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Policeman kills man in North Oakland 9/20
At approximately 4:45 on Thursday afternoon (9/20), a policeman shot and killed a man on
the street in North Oakland.
the street in North Oakland.
At approximately 4:45 on Thursday afternoon (9/20) a policeman shot and killed a man on the street in North Oakland. It appears that 2 (possibly 3) shots were fired at the man as his back faced the officer. The man (in his early 20's) had just exited a store on the corner of 54th street and MLK. Apparently the officer approached the man to question him. The details of what happened next are unclear, but it seems that it involved the policeman using his taser on the man. The man pulled away and it appears that during his attempt to flee, the officer shot him 2 times in the back.
A swarm of police cars (including helicopters) arrived on the scene very quickly, but it was a number of minutes before an ambulance arrived. In the meantime, one policeman appeared to be performing CPR on the man. The man reportedly died at the hospital a short time later. Police on the scene dealt somewhat roughly with bystanders- including those related to the man.
The mainstream media was reporting (before it was even officially verified by the police) that the man was a "suspect" in an investigation. Other "facts" being reported also seem to be at odds with comments made by some of those on the scene, including whether or not the man was armed. It appears that the vast majority of the information being carried by the corporate media (not suprisingly) is from the police statement, as opposed to the statements of witnesses, bystanders, or those who knew the man.
A swarm of police cars (including helicopters) arrived on the scene very quickly, but it was a number of minutes before an ambulance arrived. In the meantime, one policeman appeared to be performing CPR on the man. The man reportedly died at the hospital a short time later. Police on the scene dealt somewhat roughly with bystanders- including those related to the man.
The mainstream media was reporting (before it was even officially verified by the police) that the man was a "suspect" in an investigation. Other "facts" being reported also seem to be at odds with comments made by some of those on the scene, including whether or not the man was armed. It appears that the vast majority of the information being carried by the corporate media (not suprisingly) is from the police statement, as opposed to the statements of witnesses, bystanders, or those who knew the man.
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How devestating! who was this person, and will there be a campaign for family to seek justic? i reccommend contacting silicon valley de bug for help if needed.
I went by there about 15 minutes ago. Looks like the family is there with a little memorial. Someone has spraypainted "Police did this" on one of the BART support columns there (on MLK at 54th). I will try to get out there this weekend, but no guarantees.
-Mahtin
-Mahtin
Yes, there is a memorial with candles and personal items set up at the place where he was killed. Friends, family, and community members are currently out there (Friday night). It seems to be appreciated for people to stop by and show their respects and solidarity. This is also critical as police appear to be roaming the neighborhood and are poised to respond to anything that they deem out of line. 5 police cars just arrived to stop a man who had done several 'donuts' in his car on the corner. The situation de-escalated after about 10 minutes, but it's important that people be on hand to document or offer additional support if needed (though it is unclear how much longer people will be out there.)
just saw this posted on the oakland tribune site. seems somewhat more informative and slightly less biased than the rest of the media coverge has been: http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_6970106
The family of Gary King Jr., who was killed by a police officer on 9/20, is calling for people to join them on the steps of Oakland City Hall on Monday 9/24 at 12 noon.
Below is the text of a flyer that is circulated, calling for community support to protest the police killing of Gary King, Jr:
"It's time to come together. Please join us in the memory of Gary King, Jr. who was murdered on 54th and Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Oakland, CA by the Oakland Police Department. Our son was 20 years old. The police shot him in the back, then hand-cuffed him. Our family and the community are devastated by this and we will not stand by while those who are supposed to protect and serve us shoot our children in the streets without just cause.
Please join us in a protest at the steps of Oakland's City Hall on Monday, September 24th 2007 at 12:00 noon."
Below is the text of a flyer that is circulated, calling for community support to protest the police killing of Gary King, Jr:
"It's time to come together. Please join us in the memory of Gary King, Jr. who was murdered on 54th and Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Oakland, CA by the Oakland Police Department. Our son was 20 years old. The police shot him in the back, then hand-cuffed him. Our family and the community are devastated by this and we will not stand by while those who are supposed to protect and serve us shoot our children in the streets without just cause.
Please join us in a protest at the steps of Oakland's City Hall on Monday, September 24th 2007 at 12:00 noon."
Idriss Stelley Foundation (ISF)
Law Enforcement Accountability Direct Services
4921 3rd Street, SF CA 93124
(415) 822-4732 office
REPORT POLICE ABUSE
(415) 595-8251 24HR Bilingual Crisis line
http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeo9ewi/idrissstelleyfoundation/
http://www.myspace.com/ISFOUNDATION
Our heart felt condolences to the grieving family of Gary
My own and only child Idriss Stelley, 23 yr. African American student, was gunned down by SFPD at ther SF Sony Metreon, 48 bullets, 9 officers, while he sat alone in a empty theater, experiemncing a mental health crisis on 6-13-01
If anyone is in contact with the families and friends of Gary, our foundation would be willing to set up a Justuce4Gary website and set up a petition online at no cost.
Please pass on the world !
In Unity and Respect
meshá Mongé-Irizarry
Idriss Stelley's Mom
Director of :
* `Idriss Stelley Foundation
http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeo9ewi/idrissstelleyfoundation/
* Education not Incarceration SF Chapter
* SF_Village_Voice Community Radio, 100.5 f.m.
Host of :
* SF Bayview CEDP (Campaign to end the death penalty)
* Free the Jena 6 SF Chapter
* a 1000 Congas Justice Brigade
Member of :
* YEFAB (Youth Empowerment Funding Advisory Board, DCYF,SF)
* SF AACPRB (African American Community Policing Relations
Board, South East Branch)
* National Hurricane Relief Board
* BlackBrownUnity National Movement
* Bay Area Racial Justice Brigade
* We_Are_The_Ones_We-Have_Been_Waiting_For Movement , nominee;
(honoring a 1000 Women whomake a substantial difference in ;our Peaceful World, spearheaded by DorindaMoreno, Mother of the Xicano Moratorium).
SF Bayview National Black Newspaper reporter.
Law Enforcement Accountability Direct Services
4921 3rd Street, SF CA 93124
(415) 822-4732 office
REPORT POLICE ABUSE
(415) 595-8251 24HR Bilingual Crisis line
http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeo9ewi/idrissstelleyfoundation/
http://www.myspace.com/ISFOUNDATION
Our heart felt condolences to the grieving family of Gary
My own and only child Idriss Stelley, 23 yr. African American student, was gunned down by SFPD at ther SF Sony Metreon, 48 bullets, 9 officers, while he sat alone in a empty theater, experiemncing a mental health crisis on 6-13-01
If anyone is in contact with the families and friends of Gary, our foundation would be willing to set up a Justuce4Gary website and set up a petition online at no cost.
Please pass on the world !
In Unity and Respect
meshá Mongé-Irizarry
Idriss Stelley's Mom
Director of :
* `Idriss Stelley Foundation
http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeo9ewi/idrissstelleyfoundation/
* Education not Incarceration SF Chapter
* SF_Village_Voice Community Radio, 100.5 f.m.
Host of :
* SF Bayview CEDP (Campaign to end the death penalty)
* Free the Jena 6 SF Chapter
* a 1000 Congas Justice Brigade
Member of :
* YEFAB (Youth Empowerment Funding Advisory Board, DCYF,SF)
* SF AACPRB (African American Community Policing Relations
Board, South East Branch)
* National Hurricane Relief Board
* BlackBrownUnity National Movement
* Bay Area Racial Justice Brigade
* We_Are_The_Ones_We-Have_Been_Waiting_For Movement , nominee;
(honoring a 1000 Women whomake a substantial difference in ;our Peaceful World, spearheaded by DorindaMoreno, Mother of the Xicano Moratorium).
SF Bayview National Black Newspaper reporter.
For more information:
http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeo9ewi/idrisss...
Gary King was one of the youth of our neighborhood. These do not appear to me to be "thugs" but young people in their traditional rites of passage. Often crazy funny.
We have been the victims of the tactic of overwhelming force. Old lady with gun=entire tac squad lots of overtime. Mother with old warrant= six cops and two parole agents. All within 100 yards of this 9/20 shooting.
So a "tough" cop seeks someone perhaps associated with a mysterious shooting/drug deal gone wrong 30 days earlier down the street.
Without backup "tough" cop attacks a young man and shoots him in the back with multiple witnesses both in cars and on the street.
Hundreds of mourners of all ages and races. Dozens of weeping youth and parents.
From here it looks like another King was assassinated.
No lawyer, no trial, no justice-no peace.
We have been the victims of the tactic of overwhelming force. Old lady with gun=entire tac squad lots of overtime. Mother with old warrant= six cops and two parole agents. All within 100 yards of this 9/20 shooting.
So a "tough" cop seeks someone perhaps associated with a mysterious shooting/drug deal gone wrong 30 days earlier down the street.
Without backup "tough" cop attacks a young man and shoots him in the back with multiple witnesses both in cars and on the street.
Hundreds of mourners of all ages and races. Dozens of weeping youth and parents.
From here it looks like another King was assassinated.
No lawyer, no trial, no justice-no peace.
This is outrageous...
Please circulate widely:
The funeral for Gary King Jr., who was killed by a policeman in North
Oakland on September 20th, will be held this Tuesday October 2nd at
11:00am at Bebee Church, 3900 Telegraph Ave in Oakland. The funeral is
open to the public and the community is asked to turn to show their
support. The following day, Wednesday, October 3rd, there will be a march
on the police station where Sgt. Gonzales, who killed Gary King, is
currently still on duty. More details about time and location TBA. On
Thursday, October 4th (and every upcoming Thursday) there will be
demonstration at 12 noon on the steps of Oakland City Hall (Frank Ogawa
Plaza- 14th & Clay Sts.) to express outrage at Gary's murder. Please come
out and show your support!
The funeral for Gary King Jr., who was killed by a policeman in North
Oakland on September 20th, will be held this Tuesday October 2nd at
11:00am at Bebee Church, 3900 Telegraph Ave in Oakland. The funeral is
open to the public and the community is asked to turn to show their
support. The following day, Wednesday, October 3rd, there will be a march
on the police station where Sgt. Gonzales, who killed Gary King, is
currently still on duty. More details about time and location TBA. On
Thursday, October 4th (and every upcoming Thursday) there will be
demonstration at 12 noon on the steps of Oakland City Hall (Frank Ogawa
Plaza- 14th & Clay Sts.) to express outrage at Gary's murder. Please come
out and show your support!
I understand the pain in losing a child. I understand to questions. I understand the anger and all of the emotions that go with losing a loved one. I understand standing up in support of a cause you feel strongly about. I'm a proponant of the Louisiana trial and am glad they have made the correct decision to charge him with simple battery as a juvenile. DOn't think I'm a jaded, authoritative racist.
Some things to think about and some points from my, or any other officer's experience. Number one, I wasn't there, so I can't tell you every detail, but to speak to some general bits...
To begin with, he was being spoken to in regards to a murder. Wheter it was him or not may never be known, but it was a lead being followed up. If he was innocent, speaking to an officer would do him no harm. He began to fight with the officers. He was resisting the officer. Witnesses do not deny that he was fighting with the officer. THe officer climbed the chain of force, initially attempting to use hands on (pulling of the hair, and sanctioned and trained manuever called the hairpull take down which I myself have used several times and had demonstrated many many times in academy training), he attempted non lethal force through use of a tazer gun. THe brother stated that King removed the prongs from the tazer. In the environment of a fight, the situation and status can change in mere moments. During the struggle a gun was felt, witnesses saw King during the struggle, reaching deep into his pants. What could it be believed he was doing other than reaching for the gun. King at some point turned away, and may have been running away. At this point it is already known that he has a gun and has been resisting arrest already. The officer shoots, hitting him twice in the back. THe officer then handcuffs him. WHy handcuff a dead man? He was not dead when he hit the ground, or at least there is no way of knowing for sure that he was. A shot even in the back may not immediately incapacitate a suspect and he had been fighting already. THe reason for handcuffing was to detain a violent suspect. At this time he is in fact a suspect regardless of if he was involved in a murder or not because he chose to fight with the officer.
I have heard that people were upset numerous other officers arrived before the medical units arrived. The other officers are on duty to respond to calls. Their vehicles are equipped to drive much faster than the medical units. They do not need to first prep any equipment or determine what possible injuries he has on the way to the call. There are already extra units available in the area due to extra patrol requests made by the public. The first responders were police officers and attempted to provide the suspect wtih first aid.
As far as shooting him in the leg I will explain a little bit about this. First of all, if you've ever shot a handgun before, you realize it is harder than it looks to be extremely accurate. Dozens of factors go into account in a controlled environment to control your trigger pull, you're site focus, the target you are aiming at. We are taught to aim at center mass because there is the most likely chance you will hit him somewhere. I challenge you all to go to a shooting range and rent a gun if you don't have one. Take a target out and aim at the right hand of the target. Now, imagine there is someone running and therefore moving, and he has just been actively resisting you and fighting with you. You are becoming tired from fighting and your body goes through physiological changes, your fine motor skills decrease as your heart rate and adrenaline increases, your eyes dialate, causing your perseption to change, your hand shakes. We are taught to shoot to stop the threat, not shoot to kill. To aim at somone's leg is not realistically reasonable.
By using the language "murder" in describing the situation, you are biasing people's opinions before they know the facts. It is possible to kill someone and not murder them in the eyes of the law. I was listening to KMEL street soldiers (a bay area station) with numerous accounts and opinions of the incident. Kings father noted that the sgt who shot king had "murdered" two young black men in the past. It should be noted and was not mentioned in any account I have read hear or heard there, that both of the previous shootings he was involved in he was cleared of and were considered justified shootings. Both subjects had guns. Both were investigated by outside agency, so the argument that OPD is the corrupt force here are inaccurate.
I feel for the family of Mr. King. I feel for his friends. I do not know him or his history. I know he fought with an officer. I know he had a gun on his person. It is a tragedy, but the shooting was justified.
Some things to think about and some points from my, or any other officer's experience. Number one, I wasn't there, so I can't tell you every detail, but to speak to some general bits...
To begin with, he was being spoken to in regards to a murder. Wheter it was him or not may never be known, but it was a lead being followed up. If he was innocent, speaking to an officer would do him no harm. He began to fight with the officers. He was resisting the officer. Witnesses do not deny that he was fighting with the officer. THe officer climbed the chain of force, initially attempting to use hands on (pulling of the hair, and sanctioned and trained manuever called the hairpull take down which I myself have used several times and had demonstrated many many times in academy training), he attempted non lethal force through use of a tazer gun. THe brother stated that King removed the prongs from the tazer. In the environment of a fight, the situation and status can change in mere moments. During the struggle a gun was felt, witnesses saw King during the struggle, reaching deep into his pants. What could it be believed he was doing other than reaching for the gun. King at some point turned away, and may have been running away. At this point it is already known that he has a gun and has been resisting arrest already. The officer shoots, hitting him twice in the back. THe officer then handcuffs him. WHy handcuff a dead man? He was not dead when he hit the ground, or at least there is no way of knowing for sure that he was. A shot even in the back may not immediately incapacitate a suspect and he had been fighting already. THe reason for handcuffing was to detain a violent suspect. At this time he is in fact a suspect regardless of if he was involved in a murder or not because he chose to fight with the officer.
I have heard that people were upset numerous other officers arrived before the medical units arrived. The other officers are on duty to respond to calls. Their vehicles are equipped to drive much faster than the medical units. They do not need to first prep any equipment or determine what possible injuries he has on the way to the call. There are already extra units available in the area due to extra patrol requests made by the public. The first responders were police officers and attempted to provide the suspect wtih first aid.
As far as shooting him in the leg I will explain a little bit about this. First of all, if you've ever shot a handgun before, you realize it is harder than it looks to be extremely accurate. Dozens of factors go into account in a controlled environment to control your trigger pull, you're site focus, the target you are aiming at. We are taught to aim at center mass because there is the most likely chance you will hit him somewhere. I challenge you all to go to a shooting range and rent a gun if you don't have one. Take a target out and aim at the right hand of the target. Now, imagine there is someone running and therefore moving, and he has just been actively resisting you and fighting with you. You are becoming tired from fighting and your body goes through physiological changes, your fine motor skills decrease as your heart rate and adrenaline increases, your eyes dialate, causing your perseption to change, your hand shakes. We are taught to shoot to stop the threat, not shoot to kill. To aim at somone's leg is not realistically reasonable.
By using the language "murder" in describing the situation, you are biasing people's opinions before they know the facts. It is possible to kill someone and not murder them in the eyes of the law. I was listening to KMEL street soldiers (a bay area station) with numerous accounts and opinions of the incident. Kings father noted that the sgt who shot king had "murdered" two young black men in the past. It should be noted and was not mentioned in any account I have read hear or heard there, that both of the previous shootings he was involved in he was cleared of and were considered justified shootings. Both subjects had guns. Both were investigated by outside agency, so the argument that OPD is the corrupt force here are inaccurate.
I feel for the family of Mr. King. I feel for his friends. I do not know him or his history. I know he fought with an officer. I know he had a gun on his person. It is a tragedy, but the shooting was justified.
Questions need to be asked about Gary's death, especially, did he REALLY have a gun? Were fingerprints found on this gun? Who did they belong to? I knew Gary from a boy. I knew him to be a happy, loving positive child. It blows my mind that he was lying in a casket on Tuesday. How has this happened? Gary was the last person in the world I would ever have expected to see shot dead. Questions need answering, crucial questions. Gary's death must be a catalyst for change and transformation in the lives he touched, including the officer who shot him in the back.
Sgt Patrick Gonzales of OPD was judge, jury and executioner. If he felt Gary King, Jr. was a dangerouse suspect...he should of called for back up. Instead he wildly confronted King, grabbed his hair, tasered him numerous times, yanked most of his clothes off and, even though Gary King never held a gun in his hand or pointed it at Gonzales, Gonzales shot him twice in the back. Then handcuffed him on the ground. If cops in Oakland want the public and especially youths respect this kind of renegade, rambo murder will not help. This whole thing went out of control because the cop let it. he should be removed from the force.
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