Chevron-Texaco police brutality

And it gets worse - these are the real Nazis out here, just replace the swastika for an American flag and you've got this area defined. They've got their flags on all the overpasses (continuous since 9/11 despite repeated complaints I've made to Caltrans and appeals to reporters to write on the fact that Caltrans ignores the situation), and even affixed to city signs. There are flags on the LAMPOSTS for chrissakes. It's really sick. The local city officials out in these places seem to promote the nazi nationalism response by changing their own city laws or selectively ignoring them, making right-wing war mongers think they are above the law and endangering everyone.

BTW, Freedom Uprising rocks! Hope everyone involved is okay.

dear sylvia,
don't let your racist views of the police distort the truth. police officers do not openly support the war, they just don't openly hate america. your calling san ramon a white bread city just shows your racism. i live in san ramon and i have several neighbors who are african american and asian american. it's interesting that most people who hate the system are those who haven't succeeded in it. you don't hear affluent people of color complaining. it's the people who expect something for nothing that are bitching and moaning. sylvia, do us all afavor and take your tired act to oakland so the OPD can show you the real way to handle a protest. and please stay out of san ramon, walnut creek, danville, pleasonton and stay in berkeley and san fran.

And President Bush orders the murder of children. "Patriot" is supposed to be a "good" word today. "Nazi" was a "good" word at one time too. Hitler was man of the year in Time Magazine in the fourties.
More kids will die in Iraq as the U.S. fails to provide for them. Use your head. Look at the facts. Turn off the Corporate media. Think for yourself. Quit talking out your ass.

I was in Oakland and in San Ramon - and the Oakland Police were brutal and violated the constitution. From my experience at San Ramon, they respected the constitution, kept the peace and handled the arrests peaceably. I did not see anyone get arrested who didn't want to.

As for the comment re: flag wavers, I was glad to see them but their rhetoric was outdated: "Get a Job!" "Get Out of My Town, You Ignorant Bastards", "Got to Hell You Yuppie Scum" - plus about 1/2 of the people who honked were supportive but 1/2 of them gave us the finger~!

These are tense times, let's call out police violence when we see it - I did not see it in San Ramon.

As for the person who thinks the protests should stay out of the homogenized areas so that the OPD can school us....I SAY THIS -

The protest movement will test the police in every community which has invited blood money into its community and which celebrates its participation in the American Empire Wars.

btw, it's not just about Iraq - remember we're still fighting full combat in Afghanistan and are marching drums to Syria and maybe North Korea. And the War on Drugs is in full swing - as well as the War on the Environment -

Namaste :)

how dare you compare the patriotism of people in the US to nazism. my parents lived in warsaw in WWII and i heard the stories of what it was like. i am sick and tired of you middle class, snot nosed white kids in the bay area spouting off because you don't have anything better to do. any person who would complain to cal trans about the american flag hanging from an overpass either has too much time on his hands or just can not grasp reality. the reality is this if americans want to display the american flag, they can. if americans want to burn the american flag, they can. the real nazis are the people who try to impse the will of a few on the majority...aka germany in the forties. p.s. whether you love the government or hate it, would you want to go elsewhere? i didn't think so.

The event described above may indeed represent brutality and racism. Any incident like this obviously needs to be documented and complaints filed. However, I think the widespread practice of focusing on real and alleged police brutality at protests takes the focus off the real targets of power and repression these protests are seeking to bring to light and challenge.

Separately, it undermines the effort to bring systemic police brutality and judicial discrimination against people of color and poor people to light in general. These incidents at rally's are often the result of inexperienced and or overly aggressive cops with personal issues which may indeed include personal racism. Systemic racism like the death penalty, the prison/industrial complex, the drug war, brutality like that of the "riders" in Oakland, are the police/judicial issues which need to be attacked in an organized and direct way. If we want to address the very real and long standing issue of law enforcements illegal discrimination against people of color we should do that in an organized way against the the organizations and people that are really behind that discrimination and repression of communities of color. Meanwhile, addressing those problems in this peacemeal way, making generalized comments like "white bread" San Ramon, and turning protests and civil disobedience actions into a battle with police who often could give a shit less about anything but getting us out of their hair, drains energy and takes the focus away from the fight against endless war policy, racial injustice at home and abroad or any other movement for justice.

The anger we all feel when we experience or see others experience mistreatment by the police, whether racially motivated or not, needs to be expressed and aknowledged, but allowing it to divert us from our goals and focus, plays right in to the way power keeps it's power.

I sincerely hope the author of the article I am responding to understands that I am very sympathetic to her anger at this experience and experiences like this. I simply plead for us all to keep our energies focused and vital.

... think logically, rightwingers, before appropriating the rhetoric of the left to your own agendas:
1) 'whitebred' is a description, not a racist comment.
2) photo 5 is very clearly brutal. but even if your interpetation is different, the eyewitness account still stands.

Here is the census page for contra costa. if you click on san ramon - $106,000 median household income 1.8% african american. http://www.bayareacensus.ca.gov/counties/ContraCostaCounty.htm

M. Polansky says, "the real nazis are the people who try to impose the will of a few on the majority" which is exactly the point. I think eventually all of us in this country will come to realize we're on the same side--the OUTside--with Bush and his corporate cronies--the few obscenely rich and powerful--on the inside.

"the real nazis are the people who try to impose the will of a few on the majority...aka germany in the forties"

Hey Mr. Polansky you just described the Bush Administration perfectly.

Actually the German people were very much pro -Nazi in the forties. Germany had a slick P.R. campaign kind of like the Bush Administration. They had an "act of terror"(the reichstag fire) to use as an excuse to invade Poland. Kind of like the Bush Administration.
After this act they pushed on to invade other countries. Kind of like the Bush Administration is about to do.
See what I mean? If you don't then you are probably blinded by this fascist weapon called partiotism.

this from
http://www.indybay.org/news/2003/04/1600452.php
is from somebody who obviously did not get a up-close look at the morning arrests:

cops protected protestors today
by observer Monday April 14, 2003 at 07:07 PM

today at chevron-toxico

From what I saw, police were restrained -- to my amazement -- and actually ended by guarding us protesters against the "pro-USA" violent thugs who had gathered across the street from the final area of the demonstration, when many of the exhausted protesters who had been there since 5:30 AM had left (or been arrested).

My gratitude goes to the police, who handled things with a certain amount of reason today.

No one was shot with wooden dowels, "rubber" bullets, concussion grenades, pepper spray or any of that cruel and unusual punishment.

Those thugs across the street (who varied their chant by switching over to "SUV! SUV! SUV!" every one in awhile) tried to set off a violent incident at one point when they bellowed through their megaphone "Here we come!" and stomped across and started shoving and yelling in people's faces.

One of their high-class signs said "In Bush I Trust" -- just to show you the level of mentality on display.

San Ramon is no bastion of intellectual development, and is a very wealthy, privileged area -- exactly why the headquarters of Chevron-Toxico is located there in that center of smug self-satisfaction. We did in fact get some support from several locals who stood with us for a portion of the time -- one mother with two small children brought us bags of organic fruit and desserts and kept thanking us for demonstrating.

Nevertheless, the amount of pro-war feedback was marked (I wonder if Clear Channel had anything at all to do with this). You would not see this level of fanatical frothing by the population of Richmond, where most people are aware of at least the local death-dealing effects of Chevron. However, Richmond police have shown themselves capable of going violently out of control -- guess they stay more in practice by regularly working over the poor ethnic minorities who live there.

No vandalism or violence was perpetrated today, and San Ramon gets kudos for the police's overall behavior -- but the neighborhood is really scary.

I'm a sister from Freedom Uprising and came thru that morning in San Ramon. FU also represented at the Oakland Docks, and I will agree that by and large the police in San Ramon were relatively well-behaved... especially in regards to the voluntary arrestables (mostly white, a good amt. middle-aged) locked and sitting in front of the entrance.

That morning, FU made a tactical call to not get involved in arrests, and so we decided to play a supporting role, leading chants and songs to keep up spirits for those who were able to take arrest that day. We thought we were playing safe, so when the pigs came and _snatched_ one of our brothers out of our group, it came as a total and unfathomable surprise. There was NO cause for it, we were all being civil and peaceful! There was NO dispersal warning. In the process one of the officers lunged towards two of us, knocking our soon-to-be brutalized sister over (I almost fell over). The worst part is that it was all done so quickly, and the offense in such violent contrast to the rest of the morning, that it passed without alerting the majority of the protestors there. There is NO doubt that the police acted irresponsibly and unacceptably that morning, no doubt that you could call it brutality. Sister was kicked in the stomach and knee busted by the officers.

I also have several issues with the action that morning, and one of them -- besides the obviously racist undertone -- was the fact that the protestors *failed* to shut down Chevron/"Toxico". Vehicles and employees were able to get through, albeit with frustration and delay; that business stayed open probably contributed to the behaviour of the police force. Why were folks getting arrested for? To show off their badge of courage for the movement??? The movement for racial justice and social change seriously needs new tactics and strategies to be effective. We can't go on getting arrested forever, pissing off the right and distancing the middle...

Just thought I'd add to the list. I was with the FU folks and I witnessed, partially, the arrests of our people. Like most, I didn't have the clearest vantage point of the arrests but I can say that and its definitely true that we were doing nothing different from the people around us, who were mostly left alone, unless they were sitting down in the road. The look on the faces of cops when we started chanting in a group, was definitely one of fear, and belies the reason we were targetted. They saw a dozen poc's and immediately thought 'riot' and thought they'd take out whoever they assumed were the 'ringleaders'. If this is the case, then we're definitely gonna have a problem getting a broader group of poc's out against the war. This may also be why the majority of the police response has been relatively benign in SF. If it was majority black, latino and asian people blocking traffic in SF, I think you would have seen a much more brutal and aggressive police force there as well.

Just thought I'd add to the list. I was with the FU folks and I witnessed, partially, the arrests of our people. Like most, I didn't have the clearest vantage point of the arrests but I can say that and its definitely true that we were doing nothing different from the people around us, who were mostly left alone, unless they were sitting down in the road. The look on the faces of cops when we started chanting in a group, was definitely one of fear, and belies the reason we were targetted. They saw a dozen poc's and immediately thought 'riot' and thought they'd take out whoever they assumed were the 'ringleaders'. If this is the case, then we're definitely gonna have a problem getting a broader group of poc's out against the war. This may also be why the majority of the police response has been relatively benign in SF. If it was majority black, latino and asian people blocking traffic in SF, I think you would have seen a much more brutal and aggressive police force there as well.

I have that on video (sort of shaky from a distance). Because everyone was stretched out in a line, it was hard to see what the police were up to. The group of people I was standing with assumed that the police were probably following someone who had earlier been seated on the ground. Because of the cluster of people, it was hard to tell why they were suddenly among the group of people on the public sidewalk, pushing and yelling. Yes, I definitely observed them make a sudden strange move around the civil disobedience people sitting down, and we couldn't tell why.

The reposter of the commentary about San Ramon police protecting protesters and being civil said "obviously this person did not see the morning arrests."

Yes, probably true, but the posters observations were accurate. I was at that gate and witnessed close hand the incident with pro war protesters she referred to. I also was arrested at that gate and spent the evening being processed and held with the lock-down people who were sawed out by the San Ramon fire and police department. All of the lock down people I talked to were amazed at the care the police and fire men took not to hurt them. This was in stark contrast to their experience with police in San Francisco whom reportedly were careless and hurried when they cut them out which resulted in some injuries to the lock down people in San Francisco.

So, I was not at the morning arrests or at that gate. I was at the other gate from 6 am where people were not arrested until afternoon. Clearly the two gates and two times were somewhat different. When I posted earlier in reponse to the initial "police brutality" post I took care to not discount those observations but respond instead to tone and interpretation. When we rush to judgement and forget things can change from place to place and time to time we are acting exactly the same way as the unthinking conservatives and people who would malign civil disobedience, activists, and leftists, by basing all their views of us based on one experience with one type of activist or by only choosing to remember or talk about those negative experiences.

As far as San Ramon as a community. Has anyone posted yet about the Iraqi American woman who stumbled onto us and stopped by to support us and speak against the war. Or the 12 year old from a nearby middle school named Ahmed (I think he also said he was Iraqi American) who came and spoke out against the war also having stumbled on us. Numerous drivers-by also gave us the thumbs up and though they were probably outnumbered by people giving us fingers and shouting at us the point is we may find allies anywhere and we must be open to that and be reaching out to people regardless. We cannot badger people into seeing things our way any more than Ari Flesher, Bush, or Rumsfield can badger us into seeing things their way. When it comes down to it even those three aforementioned global menace's are just people like us all stumbling through life and the world in our fleeting visit. (not to deny that they stumble with much bigger and more dangerous boots than us and at this point need to be fought fiercely--but we must reach out to other less powerful citizens like ourselves if we hope for our efforts to be any more than a therapeutic release).

To "'wow" -- You seem to be holding onto a few stereotypes of your own. Actually, I happen to know Sylvia, and I can say she graduated with honors from UC Berkeley, is currently gainfully employed, and cares very deeply about this country. Couldn't we discuss the issues rationally, rather than attacking each other?

Why is it that the pictures that you purport as representitive of brutality never show any signs of same. Having looked at tons of them, I have yet to see one which shows police officers being anything less than tolerant and professional. Are you people so deluded (or impaired) that you actually imagine that you are making a point with these pathetic photographic representations? Just wondering

Wow, so much to say...

OK, first off? I'd like to second the accounts of police brutality -- I was in the street with Freedom Uprising, and saw the cops rush the line. (I also talked with folks afterward, and they definitely fucked FU folks up.) The cops were changing tactics in a way that I've seen them do when they're about to get someone, and as I had no clear intentions of getting arrested that day, I pulled back to a safe position (they were pretty damn close to me when they did it), and then...damn, fuck, bad call...I was running back, but too late. For what it's worth, I regret not speaking up when I saw the cops move, and next time I plan to yell out or something (preferably not sandwiched between two jumpy cops, which was where I was). We need to keep things tight y'all, myself included for sure...self-preservation is fine, but we're in this shit together, and for the long haul...

As to racism: um, cut the crap, it was obviously racist. I won't even dignify accusations of jumping to conclusions, reverse racism, whatever. I was there, you apparently weren't, shut tha fuck up, OK? You may think this is hostile, I just call it survival...

Ditto on the whole "you're only doing this because the system failed you thing" -- although I will say that if people rise up against a system that never was there for them to begin with, seems to me that the problem is the system, not those people. (Can you say "DUH"? <g>) Besides, some of us *have* worked so-called "professional" jobs, and that is *exactly* why we oppose corporate imperalist rule -- we've seen shit from both the inside and the outside. But enough about that.

To the brotha who spelled it out about choosing our focus well: I hear what you are saying, and agree. I do think however that we need at least to address the brutality as it happens, while keeping things in perspective (which from what I'm seeing, is exactly what Freedom Uprising is doing). In short, analysis, action and outrage can all co-exist within a justice movement. That's what little ol' me thinks, anyway...

As per San Ramon: wow, scary scary place, hello? The SUV guy with the beer belly and the american flag was seriously whateva with a capital EVA (as in Braun). Talk about bowling for columbine, he looked to be driving for the fatherland...

Lastly, some stuff about civil disobedience and people of color: ya know, this is one of those moments where being mixed is seriously interesting. It really seems to me like there's gotta be some way to not just be all like "um, write your congressperson? wear a ribbon?" while addressing the inherent risks that we face when we go on the front lines (or as per yesterday, get near the front lines to get picked off while white folks get the usual escort to the police van civil disobedience dog and pony show treatment, or in the case of the white folks who were in a moving picket, basically ignored altogether.) Is CD an effective way for us poc to stay focused, keep things tight, not be all wishy-washy about life and death stuff? I really don't know -- I got ideas (oh no), but I don't want to talk about them here and now, I'm hella tired. I will say that we *do* need to keep shutting this system down before it shuts us all down for real. How to do that? To be continued...

lucha y justicia, ain't nobody's puppet,

will sprint for justice

Wow, so much to say...

OK, first off? I'd like to second the accounts of police brutality -- I was in the street with Freedom Uprising, and saw the cops rush the line. (I also talked with folks afterward, and they definitely fucked FU folks up.) The cops were changing tactics in a way that I've seen them do when they're about to get someone, and as I had no clear intentions of getting arrested that day, I pulled back to a safe position (they were pretty damn close to me when they did it), and then...damn, fuck, bad call...I was running back, but too late. For what it's worth, I regret not speaking up when I saw the cops move, and next time I plan to yell out or something (preferably not sandwiched between two jumpy cops, which was where I was). We need to keep things tight y'all, myself included for sure...self-preservation is fine, but we're in this shit together, and for the long haul...

As to racism: um, cut the crap, it was obviously racist. I won't even dignify accusations of jumping to conclusions, reverse racism, whatever. I was there, you apparently weren't, shut tha fuck up, OK? You may think this is hostile, I just call it survival...

Ditto on the whole "you're only doing this because the system failed you thing" -- although I will say that if people rise up against a system that never was there for them to begin with, seems to me that the problem is the system, not those people. (Can you say "DUH"? <g>) Besides, some of us *have* worked so-called "professional" jobs, and that is *exactly* why we oppose corporate imperalist rule -- we've seen shit from both the inside and the outside. But enough about that.

To the brotha who spelled it out about choosing our focus well: I hear what you are saying, and agree. I do think however that we need at least to address the brutality as it happens, while keeping things in perspective (which from what I'm seeing, is exactly what Freedom Uprising is doing). In short, analysis, action and outrage can all co-exist within a justice movement. That's what little ol' me thinks, anyway...

As per San Ramon: wow, scary scary place, hello? The SUV guy with the beer belly and the american flag was seriously whateva with a capital EVA (as in Braun). Talk about bowling for columbine, he looked to be driving for the fatherland...

Lastly, some stuff about civil disobedience and people of color: ya know, this is one of those moments where being mixed is seriously interesting. It really seems to me like there's gotta be some way to not just be all like "um, write your congressperson? wear a ribbon?" while addressing the inherent risks that we face when we go on the front lines (or as per yesterday, get near the front lines to get picked off while white folks get the usual escort to the police van civil disobedience dog and pony show treatment, or in the case of the white folks who were in a moving picket, basically ignored altogether.) Is CD an effective way for us poc to stay focused, keep things tight, not be all wishy-washy about life and death stuff? I really don't know -- I got ideas (oh no), but I don't want to talk about them here and now, I'm hella tired. I will say that we *do* need to keep shutting this system down before it shuts us all down for real. How to do that? To be continued...

lucha y justicia, ain't nobody's puppet,

will sprint for justice

Blocked traffic in the middle of an intersection for 5 min. while sherriff watched, laughed, and shook his hand? That's funny. Why, when an East Bay Food Not Bombs member had stopped @ Gate 1 for less than a minute to pick up buckets of food before leaving, a San Ramon popo [ Eichelhorn from the K-9 crew, no number - da S.R. fuzz don't have numbers ] whipped across Bollinger road w\ the lights on, gets out and informs the driver "This vehicle's mine, I'm towing it, now show me some ID," and the accompanying officer said "We did give you a warning to move, it was while you all were doing all the shouting and you just didn't hear it." Well a bunch of us along with our police liasons managed to stave this self-appointed enforcement squad for King Oil long enough for a sergeant to come by and rein them in and the vehicle wasn't towed, but the owner had to give his personal information, including his phone number. Just for blocking traffic [ he had pulled over to the curb and turned on his four-way flashers ].

Its like the nazis started. They built up a racist SS and they did it. Somebody has to stop this new Nazis.

I was at both gates at different points. The main gate was indeed peaceful while I was there. At the other gate things were very different. I was standing next to FU and helping with the chants (though I'm white, hope that's okay with y'all). I saw the police rush the group and knock over the lady into the water cooler, causing water and (apparently) malted milk balls to pour out onto the street. I did not see any provocative action on the part of FU. I was so bewildered by the attack that I didn't know what to think right away...call me naive. In retrospect, well, I can't think of any other explanation for rushing that particular crowd of peaceful sidewalk-standers besides racism. I think the San Ramon and county police were trying to make it clear that going to these protests is not safe for anyone, even those who do not intend to be arrested and take no arrestable action. Intimidation, pure and simple.