Kings and Queens,
I Read (most of) this during Oakland’s City Council Meeting on April 21. #Mylifematters #SoISpokeUp. I usually don’t go to City Council meetings. In fact, this was the first one I’ve ever attended. Something tells me that I should try and make this more of a habit. If we are going to keep our city officials accountability, we’ve gotta let them know we have our eyes on them. We’ve got to use our voice, and speak up for the ones unable to do so at the moment, for whatever reason. I think the best thing moving forward is for me to put this in my calendar so that I can stay aware of it and continue the trend of coming.
Much love to the Anti Police Terror Project for sending out that powerful email the day before (included after the photo). This is APTP below! Oh, and by the way, the City Council action APTP planned to object to at the last meeting got postponed. The City officials seemed to blink first and move the item about the Citizen Review Board of the Oakland Police to another date.
See you on the Streets,
Junior
Find Minutes and Videos from Oakland City Council and Committee Meetings by clicking here.
WE FORCED THE STATE TO CONCEDE!!!!
Two weeks ago, 100 members of the Anti-Police Terror Project, along with members of Yuvette Henderson’s family put forth a demand to the Oakland Police Department to allow the family of Yuvette to view the videos at Home Depot where Yuvette was assaulted and injured by Home Depot security, and in front of Extra Space Storage where Yuvette was murdered by the Emeryville Police Department.
This was the SECOND time we have delivered this letter. The first time, even after shutdowns of the Emeryville Police Department and Home Depot, they still said NO. But the people are persistent and …
THIS TIME … THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE
FORCED THEIR HAND!
Yuvette’s family will be viewing the videos THIS WEEK at the Oakland Police Department. We are concealing the date and time to provide much-needed privacy for the family, but will get back to you with updates – and next steps – soon!z
Over the last few months, police have killed two women of color. Both Guadalupe Ochoa and Yuvette Henderson were unarmed when they were gunned down by police.
In both cases, police deliberately withheld reports and spread misinformation. And in both cases, the people-led APTP investigations called into question (and disproved) statements made by the police and the media.
And with both women, OPD actively engaged in the dehumanization of these mothers, wives and grandmothers, while causing extreme emotional stress for their loved ones.
COPS CAN’T BE TRUSTED TO INVESTIGATE COPS!!!
That is why we are joining the Coalition for Police Accountability in demanding that all investigations of police misconduct and crime be transferred OUT of Internal Affairs and INTO the hands of the people.
And we are demanding that the investigations into the state’s murders of Yuvette Henderson and Guadalupe Ochoa be transferred over to a community-led investigation team.
We know the CRPB is not a silver bullet, and it is a looooong way from dismantling a system built to oppress, incarcerate and kill people of color. But we believe this is a good step in the right direction toward accountability for officer-involved crimes.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
SHOW UP TO CITY COUNCIL TOMORROW. Bring signs with our demands or just show up as we will have some to distribute.
SIGN UP TO SPEAK. Let City Council know that we have ZERO faith in police investigations of police crimes and we want the CRPB to be made up of everyday people, and survivors of police terror, to review ALL complaints of police terror. The CRPB should have the power to discipline offending officers.
You can sign up for a speaker card here: http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/CityClerk/s/SpeakerCard/SpeakerCard/OAK032373
You do not
have to speak if you fill out a card, you can cede your time to another speaker who needs more time. But PLEASE fill out a card!
Some additional reading about why we NEED a CRPB in Oakland and the dirty history of OPD:
- Oct 2011 Deadly Secrets: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/deadly-secrets/Content?oid=3012922
- Nov 2011: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/opd-facing-more-legal-trouble/Content?oid=3048080
- Dec 2011: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/opd-used-violent-cops-against-occupy/Content?oid=3076433
- Aug 2012: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/the-high-costs-of-outsourcing-policeandnbsp/Content?oid=3306199
- March 2013: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2013/03/04/thomas-frazier-appointed-opd-compliance-director
- April 2013: Deanna Santana Blocks Reform of Internal Affairs: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/deanna-santana-blocks-reform-of-internal-affairs/Content?oid=3530211
- May 2013: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/frazier-to-reexamine-police-misconduct/Content?oid=3541392
- Sept 2014: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/why-oakland-cant-fire-bad-cops/Content?oid=4074076
- Feb 2015 OPD Still Appears to be Targeting Blacks: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/opd-still-appears-to-be-targeting-blacks/Content?oid=4185368
See you tomorrow!!!!
APTP
Mark you calendars. The next APTP meetings is Wednesday, May 20th @ 7:30pm at Eastside Arts Alliance!
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