anticipating The Mehserle Sentence: 5 - 14 Years

rgee — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 10:08:14 -0500

The trial for Johannes Mehserle, former Oakland BART Police Officer, had California buzzing over the controversy. Mehserle shot 22 year-old train rider Oscar Grant in the back on New Year’s Day 2009 after pinning him to the ground on the Fruitvale BART platform. Mehserle was convicted in early July of involuntary manslaughter. The sentencing for Mehserle takes place on Friday, Nov. 5, at 8:30 a.m. in Los Angeles, CA.

The verdict of involuntary manslaughter had Oscar Grant supporters up in arms. Mehserle's main defense presented to the jury was that he mistakenly pulled his gun instead of his taser, but the prosecution argued otherwise. In the pending civil case, John Burris, the Oakland attorney representing the Mehserle family, claims that pulling the gun was not an accident, and that Mehserle should have been convicted of murder. (View Youth Radio's extensive coverage of the Oscar Grant / Mehserle case including an original photo magazine of the event.)

Mehserle could face between five and 14 years in prison. However, there are several complicating factors for Judge Robert Perry to consider. SF Gate reported, “Although one state law requires an increased prison term for using a gun during a felony, another law allows a judge to grant probation for involuntary manslaughter... In ordinary circumstances, state law says anyone found to have used a gun during a felony must serve extra time in prison. If Perry decides that the law applies to Mehserle, the ex-police officer could get as much as 14 years and would have to serve at least 85 percent of his term.”

Other factors that Judge Perry will take into account include the fact that Mehserle has no prior legal record, as well as the opportunity to send a message to the community in such a high-profile case.

In the days following the 2009 shooting, Oakland streets erupted in multiple violent protests. Angry citizens overturned cars, broke store windows, and lit fires in dumpsters. Tensions were high throughout the Mehserle trial with many comparing the case to the Rodney King case, and while thousands took to the streets on July 8th when the verdict was announced, violence and looting wasn't as widespread as had been projected.

With Friday's sentencing just days away, some downtown Oakland businesses are again boarding up windows in anticipation of possible rioting. Most residents we've spoken to, say they aren't sure quite what to expect.

Q & A: Minority Students Suspended More Often?

rgee — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 07:30:31 -0500

Who’s getting suspended from school? According to a study published recently by the Southern Poverty Law Center, black students are being suspended at a rate of 15 percent, while white students are getting suspended at approximately five percent. The study reports that poor and minority children are consistently suspended more often, and therefore experience the effects of the loss of instructional time more profoundly.

The report examined middle school suspension data from the Department of Education for the years 2002 - 2006. The study authors suspect that the general increase in suspensions is due to more schools adopting zero tolerance discipline policies, which usually mean that consequences for poor behavior are issued quicker. But are these policies affecting some students in harsher ways than others?

Youth Radio spoke with Henry Robinson, the At Risk Specialist for the Milpitas Unified School District in California to get his opinion on the study’s findings. He is based at the Milpitas Police Department and works in conjunction with the school district.

Why do you think more and more students are getting suspended in general?

I already know about this phenomenon, and I think part of the reason that these numbers are so high is that it’s easier to suspend than to expel. When you suspend a child from school, you are using the local rules of the school district. The local administration will say, “Okay, your child talked back, you violated our rules, and you’re suspended.”

To expel you have to go through a hearing. A suspension can happen without a hearing.
Some school districts in urban areas, rather than deal with the kid’s problem, just get rid of the student. Expulsion happens when there’s an issue of school safety, for instance if someone brought a gun to school.

What’s your reaction to the racial disparity in the suspension numbers?
I think that suspension is being used as a crutch, rather than addressing the larger issues as systematic problems. It’s easier for schools to just get rid of the kids for a period of time. Suspension becomes a method of problem-solving rather than dealing with the root of the behavior.

What are some ways to prevent suspensions?
In my job, we work to prevent suspensions from happening. We have officers in the schools who provide, among other things, a class dealing with drug prevention, mediation, and peer mediator training. A lot of problems are resolved this way. You have to deal with problems before they start.

If districts had a peer mediation program, they could avoid a lot of suspensions. A place where kids can learn the difference between okay and not okay, and using words instead of hands. That’s our emphasis.

What are common behaviors that result in suspension?
Fights result in three to five day suspensions. Commonly in Milpitas, students are suspended for confrontation and talking back. Also refusing to follow directions, using bad language, and pushing and shoving.

How can we begin to decrease the number of suspensions ?
Schools would have fewer suspensions if they spent more time at the beginning of the year teaching the do’s and don’ts. It’s important to reinforce those daily and weekly. This way, the kids are aware: if i do A, then B is a consequence. Here are some alternatives.

Have you seen some some classrooms do this successfully? What characterizes teachers that do not rely on suspensions?
Teachers that do not rely on suspensions for discipline have their rules fully stated. A copy of the rules is given to students for their binders. The rules are very clear to everyone as a group, regardless of race. When it’s not clear, students tend to say, “I didn’t know, you never told me.”

Some teachers think they need to use a kid as an example for the class. An over-reaction can backfire. The student is likely to say, Why are you picking on me? The teacher says, Get out of here, I don’t want you back in my class.

What do districts need to do to make sure that they are not disproportionately suspending students of one race over another?
Districts need to sit down regularly and ask themselves, Did we apply our rules equally to all groups? If yes, then the numbers should be the same. If not, then districts need to look internally and ask, Why are these kids suspended at a higher rate. What can we do? Districts might begin to see patterns.

One answer is instituting preventative programs peer mediation. Another is instituting a school wide policy on prevention. This results in having a core of basic guidelines for the whole school instead of each teacher enforcing their own policy.

Have you seen schools do this successfully?
I have seen it work. Schools will adopt certain programs, and then the consequences for bad behavior are institutionalized. The language is the same throughout the school, versus hearing seven different interpretations of the policy. Schools can have a rally for students to go over expectations. The other thing that works is rewarding good behavior. Giving students points that they can trade in for something special.

Most importantly, the plan has to be communicated to the families. Schools are posting school rules online now, to encourage families to go over the rules at home with their kid and reinforce them. Without a plan like this, organizations like the NAACP and New York TImes look into it and ask whether you’re treating kids fairly. The ultimate question is whether kids’ civil rights are being violated.

What happens if a school can trace a large number of suspensions back to one teacher?
You might need to have private conversations with specific teachers, but schools should have an in-service for all teachers.

How do you feel about zero tolerance policies?
Having a zero-tolerance policy doesn’t mean you have an action plan. You can’t just say DON’T do this. You also need to have a program to teach and prevent. The policy has to be a living, working document that involves the community, parents, teachers, and students.
For certain things that deal with safety, you need a zero tolerance policy. Having it is one thing, But you have to educate the entire community about what it means.

For example, you can have a zero tolerance policy for athletes, that says absolutely no steroids. But then you find out that whole team used steroids. Do you cancel the season? Or do you suspend some players and not others.

Check It Out: Punishment For Poverty

rgee — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:31:41 -0500

The Community Justice Network Blog is sharing some personal insights into the failings of our justice system. Racial profiling is alive and well, according to Ophelia Williams.

"When he thinks back to his 21st birthday, my nephew’s memories won’t be of family, friends, a night with his girlfriend, or even a hangover like most celebrating their first taste of adulthood. His memory will be of a cold cell, trapped night after night in the company of strangers, fighting for his freedom to be restored. This is all because a White man wanted so badly to accuse someone of robbing him and his girlfriend allegedly at gunpoint as they left a Haight Street bar.
You’re probably feeling conflicted, because human nature leads us to sympathize with the alleged victim. I’m sorry this man and his girlfriend were allegedly robbed of her purse containing medicinal marijuana, but the fact that there was no gun found, no purse found, and nothing at all that connected my nephew and his friends to the robbery should have been enough to force a further investigation of the alleged crime. But that’s not what happened. A White couple had been allegedly robbed by three Black boys and someone had to pay! Because my nephew “fit the description” – Black in the wrong place at the wrong time – he had his first experience fighting the labyrinth of the criminal justice system."

Read more at the Community Justice Network Blog.

Part Time Protestors

wilmer — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:56:22 -0500

The following originally aired on KCBS.

By Kavon Jones

Many people in the east bay took to the streets protesting Oscar Grant’s death, but when but when black on black crime happens in our own neighborhoods, what do we do about it?

I’m Kavon Jones with a commentary from Youth Radio.

Black people need to stop being part-time protestors, and start addressing the problems inside our own communities. There are thousands of Oscar Grants, except too often the killings are black on black violence, but it’s no different. Picking and choosing which murders to protest won’t heal Oakland or our neighborhoods.

Even worse, some people used Oscar Grant’s death as an excuse to run around downtown Oakland and be like "imma take this cuz they killed Oscar Grant,” which is absolutely the wrong way to get justice.

And justice is often not so hard to imagine. Too often we know the troublemakers in our community, but the stigma of snitching and the fear of death, keeps people from coming forward.

Oscar Grant became a symbol of police brutality. We need to recognize that every black on black murder is also a symbol for a community in crisis, and then have the courage to seek justice for our friends, family, and neighbors.

Grant Station: A Killing And The Aftermath (in images)

nishat — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:08:53 -0500

Youth Radio has created an online magazine (scroll down and click on the cover to flip through) documenting the 19 months following the shooting death of Oscar Grant at the hands of former Bay Area Rapid Transit Officer Johannes Mehserle.

In the following days, we'll be filling the magazine's final pages with our reporting on Mehserle's sentencing -- and with reflections gathered from the blank pages posted in downtown Oakland. Or you can add your comments, below.

Open publication - Free publishing - More shooting

Click here for more multimedia stories about the Oscar Grant case.