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mayday officer? Berkeley raid
These are pictures from a police raid on my house. I am wondering if anyone who would recognize the 'black bloc' dressed officer who apparently attacked an indy associated photographer at the mayday event in Berkeley as one of the officers in this photo?
I never saw that officer, and it was so difficult to tell what he looked like from that video that was put up three weeks ago due to the bandanna over his face. This raid on my house occurred at a little after 7pm 5/22. I heard yelling 'search warrant, open up', and I ran over to the separate unit with a camera and there were about 6-7 officers, and they had a black battering ram for opening the door. 6 were dressed in normal uniforms, but the 7th largely fit the description of that officer a couple weeks ago. These are the photos including him, but not of other officers. He is filipino or SE asian perhaps, and he was dressed in plainclothes, with the green army pants with pockets on the side like those that we were able to see in that online video, and he had a dark blue hoodie sweatshirt, and he has a moustache. I couldn't quite place that he has any particular sort of accent.
I apologize if these fuzzy photos are of a different person, or if this interferes with his job, but I'm a teacher - another government employee, and my teaching evaluations are recorded and even are put online, so I receive scrutiny as well. There are several gov't employees living here, including a kindergarten teacher and a veteran's administration lawyer. the public has a right to scrutinize us.
don't care if anyone can infer this location either. nothing to hide here.
What is really unnerving is that I have no idea why he was arrested, and my best guess would be the drug laws, but Berkeley has deemphasized the laws against marijuana within it's municipal code:
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/bmc/berkeley_municipal_code/title_12/24/010.html
above is the complete code, and note in particular this section stating that the police should not do arrests for marijuana.
"Section 12.24.040 Arrests and citations for violations of marijuana statutes.
The City Council shall seek to ensure that the Berkeley Police Department makes no arrests and issues no citations for violations of marijuana laws. (Ord. 5137-NS § 3, 1979)"
I know for certain that the arrested person is not a drug dealer. He is a completely inoffensive person with almost zero enemies, completely at peace with life. However, people who have been arrested or served jail time find it nearly impossible to find decent jobs and end up being funneled into real criminal behavior. That is why such a high percentage of people coming out of jail get put back in for parole violations in this state compared to other states. Anyway, the reason why I'm publicly mentioning this stuff is under the assumption that the target of this raid by the Berkeley drug squad was marijuana, and Berkeley citizens should know that this is happening now.
I have a strong inference that the reason why this occurred is that a man with schizophrenia who lives 3 buildings down gave the police false information about the house. A man... with a nordic sounding name that I forgot, has been calling the police and saying that we grow marijuana in the yard, which is totally ridiculous. The police came and looked in our yard and saw no marijuana plants in the yard and sort of looked at the man and I thought they realized that he was insane, but perhaps police don't think like that. He got the phone numbers and names of people in the house... which means he must have stolen the mail, and he frequently starts making harrassing phone calls saying crazy things around the time of the full moon, and when he walks by he will pick up garbage on the street and stuff it through the mail slot or window. . the building is filled with people living the drug-free straightedge livestyle as far as I can see. However, a few years ago a lot of people's park type people with behavioral problems did live here. There was a nasty racist, violent, gun toting drug dealer who was evicted, and two drug users committed suicide, so that is probably the impression that the police or the schizophrenic guy have, but all these people are gone now. Berkeley has a lot of mentally ill residents.
I apologize if these fuzzy photos are of a different person, or if this interferes with his job, but I'm a teacher - another government employee, and my teaching evaluations are recorded and even are put online, so I receive scrutiny as well. There are several gov't employees living here, including a kindergarten teacher and a veteran's administration lawyer. the public has a right to scrutinize us.
don't care if anyone can infer this location either. nothing to hide here.
What is really unnerving is that I have no idea why he was arrested, and my best guess would be the drug laws, but Berkeley has deemphasized the laws against marijuana within it's municipal code:
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/bmc/berkeley_municipal_code/title_12/24/010.html
above is the complete code, and note in particular this section stating that the police should not do arrests for marijuana.
"Section 12.24.040 Arrests and citations for violations of marijuana statutes.
The City Council shall seek to ensure that the Berkeley Police Department makes no arrests and issues no citations for violations of marijuana laws. (Ord. 5137-NS § 3, 1979)"
I know for certain that the arrested person is not a drug dealer. He is a completely inoffensive person with almost zero enemies, completely at peace with life. However, people who have been arrested or served jail time find it nearly impossible to find decent jobs and end up being funneled into real criminal behavior. That is why such a high percentage of people coming out of jail get put back in for parole violations in this state compared to other states. Anyway, the reason why I'm publicly mentioning this stuff is under the assumption that the target of this raid by the Berkeley drug squad was marijuana, and Berkeley citizens should know that this is happening now.
I have a strong inference that the reason why this occurred is that a man with schizophrenia who lives 3 buildings down gave the police false information about the house. A man... with a nordic sounding name that I forgot, has been calling the police and saying that we grow marijuana in the yard, which is totally ridiculous. The police came and looked in our yard and saw no marijuana plants in the yard and sort of looked at the man and I thought they realized that he was insane, but perhaps police don't think like that. He got the phone numbers and names of people in the house... which means he must have stolen the mail, and he frequently starts making harrassing phone calls saying crazy things around the time of the full moon, and when he walks by he will pick up garbage on the street and stuff it through the mail slot or window. . the building is filled with people living the drug-free straightedge livestyle as far as I can see. However, a few years ago a lot of people's park type people with behavioral problems did live here. There was a nasty racist, violent, gun toting drug dealer who was evicted, and two drug users committed suicide, so that is probably the impression that the police or the schizophrenic guy have, but all these people are gone now. Berkeley has a lot of mentally ill residents.
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Here is a slightly clearer picture w/o the shadows
or.. the shading seems to still be strong when uploaded here, but looks clearer on my friend's computer
Here is the officer standing. He seems to have exactly the same style of pants as the person in this photo:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2002/05/125609_comment.php#125696
Here is the officer standing. He seems to have exactly the same style of pants as the person in this photo:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2002/05/125609_comment.php#125696
I was the person who saw this guy at both the SJP protest and Mayday and while I cant positively identify him, it really does look like the guy from May Day.
Do you have a name or badge number for him?
Do you have a name or badge number for him?
That could be #40 Mah, but I'm not sure.
Somene I talked to at UC Berkeley who was at May Day claims Mah was on a bike at the protest. Im 95% sure that guy in teh picture is the guy who arrested the photograher but maybe its not Mah?
right now, my best inference is that that officer is Detective S. Libed #149. I just remember color green, which I associate with number 4, but I don't remember the entire number, but it probably has a 4 in it. It doesn't really quite matter. What people were interested in after that strange incident at the mayday dance is what he looks like.
Anyway, not to spread private business to the entire world, but I was surprised to learn that the warrant was for suspected heroin sales, and the police did look a bit confused or disappointed while they were searching. So, perhaps the Berkeley police aren't doing warranted home raids for marijuana. The idea of a heroin ring operating out of my residence, with nobody living here noticing, is just ridiculous. I would think that any completely naive person who knows nothing about drug dealers would be able to discern that something doesn't add up here. The suspected person is really mellow and friendly, and he works 60 hour weeks at a medium-low paying blue collar job, and has no money, or signs of heroin use, and there are no people who ever visit at the house who could be buying- it's not that hard to figure out. I don't know how police go about getting tips, but someone clearly gave them wrong information. Personally, I strongly suspect a man R.K. who has schizophrenia who has been making harrassing phone calls for years with violent threats, and recently has been making hang-up phone calls on a nearly daily basis between 8-9am, plus already has filed false complaints. You can't really argue with or get angry at crazy people but it's still a danger.
Anyway, not to spread private business to the entire world, but I was surprised to learn that the warrant was for suspected heroin sales, and the police did look a bit confused or disappointed while they were searching. So, perhaps the Berkeley police aren't doing warranted home raids for marijuana. The idea of a heroin ring operating out of my residence, with nobody living here noticing, is just ridiculous. I would think that any completely naive person who knows nothing about drug dealers would be able to discern that something doesn't add up here. The suspected person is really mellow and friendly, and he works 60 hour weeks at a medium-low paying blue collar job, and has no money, or signs of heroin use, and there are no people who ever visit at the house who could be buying- it's not that hard to figure out. I don't know how police go about getting tips, but someone clearly gave them wrong information. Personally, I strongly suspect a man R.K. who has schizophrenia who has been making harrassing phone calls for years with violent threats, and recently has been making hang-up phone calls on a nearly daily basis between 8-9am, plus already has filed false complaints. You can't really argue with or get angry at crazy people but it's still a danger.
There are evidently multiple officers with the name Mah.
Similarly, there are two brothers on the "Crowd Management Team" with the same name (Reese?).
The BPD uses this to their advantage. "So are you
*sure* that it was *this* officer Mah and not the other?
Officer Mah, frequently on Telegraph patrol harassing
kids on sidewalks, was at the same protest where (evidently another) officer Mah arrested the
Indymedia photographer at the May Eve RTS.
Mah in black with hood and mask. Doubt if this
will help them besides confusing all the people
who want to know what the undercover looks like.
Honestly without a real effort the undercover is not
going to be stopped. Just look at how officer Boga
goes in and out of "plainsclothes cover" on Telegraph,
and still finds people who somehow don't know.
And any undercover, whether we've seen him/her or
not, who puts on a black hoodie and mask is going
to be harder to identify.
We can work on being better prepared and better
aware -- and not doing things that get us targeted
individually unless we're willing to take that risk --
at demonstrations.
Similarly, there are two brothers on the "Crowd Management Team" with the same name (Reese?).
The BPD uses this to their advantage. "So are you
*sure* that it was *this* officer Mah and not the other?
Officer Mah, frequently on Telegraph patrol harassing
kids on sidewalks, was at the same protest where (evidently another) officer Mah arrested the
Indymedia photographer at the May Eve RTS.
Mah in black with hood and mask. Doubt if this
will help them besides confusing all the people
who want to know what the undercover looks like.
Honestly without a real effort the undercover is not
going to be stopped. Just look at how officer Boga
goes in and out of "plainsclothes cover" on Telegraph,
and still finds people who somehow don't know.
And any undercover, whether we've seen him/her or
not, who puts on a black hoodie and mask is going
to be harder to identify.
We can work on being better prepared and better
aware -- and not doing things that get us targeted
individually unless we're willing to take that risk --
at demonstrations.
This is the left's fault that Ofc Boga is still able to do what he does. Where are the pictures? Let's put them up everywhere, starting with Indymedia. It isnt fair to new generations of freedom-loving Americans that they are subjected to a known violent pervert like Boga.
What has Boga done? I've heard a bit about him, and I've also seen him on Telegraph sitting on the sidewalk talking calmly with kids outside of Mario's or by Cody's.
The thing is, there are some people who stay in Berkeley for many years, and others who stay a few days or weeks, and they can't possibly review all the pictures of various officers. plus, speaking with a copwatch person who suggested that it might be Mah (it probably isn't Mah, actually), it seems like they have stories and anecdotes attached with nearly every officer and so it's difficult to discern who the good vs. bad officers would be. Knowing a few prominent people would be feasible, plus there are only a few who regularly go undercover.
Also, I understand why people might embrace the black bloc tactic, but dressing that way at normal events where no one is about to get arrested, helps to provide cover for creepy infiltrators like that. Plus, it doesn't necessarily hide your identity if you have other features such as skin/hair color and clothing. Hats and sunglasses could work almost as well for protecting you from photography.
The thing is, there are some people who stay in Berkeley for many years, and others who stay a few days or weeks, and they can't possibly review all the pictures of various officers. plus, speaking with a copwatch person who suggested that it might be Mah (it probably isn't Mah, actually), it seems like they have stories and anecdotes attached with nearly every officer and so it's difficult to discern who the good vs. bad officers would be. Knowing a few prominent people would be feasible, plus there are only a few who regularly go undercover.
Also, I understand why people might embrace the black bloc tactic, but dressing that way at normal events where no one is about to get arrested, helps to provide cover for creepy infiltrators like that. Plus, it doesn't necessarily hide your identity if you have other features such as skin/hair color and clothing. Hats and sunglasses could work almost as well for protecting you from photography.
"Hats and sunglasses could work almost as well for protecting you from photography."
Exactly. So if we started wearing "hats and sunglasses" then the cops would start wearing "hats and sunglasses". Like in the 60s they wore hippie clothes to blend in with them. The argument that black bloc makes police infiltration easier is stupid. No matter how you dress, even if you dont dress in a particular way, the cops are gonna be able to infiltrate. There must be other ways of combating infiltration.
Exactly. So if we started wearing "hats and sunglasses" then the cops would start wearing "hats and sunglasses". Like in the 60s they wore hippie clothes to blend in with them. The argument that black bloc makes police infiltration easier is stupid. No matter how you dress, even if you dont dress in a particular way, the cops are gonna be able to infiltrate. There must be other ways of combating infiltration.
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