Reportback and Photos from Oakland Police Review Commision 3/25

by upton sinclair (irlandeso [at] riseup.net)

Tue, Mar 30, 2004 7:54PM

On March 25 there was a Rally before the Oakland Citizens Police Review Commision Meeting. The Commision was supposed to have a hearing on an incident that happened last June in East Oakland involving Lt Yuell, Officer Alcantar, Officer Gill, and two Oakland youths: Michael Henry and Elliot Noble.

People representing the School for Social Justice, Bay Area Police Watch, PUEBLO, Direct Action to Stop the War, Copwatch, the October 22nd Coalition, Bay Area Women Against Rape(WAR), Let's Get Free, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, All of Us or None, the Noble family, and various communities in Oakland; came together on March 25 to demand that the Police Review Commision take action and fire Lt Yuell and Officer McQuinn, both notorious for being abusive in the black community.

After a brief and spirited rally in front of City Hall, people went into the Police Review Board meeting and spoke about the history of these two officers, and the need for the City of Oakland and Review Board to take action to protect the community against the actions of these two officers and other similar elements within the Oakland Police Department(aka the Riders, and cops who have been abusing anti-war protestors over the last year or so, and I am sure many other rotten pigs..I mean apples in the barrel).

Once again the community was greeted by stalling tactics by the Oakland Police and their lawyers, and despite some debate being had within the Review Board over how to respond...Justice for the Noble family, Oakland youth, the black community, and Oaklanders in general was delayed.

At the end of the meeting there seemed to be some talk of bringing these ongoing issues to the April 6th City Council meeting.

Check out the pictures and full reportback from the rally and meeting below. More info on future actions will be posted soon.

§A Teacher from the School for Social Justice

by upton sinclair (irlandeso [at] riseup.net)

Tue, Mar 30, 2004 7:54PM

A teacher speaks out about how the incident on Feb 20th, in which Officer McQuinn and fellow Oakland Police officers detained and physically and verbally harrassed several students from the School for Social Justice under "reasonable suspicion of being black", affects both the students and the efforts of the school in trying to bring some hope and a better future to these youth.

for more info see:
'"OPD Harrass Students "Under Suspicion of Being Black"'
https://www.indybay.org/police/#1834

§Vanessa from Bay Area Police Watch

by upton sinclair (irlandeso [at] riseup.net)

Tue, Mar 30, 2004 7:54PM

Police Watch is closely associated with the School for Social Justice and is leading the charge to get Lt Yuell and Officer McQuinn fired. They have had previous success in leading a community campaign that forced the San Francisco Police Commission to fire officer Marc Andaya. Andaya was a rogue cop with a cowboy attitude who had killed Aaron Williams, an unarmed black man.

for more info:
http://www.ellabakercenter.org/frame2.html

§October 22nd Coalition and Stolen Lives member speaks out

by upton sinclair (irlandeso [at] riseup.net)

Tue, Mar 30, 2004 7:54PM

A member of the Oct 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation; spoke about Jamil Wheatfall's murder at the hands of Oakland Police and joined the call for police accountability in Oakland and the firing of the 2 officers.

for more info on O22, the Stolen Lives Project, and Jamil Wheatfall check out - http://www.october22.org/

§Copwatch member speaks out

by upton sinclair (irlandeso [at] riseup.net)

Tue, Mar 30, 2004 7:54PM

A member of Berkeley Copwatch speaks out against police brutality. Copwatch is currently involved in trying to encourage copwatching in Oakland, and possibly form an Oakland Copwatch.

for more info go to:
http://www.berkeleycopwatch.org/

§Gwen Hardy from the Campaign for Community Safety and Police Accountability of PUEBLO

by upton sinclair (irlandeso [at] riseup.net)

Tue, Mar 30, 2004 7:54PM

Gwen Hardy from PUEBLO gives her thanks to the youth for being at the Board meeting and demanding police accountability in Oakland. PUEBLO and Direct Action to Stop the War will be holding a rally in front of Oakland Police Headquarters on April 7 at 4pm. They will be calling for an end to police brutality in Oakland, and then they will head out to the Oakland docks to shutdown the SSA terminal and call for an end to end union busting, privatization, and war profiteering in Iraq.

for more info about the Campaign for Community Safety and Police Accountability or on the April 7th Rally at OPD headquarters see PUEBLO's website - http://www.peopleunited.org

§Jay Imani of Lets Get Free

by upton sinclair (irlandeso [at] riseup.net)

Tue, Mar 30, 2004 7:54PM

Imani schooling the Board on what they need to do and telling Board Counsel Lawson that he looks like he is falling asleep, and that all Board members should show more respect to those in the audience and pay attention to what they are saying.

§Police Review Board members react to Imani's statement

by upton sinclair (irlandeso [at] riseup.net)

Tue, Mar 30, 2004 7:54PM

J. Imani got Tony Lawson, Police Review Board Counsel, and another Board member, John Batarse, to wake up a little in reaction to his calling them to task on the way they had been responding to the communities input in the public comment period. Batarse and Audrey Montana, another Board member, had strange looking smirks on their face throughout the public comment period.

§The crowd stands up for police acountability

by upton sinclair (irlandeso [at] riseup.net)

Tue, Mar 30, 2004 7:54PM

§The cops and their lawyer stay seated

by upton sinclair (irlandeso [at] riseup.net)

Tue, Mar 30, 2004 7:54PM

§Chairperson Beneba Thomas says that Lt Yuell is a friend of hers

by upton sinclair (irlandeso [at] riseup.net)

Tue, Mar 30, 2004 7:54PM

She then proceeds to talk about how she does not believe that this means that her judgement will be clouded in hearing the case. Yeah right...Good to see that the Board members are so objective, its no wonder that police are out of control in Oakland.

§Lt Yoell?? and his legal counsel

by upton sinclair (irlandeso [at] riseup.net)

Tue, Mar 30, 2004 7:54PM

This picture was taken right before the Noble hearing was to begin.

§City Manager has final say over Police Review Board decisions

by upton sinclair (irlandeso [at] riseup.net)

Tue, Mar 30, 2004 7:54PM

This is a picture of our beloved City Manager. I don't really have much faith in her being the final decision maker on the hearing process.

§Lt Yoell, OPD officers, and counsel walk out of hearing

by upton sinclair (irlandeso [at] riseup.net)

Tue, Mar 30, 2004 7:54PM

In what seemed to be like an effort to stifle justice in the Noble case, the OPD officers and their counsel decided to walk out of the hearing in an attempt to stop the hearing from taking place at this time. They claimed that it had something to do with the Noble families' lawyer filing a letter which keeps open the possibility of a future lawsuit against Lt Yoell, the OPD, and the City.

§Lt Yoell hanging his head in shame outside the hearing

by upton sinclair (irlandeso [at] riseup.net)

Tue, Mar 30, 2004 7:54PM

Lt Yoell did not really want to have his picture taken by me it seems. Maybe it has something to do with his feelings of guilt?

§Lt Yoell and Counsel taking Channel 2 Behind Closed Doors

by upton sinclair (irlandeso [at] riseup.net)

Tue, Mar 30, 2004 7:54PM

They decided that they were not willing to talk to the Channel 2 reporter in front of me and a few other witnesses.

I guess they felt more comfortable trying to explain their position behind closed doors, maybe off the record, maybe not. I didn\'t get the chance to watch the 10'o'clock news. The room they went into also had sushi and other food for the cops and Review Board members, maybe as part of a bigger attempt to buy all these people off with food.

§Lawyer for Noble Family, Dan Siegal

by upton sinclair (irlandeso [at] riseup.net)

Tue, Mar 30, 2004 7:54PM

Dan Siegal trys to convince the Review Board to continue with the hearing without the Oakland Police officers and their counsel.

§Tony Lawson, counsel for the Board explains choices

by upton sinclair (irlandeso [at] riseup.net)

Tue, Mar 30, 2004 7:54PM

Tony Lawson seemed to actually suggest that the Board should go through with the hearing without the presence of the cops and their counsel. He also seemed to be saying that the argument that the counsel for the cops was making in regards to the notice being served for a possible future lawsuit against Lt Yoell, the OPD, and the City; was not a very good argument at all.

However his logic did not prevail as Board members voted in the majority to put off the hearing to a future date, possibly after the time expires for the civilsuit to be filed or not filed, which is 6 months.

Justice delayed, is Justice Denied

§We will not forget Jamil Wheatfall

by upton sinclair (irlandeso [at] riseup.net)

Tue, Mar 30, 2004 7:54PM

The Struggle Continues and we will not foget Jamil Wheatfall, those abused by the Riders, those abused by Officer McQuinn and Lt Yoell, or any other victims of Oakland's out of control police force.

No Justice!! No Peace!! See ya on the Streets...and at Oakland City Hall on April 6th at 5:45pm

Reportback and Photos from Oakland Police Review Commision 3/25

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