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Police Officer Responsible for Shooting Scott Campbell on Nov 2nd Identified
According to Boston Herald, Victor Garcia, Two time shooter for OPD has been taken off SWAT pending an investigation into the shooting of Scott Campbell on Nov 2nd
This is not Victor Garcia's first time firing at someone.
In 2001 Garcia shot and wounded Lanare Wise in East Oakland claiming he had brandished a weapon.
Then in 2010 not far from his first shooting, Garcia shot and wounded Bruce Rhodes claiming he thought Bruce was reaching for a gun. No gun was recovered.
But Victor Garcia is only one of OPD's many shooters assigned to Tango Teams and Shooter units that are ultimately responsible for using force against protesters.
Patrick Gonzales, 4 time shooter, Officer M Ziebarth, Officer D Burke, and Officer C Saunders are just a few of Oakland's Officers that have been involved in shootings, then assigned to monitor protests armed with guns loaded with less than lethal rounds, and even live ammunition.
These Officers are given the responsibility to carry these weapons because they have and will use them, and like Garcia, many of these officers have been involved in questionable shootings.
In 2001 Garcia shot and wounded Lanare Wise in East Oakland claiming he had brandished a weapon.
Then in 2010 not far from his first shooting, Garcia shot and wounded Bruce Rhodes claiming he thought Bruce was reaching for a gun. No gun was recovered.
But Victor Garcia is only one of OPD's many shooters assigned to Tango Teams and Shooter units that are ultimately responsible for using force against protesters.
Patrick Gonzales, 4 time shooter, Officer M Ziebarth, Officer D Burke, and Officer C Saunders are just a few of Oakland's Officers that have been involved in shootings, then assigned to monitor protests armed with guns loaded with less than lethal rounds, and even live ammunition.
These Officers are given the responsibility to carry these weapons because they have and will use them, and like Garcia, many of these officers have been involved in questionable shootings.
For more information:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0pX9LeE-g8...
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It appears that many peace officers are anything but! Would these people be violent criminals if not peace officers? Are they both? Do they hate their fellow man, or have overwhelming inner rage that is taken out on those who they swore to protect? WHO are the peace officers protecting when beating up a unarmed protester? Other peace officers? Why would anyone come to work only to beat on their neighbor who wishes good things for all people?
Perhaps it's time for many cities to clean house?
Perhaps it's time for many cities to clean house?
Oakland police captain under investigation for ordering use-of-force against Occupy protesters
By Thomas Peele / The Oakland Tribune (MCT)
Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - Added 2 days ago
OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland police captain who authorized officers to fire bean bag projectiles at Occupy protesters Nov. 3 could be fired or demoted pending an investigation, he said Wednesday.
Capt. Ersie M. Joyner III, 42, was placed in a bureaucratic job in the police department’s Office of the Inspector General about two weeks ago. The officer who fired the "less lethal" projectile, Victor Garcia, was removed from the police SWAT team and is also being investigated. The bean bag struck a videographer, Scott Campbell, in the upper thigh; Campbell captured the shooting on video.
Garcia could not be reached for comment, and Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan did not respond to a request to discuss the investigations.
Joyner said in an interview Wednesday that he gave an order that officers on a skirmish line could fire the bean bag rounds if a group of "anarchists" nearby who had already broken windows and lit trash fires approached them. He said he did not order Campbell shot and was not on the line when the round was fired.
Campbell’s video, posted on YouTube, shows him backing away from the skirmish line and asking loudly if he is far enough away from officers to continue filming. The video shows a flash and a bang is heard, then Campbell collapses. No police warning before the shot is heard — an apparent violation of the department’s use-of-force and crowd-control policies, which require officers to issue a warning before firing the bean bags on protesters. Campbell has sued the department in federal court seeking unspecified damages.
Campbell’s video "doesn’t look too good" for the police department, Joyner said. Still, the captain — a 20-year veteran of the Oakland Police Department — said the charges he could face, gross dereliction of duty and giving an unlawful order, will not be sustained.
He said SWAT officers came to him and asked how they should respond if demonstrators charged them. "I drew a line in the sand," he said. If people threatening police got too close, the officers could fire 12-gauge rounds containing lead pellets to stop them.
Implicit in the order, Joyner said, was that advancing demonstrators had to meet the department’s strict criteria for the use of force, which states projectiles can be fired "only against a specific individual who is engaging in conduct that poses and immediate threat of loss of life or serious bodily injuries" to themselves, police or others.
Joyner said the video doesn’t show that a large group of people, some in motorcycle helmets and gas masks, were lined behind Campbell. That group had the potential to threaten officer safety, Joyner said.
Campbell’s video shows the officers standing on the skirmish line with guns pointed at the ground and standing in relaxed positions. In an interview earlier this month, Campbell said a few people were "milling around" near him and that others were shouting at police.
By Thomas Peele / The Oakland Tribune (MCT)
Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - Added 2 days ago
OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland police captain who authorized officers to fire bean bag projectiles at Occupy protesters Nov. 3 could be fired or demoted pending an investigation, he said Wednesday.
Capt. Ersie M. Joyner III, 42, was placed in a bureaucratic job in the police department’s Office of the Inspector General about two weeks ago. The officer who fired the "less lethal" projectile, Victor Garcia, was removed from the police SWAT team and is also being investigated. The bean bag struck a videographer, Scott Campbell, in the upper thigh; Campbell captured the shooting on video.
Garcia could not be reached for comment, and Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan did not respond to a request to discuss the investigations.
Joyner said in an interview Wednesday that he gave an order that officers on a skirmish line could fire the bean bag rounds if a group of "anarchists" nearby who had already broken windows and lit trash fires approached them. He said he did not order Campbell shot and was not on the line when the round was fired.
Campbell’s video, posted on YouTube, shows him backing away from the skirmish line and asking loudly if he is far enough away from officers to continue filming. The video shows a flash and a bang is heard, then Campbell collapses. No police warning before the shot is heard — an apparent violation of the department’s use-of-force and crowd-control policies, which require officers to issue a warning before firing the bean bags on protesters. Campbell has sued the department in federal court seeking unspecified damages.
Campbell’s video "doesn’t look too good" for the police department, Joyner said. Still, the captain — a 20-year veteran of the Oakland Police Department — said the charges he could face, gross dereliction of duty and giving an unlawful order, will not be sustained.
He said SWAT officers came to him and asked how they should respond if demonstrators charged them. "I drew a line in the sand," he said. If people threatening police got too close, the officers could fire 12-gauge rounds containing lead pellets to stop them.
Implicit in the order, Joyner said, was that advancing demonstrators had to meet the department’s strict criteria for the use of force, which states projectiles can be fired "only against a specific individual who is engaging in conduct that poses and immediate threat of loss of life or serious bodily injuries" to themselves, police or others.
Joyner said the video doesn’t show that a large group of people, some in motorcycle helmets and gas masks, were lined behind Campbell. That group had the potential to threaten officer safety, Joyner said.
Campbell’s video shows the officers standing on the skirmish line with guns pointed at the ground and standing in relaxed positions. In an interview earlier this month, Campbell said a few people were "milling around" near him and that others were shouting at police.
For more information:
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/...
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