Hashtag of the Year? #LibbyLeaks
December 2016
How did Oakland City Hall respond to Darwin BondGraham and Ali Winston's damning investigation of sexual misconduct by Oakland Police Department officers? They went after those who leaked critical information these reporters.
It's true: The #LibbyLeaks campaign to ferret out insiders dishing to reporters was a disconcerting reaction to unprecedented OPD corruption. As the California Newspaper Association's executive director told KQED about this hunt for alleged leakers, "Targeting whistleblowers is the worst possible tactic."
City Hall officials justified #LibbyLeaks by saying that those giving info to journalists were jeopardizing the District Attorney's legal cases against the cops who exploited "Celeste Guap." But that reasoning doesn't hold water: If not for BondGraham and Winston's investigative reporting, bad cops never would have been held accountable.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/grinches-of-the-year-oakland-and-east-bay-residents-with-hearts-a-few-sizes-too-small/Content?oid=5064007&storyPage=3
June 2016
#LibbyLeaks: Oakland Mayor Launches Investigation Against City and Police Whistleblowers
Critic calls it a 'ridiculous waste of time and resources.'
And now the Express has learned that Schaaf and City Administrator Sabrina Landreth have opened an investigation to identify internal whistleblowers and leaks, according to multiple city and police sources, who asked not to be identified because they fear retaliation.
The investigation started after recent news reports exposed details regarding multiple police-misconduct cases, as well as efforts by city and police officials to keep the misconduct hidden from the public.
Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan confirmed to the Express that she has heard there is a leak investigation. “I don’t know the details, but I think all allegations should be equally investigated.” Kaplan said. “I don’t have problem with leaks being investigated, but my question would be, 'Are all allegations being equally investigated?'”
Word of the leak investigation has already spread beyond the city of Oakland.
“I've learned that there is an effort to research leaks in the [police] department, which I think is a ridiculous waste of time and resources,” said John Burris, one of the civil rights attorneys who sued the city and put the Oakland police under federal court oversight in 2003.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/libby-leaks-oakland-mayor-launches-investigation-against-city-and-police-whistleblowers/Content?oid=4849906
Showing posts with label #OPD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #OPD. Show all posts
Sunday, December 18, 2016
14 Oakland Police Dept (OPD) Budget Jeopardized a West Oakland Youth Center
May 2013
$7.6 Million Oakland Youth Center May Not Open Due To Budget
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) – A $7.6 million youth center five years in the making may close before it has a chance to open. While the West Oakland facility is almost finished, the city is having problems finding the money to run it.
The West Oakland Youth Center, which was built almost entirely with public funds, is supposed to open in the fall. But the City of Oakland is unable to come up with the $190,000 needed to run the center, or the $150,000 needed to staff the Digital Arts and Culinary Academy for teens in East Oakland.
“We’re talking about $340,000 for both programs combined out of a $1 billion budget. You can’t tell me that we can’t find $340,000 for our kids,” said Desley Brooks of the Oakland city Council.
“Make no mistake about it we are going to spend money on these kids. We will either spend it in a proactive way, through youth centers and positive programming,” McElhaney-Gibson said. “Or we will spend the money on arresting them, incarcerating them, putting them in juvenile hall or God forbid to treat them in emergency rooms because they’ve fallen victim to violence.”
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/05/31/7-6-million-oakland-youth-center-may-not-open-due-to-budget/
June 2013
Police budget jeopardizes West Oakland Youth Center
City of Oakland’s twisted priorities could put its youth in jeopardy. News broke that the West Oakland Youth Center—a project five years in the making and developed by youth and grassroots organizers—may not open due to lack of funding to operate the center and staff its programs. The Mayor’s budget proposal assumes that Oakland cannot absorb these operating costs, amounting to roughly $340,000, while the city has had no problem throwing good money after bad in support of policing consultants and policies that continue to fail Oakland. According to Councilperson Desley Brooks, “We’re talking about $340,000 for both programs combined out of a $1 billion budget. You can’t tell me that we can’t find $340,000 for our kids.”
Even as investments in policing continue to increase (totaling more than half of general fund expenditures), Oakland can’t seem to find less than one third of one percent of its budget to invest in safe spaces and quality programming for its youth.
According the KPIX news reporting on the issue, the Mayor’s budget “sacrifices costs for both youth programs [slated for the West Oakland Youth Center] in favor of putting more cops on the streets.” These trade-offs should not surprise us.
https://stoptheinjunction.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/police-budget-jeopardizes-west-oakland-youth-center/
$7.6 Million Oakland Youth Center May Not Open Due To Budget
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) – A $7.6 million youth center five years in the making may close before it has a chance to open. While the West Oakland facility is almost finished, the city is having problems finding the money to run it.
The West Oakland Youth Center, which was built almost entirely with public funds, is supposed to open in the fall. But the City of Oakland is unable to come up with the $190,000 needed to run the center, or the $150,000 needed to staff the Digital Arts and Culinary Academy for teens in East Oakland.
“We’re talking about $340,000 for both programs combined out of a $1 billion budget. You can’t tell me that we can’t find $340,000 for our kids,” said Desley Brooks of the Oakland city Council.
“Make no mistake about it we are going to spend money on these kids. We will either spend it in a proactive way, through youth centers and positive programming,” McElhaney-Gibson said. “Or we will spend the money on arresting them, incarcerating them, putting them in juvenile hall or God forbid to treat them in emergency rooms because they’ve fallen victim to violence.”
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/05/31/7-6-million-oakland-youth-center-may-not-open-due-to-budget/
June 2013
Police budget jeopardizes West Oakland Youth Center
City of Oakland’s twisted priorities could put its youth in jeopardy. News broke that the West Oakland Youth Center—a project five years in the making and developed by youth and grassroots organizers—may not open due to lack of funding to operate the center and staff its programs. The Mayor’s budget proposal assumes that Oakland cannot absorb these operating costs, amounting to roughly $340,000, while the city has had no problem throwing good money after bad in support of policing consultants and policies that continue to fail Oakland. According to Councilperson Desley Brooks, “We’re talking about $340,000 for both programs combined out of a $1 billion budget. You can’t tell me that we can’t find $340,000 for our kids.”
Even as investments in policing continue to increase (totaling more than half of general fund expenditures), Oakland can’t seem to find less than one third of one percent of its budget to invest in safe spaces and quality programming for its youth.
According the KPIX news reporting on the issue, the Mayor’s budget “sacrifices costs for both youth programs [slated for the West Oakland Youth Center] in favor of putting more cops on the streets.” These trade-offs should not surprise us.
https://stoptheinjunction.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/police-budget-jeopardizes-west-oakland-youth-center/
11 Oakland Police Dept (OPD) - 2 Police Chiefs resign in 72 hours (2013)
May 2013
Oakland Police Dept (OPD) - 2 Chiefs resign in rapid succession
In less than 72 hours, two chiefs at the Oakland Police Department quit.
Former Police Chief Howard Jordan resigned on Wednesday, citing medical reasons for his decision. However, his timing was curious -- a report scheduled to come out the same day he announced his departure revealed that Oakland is the nation's robbery capital. In addition, it detailed how Jordan had assigned only one part-time cops to investigate more than 10,000 burglaries last year.
http://archives.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2013/05/10/second-chief-resigns-from-oakland-police-department-in-48-hours
1. Police Chief Howard Jordan
2. Deputy Police Chief Anthony Toribio
3. Deputy Chief Sean Whent
Oakland Police Dept (OPD) - 2 Chiefs resign in rapid succession
In less than 72 hours, two chiefs at the Oakland Police Department quit.
Former Police Chief Howard Jordan resigned on Wednesday, citing medical reasons for his decision. However, his timing was curious -- a report scheduled to come out the same day he announced his departure revealed that Oakland is the nation's robbery capital. In addition, it detailed how Jordan had assigned only one part-time cops to investigate more than 10,000 burglaries last year.
http://archives.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2013/05/10/second-chief-resigns-from-oakland-police-department-in-48-hours
1. Police Chief Howard Jordan
2. Deputy Police Chief Anthony Toribio
3. Deputy Chief Sean Whent
10 Oakland Police Department (OPD) - 150 illegal arrests during Oscar Grant Demonstration ($1m)
2013 National Lawyers Guild Obtains $1M for Oscar Grant Protesters, Oakland Police Reforms
We brought the lawsuit in order to protect the constitutional right to dissent in Oakland, and enforce the OPD Crowd Control Policy. It is a model policy that gives the police many tools to respond to demonstrations without immediately resorting to mass arrests, weapons, or force. Yet, OPD chose to scrap this policy in dealing with the Oscar Grant demonstrations. The policy, and the law, are clear that before police can stop First Amendment activity and make mass arrests, they must have a basis to believe that the individuals being arrested have broken the law. In most situations, that means they must give demonstrators notice and opportunity to disperse, and there must be a constitutionally valid reason to do so. None of that occurred in this case.
The 150 arrests were illegal, and the City has acknowledged that.
http://archives.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2013/06/24/national-lawyers-guild-obtains-1m-for-oscar-grant-protesters-oakland-police-reforms
NLG Files Lawsuit Against Oakland Police
Class Action Lawsuit Asserts Constitutional Violations at Oscar Grant Demonstrations
The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is filing a major class action lawsuit against the Oakland Police Department (OPD) on Monday, June 13th, in the United States District Court. The lawsuit asserts constitutional violations stemming from the November 5, 2010, mass arrest of 150 peaceful protesters following the sentencing of Johannes Mehserle, the BART police officer who killed Oscar Grant. The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief as well as monetary damages for those 150 people who were unlawfully corralled by police and incarcerated in overcrowded holding cells for up to 28 hours.
At each Justice for Oscar Grant demonstration, the OPD has violated its own crowd control policy. This policy was obtained as part of a 2005 settlement in an earlier case of police misconduct filed by the NLG and the American Civil LIberties Union. The NLG seeks to hold the police accountable, and to obtain compliance with the crowd control policy to protect constitutional rights and freedom of speech in Oakland.
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/06/14/18681898.php
We brought the lawsuit in order to protect the constitutional right to dissent in Oakland, and enforce the OPD Crowd Control Policy. It is a model policy that gives the police many tools to respond to demonstrations without immediately resorting to mass arrests, weapons, or force. Yet, OPD chose to scrap this policy in dealing with the Oscar Grant demonstrations. The policy, and the law, are clear that before police can stop First Amendment activity and make mass arrests, they must have a basis to believe that the individuals being arrested have broken the law. In most situations, that means they must give demonstrators notice and opportunity to disperse, and there must be a constitutionally valid reason to do so. None of that occurred in this case.
The 150 arrests were illegal, and the City has acknowledged that.
http://archives.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2013/06/24/national-lawyers-guild-obtains-1m-for-oscar-grant-protesters-oakland-police-reforms
NLG Files Lawsuit Against Oakland Police
Class Action Lawsuit Asserts Constitutional Violations at Oscar Grant Demonstrations
The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is filing a major class action lawsuit against the Oakland Police Department (OPD) on Monday, June 13th, in the United States District Court. The lawsuit asserts constitutional violations stemming from the November 5, 2010, mass arrest of 150 peaceful protesters following the sentencing of Johannes Mehserle, the BART police officer who killed Oscar Grant. The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief as well as monetary damages for those 150 people who were unlawfully corralled by police and incarcerated in overcrowded holding cells for up to 28 hours.
At each Justice for Oscar Grant demonstration, the OPD has violated its own crowd control policy. This policy was obtained as part of a 2005 settlement in an earlier case of police misconduct filed by the NLG and the American Civil LIberties Union. The NLG seeks to hold the police accountable, and to obtain compliance with the crowd control policy to protect constitutional rights and freedom of speech in Oakland.
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/06/14/18681898.php
09 Oakland Mayor Schaaf Violates Oakland's Crowd Control Policies (attempt to prohibit night protests)
May 2015
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf Institutes Ban On Nighttime Street Protests
The rally began just before sunset in Frank Ogawa Plaza where about 200–300 people had gathered. After several speeches and recitations of poetry, the protesters announced their intention to march to the Oakland Police Administration Building seven blocks away. Demonstrators had not yet stepped off the sidewalk and into the intersection of 14th Street and Broadway when OPD addressed the crowd through an amplified sound system, stating that the march was “unpermitted.” As demonstrators walked into the street, police immediately ordered them back onto the sidewalk, citing California Vehicle Code Section 2800, which makes it an arrestable offense to not comply with orders of a police officer.
“The fact is we were threatened with arrest for marching,” said Cat Brooks, one of the facilitators of the protest. “This was a Black women’s and children’s rally saying to the police, please stop killing us, and our woman mayor organized the harshest response we’ve seen yet.”
“There clearly is a shift in tactics by the police,” said attorney Anne Weills, who was in last night’s march.
In an interview today, Mayor Libby Schaaf acknowledged that she ordered the prohibition on nighttime street marches in Oakland. However, she argued that it was a not new city law, but rather a reinterpretation of an existing one.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2015/05/22/oakland-mayor-libby-schaaf-institutes-curfew-on-nighttime-street-protest
May 2012
Oakland's Mayor violates Oakland's Crowd Control Policies in violation of Federal Oversight rules
OPD’s current crowd control policy, Lye explained, is pursuant to a court settlement reached in the 2003 Port of Oakland incident, during which Oakland police fired wooden dowels and shotgun-propelled bean bags into a crowd of protestors, injuring 58 people. For that reason, she said, “OPD does not have unilateral authority to change that [policy].” Instead, she said, “they are required to consult with a monitor” before announcing any revisions.
Because OPD’s existing crowd control guidelines were part of a federal court order and are still legally binding, the department doesn’t “have the power to make any changes in that unilaterally,” added Rachel Lederman, an NLG attorney.
Even more confusing to some is the fact that a few weeks ago, Lederman said, OPD “inexplicably” posted the Peace Officer Standards and Training - or POST - crowd control guidelines on its website, even though it already lists the existing guidelines as its official policy. Furthermore, the city’s press release made additional mention of new guidelines, stating that OPD is “revising its crowd management policy to be consistent with upcoming POST-recommended crowd management policies.”
http://newamericamedia.org/2012/05/was-oakland-pds-proposed-crowd-control-policy-illegal.php
May 2015
"Black People Had War Declared on Them By Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf."
On Thursday, May 21st, 2015, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, in response to window breaking during protests the evening of May 1st, promulgated, secretly, new edicts prohibiting night time street protests. These were enforced by Oakland Police that night when Black Lives Matter protesters attempted to take to the streets after a #SayHerName rally remembering Black women killed by police terror.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/5/24/1387348/--Black-People-Had-War-Declared-on-Them-By-Oakland-Mayor-Libby-Schaaf
May 2015
Oakland protesters defy mayor by marching at night without permit
Protesters marched through Oakland streets after sunset Saturday in defiance of Mayor Libby Schaaf’s policy of shutting down unlawful assemblies at night in her effort to protect businesses from protest-related violence and vandalism.
The protest was organized in response to an incident Thursday night in which police forced about 200 demonstrators off the street and onto the sidewalk because they did not have a permit to shut down city streets. The groups Onyx Organizing Committee and the Anti Police-Terror Project complied but called the city’s action unconstitutional, and planned Saturday night’s march to challenge what they called a new policy.
On Friday, Schaaf spokeswoman Erica Derryck released a statement saying the city hasn’t approved any new laws or policies regarding marches, but is using existing laws and policies to make sure protests remain peaceful. She said routing the march onto the sidewalk is a way to “ensure that freedom of expression is not compromised by unlawful activity and demonstrators, bystanders, motorists and property are kept safe.”
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-protesters-to-challenge-Libby-Schaaf-in-6283517.php
June 2015
Oakland officials, lawyers can’t resolve city’s controversial crowd control policy
“She’s (Schaaf) writing checks she expect my police officers to cash,” said Donelan, whose union is currently negotiating a new contract. “This administration will persecute Oakland police for their own failed policy.”
“This is a failed policy, failed leadership and ultimately the people who will suffer are the citizens of Oakland,” Donelan said. “Are we putting murderers behind bars? I’m not sure what we’re achieving.”
http://www.mercurynews.com/2015/06/03/oakland-officials-lawyers-cant-resolve-citys-controversial-crowd-control-policy/
CBS San Francisco reports that police cited a new policy by the city's mayor to force protesters from the street to the sidewalk after Oakland experienced several violent demonstrations in the past year. Oakland has hosted rallies in the streets for years, but the mayor said the new policy is needed to combat damage to property and violence.
Rachel Lederman, a lawyer with the National Lawyers Guild who helped Oakland craft its crowd-control policies, said the new tactics appear to violate the guidelines.
"It doesn't make any sense because saying that marches have to be on the sidewalk has absolutely no relationship to impending property damage that might occur," Lederman said. "Obviously that would happen on a sidewalk, not a street."
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-oakland-police-policy-sparks-protests-arrests/
Oakland Police Under a Cloud for Violent Occupy Crackdown
October 2011
Questions are swirling as to whether Oakland police used excessive force and violated the department's own crowd-control policy. The OPD denies that Oakland officers used flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets against the crowd, despite allegations to the contrary. (OPD spokespeople suggested that other law enforcement agencies may have used them.) Interim police chief Howard Jordan has admitted to the use of tear gas and bean bags, saying his officers used them as a defense against bottles, rocks, and paint thrown by angry protesters.
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2011/10/opd-crowd-control-policy-force
http://www.mercurynews.com/2015/05/26/legal-or-not-oaklands-new-protest-policy-hurting-relations-with-activists/
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf Institutes Ban On Nighttime Street Protests
The rally began just before sunset in Frank Ogawa Plaza where about 200–300 people had gathered. After several speeches and recitations of poetry, the protesters announced their intention to march to the Oakland Police Administration Building seven blocks away. Demonstrators had not yet stepped off the sidewalk and into the intersection of 14th Street and Broadway when OPD addressed the crowd through an amplified sound system, stating that the march was “unpermitted.” As demonstrators walked into the street, police immediately ordered them back onto the sidewalk, citing California Vehicle Code Section 2800, which makes it an arrestable offense to not comply with orders of a police officer.
“The fact is we were threatened with arrest for marching,” said Cat Brooks, one of the facilitators of the protest. “This was a Black women’s and children’s rally saying to the police, please stop killing us, and our woman mayor organized the harshest response we’ve seen yet.”
“There clearly is a shift in tactics by the police,” said attorney Anne Weills, who was in last night’s march.
In an interview today, Mayor Libby Schaaf acknowledged that she ordered the prohibition on nighttime street marches in Oakland. However, she argued that it was a not new city law, but rather a reinterpretation of an existing one.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2015/05/22/oakland-mayor-libby-schaaf-institutes-curfew-on-nighttime-street-protest
May 2012
OPD’s current crowd control policy, Lye explained, is pursuant to a court settlement reached in the 2003 Port of Oakland incident, during which Oakland police fired wooden dowels and shotgun-propelled bean bags into a crowd of protestors, injuring 58 people. For that reason, she said, “OPD does not have unilateral authority to change that [policy].” Instead, she said, “they are required to consult with a monitor” before announcing any revisions.
Because OPD’s existing crowd control guidelines were part of a federal court order and are still legally binding, the department doesn’t “have the power to make any changes in that unilaterally,” added Rachel Lederman, an NLG attorney.
Even more confusing to some is the fact that a few weeks ago, Lederman said, OPD “inexplicably” posted the Peace Officer Standards and Training - or POST - crowd control guidelines on its website, even though it already lists the existing guidelines as its official policy. Furthermore, the city’s press release made additional mention of new guidelines, stating that OPD is “revising its crowd management policy to be consistent with upcoming POST-recommended crowd management policies.”
http://newamericamedia.org/2012/05/was-oakland-pds-proposed-crowd-control-policy-illegal.php
May 2015
"Black People Had War Declared on Them By Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf."
On Thursday, May 21st, 2015, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, in response to window breaking during protests the evening of May 1st, promulgated, secretly, new edicts prohibiting night time street protests. These were enforced by Oakland Police that night when Black Lives Matter protesters attempted to take to the streets after a #SayHerName rally remembering Black women killed by police terror.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/5/24/1387348/--Black-People-Had-War-Declared-on-Them-By-Oakland-Mayor-Libby-Schaaf
May 2015
Oakland protesters defy mayor by marching at night without permit
Protesters marched through Oakland streets after sunset Saturday in defiance of Mayor Libby Schaaf’s policy of shutting down unlawful assemblies at night in her effort to protect businesses from protest-related violence and vandalism.
The protest was organized in response to an incident Thursday night in which police forced about 200 demonstrators off the street and onto the sidewalk because they did not have a permit to shut down city streets. The groups Onyx Organizing Committee and the Anti Police-Terror Project complied but called the city’s action unconstitutional, and planned Saturday night’s march to challenge what they called a new policy.
On Friday, Schaaf spokeswoman Erica Derryck released a statement saying the city hasn’t approved any new laws or policies regarding marches, but is using existing laws and policies to make sure protests remain peaceful. She said routing the march onto the sidewalk is a way to “ensure that freedom of expression is not compromised by unlawful activity and demonstrators, bystanders, motorists and property are kept safe.”
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-protesters-to-challenge-Libby-Schaaf-in-6283517.php
June 2015
Oakland officials, lawyers can’t resolve city’s controversial crowd control policy
“She’s (Schaaf) writing checks she expect my police officers to cash,” said Donelan, whose union is currently negotiating a new contract. “This administration will persecute Oakland police for their own failed policy.”
“This is a failed policy, failed leadership and ultimately the people who will suffer are the citizens of Oakland,” Donelan said. “Are we putting murderers behind bars? I’m not sure what we’re achieving.”
http://www.mercurynews.com/2015/06/03/oakland-officials-lawyers-cant-resolve-citys-controversial-crowd-control-policy/
CBS San Francisco reports that police cited a new policy by the city's mayor to force protesters from the street to the sidewalk after Oakland experienced several violent demonstrations in the past year. Oakland has hosted rallies in the streets for years, but the mayor said the new policy is needed to combat damage to property and violence.
Rachel Lederman, a lawyer with the National Lawyers Guild who helped Oakland craft its crowd-control policies, said the new tactics appear to violate the guidelines.
"It doesn't make any sense because saying that marches have to be on the sidewalk has absolutely no relationship to impending property damage that might occur," Lederman said. "Obviously that would happen on a sidewalk, not a street."
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-oakland-police-policy-sparks-protests-arrests/
Oakland Police Under a Cloud for Violent Occupy Crackdown
October 2011
Questions are swirling as to whether Oakland police used excessive force and violated the department's own crowd-control policy. The OPD denies that Oakland officers used flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets against the crowd, despite allegations to the contrary. (OPD spokespeople suggested that other law enforcement agencies may have used them.) Interim police chief Howard Jordan has admitted to the use of tear gas and bean bags, saying his officers used them as a defense against bottles, rocks, and paint thrown by angry protesters.
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2011/10/opd-crowd-control-policy-force
http://www.mercurynews.com/2015/05/26/legal-or-not-oaklands-new-protest-policy-hurting-relations-with-activists/
08 Oakland Police Dept (OPD) - $2m settlement after attacking dozens of Antiwar protesters (2003)
April 2013
Oakland Paid $2 Million Settlement After Attacking Dozens Of Antiwar Protesters
In April 2003, the department violently cracked down on raucous Iraq war demonstrations, attacking protesters with concussion grenades, “sting balls,” and other similar weapons:
https://thinkprogress.org/flashback-oakland-paid-2-million-settlement-after-attacking-dozens-of-antiwar-protesters-in-2003-8c8ac1392f4d#.lv5ut7kfy
Oakland Paid $2 Million Settlement After Attacking Dozens Of Antiwar Protesters
In April 2003, the department violently cracked down on raucous Iraq war demonstrations, attacking protesters with concussion grenades, “sting balls,” and other similar weapons:
An anti-war demonstration at the Port of Oakland turned violent this morning when Oakland Police opened fire with wooden dowels, “sting balls,’” concussion grendades, tear gas and other non-lethal weapons when protesters at the gates of two shipping lines refused an order to disperse. Scores of protesters ran from a line of police or tried to hide behind nearby big rigs.
At least a dozen demonstrators and nine longshoremen who were standing nearby were injured.
“Our guys were standing in one area waiting to go to work, and then the police started firing on the longshoremen,’” said Henry Graham, the president of ILWU Local 10. “Some were hit in the chest with rubber bullets, and seven of our guys went to the hospital. I don’t want to imply that the police deliberately did this, but it doesn’t make sense.”
“Our guys were standing in one area waiting to go to work, and then the police started firing on the longshoremen,’” said Henry Graham, the president of ILWU Local 10. “Some were hit in the chest with rubber bullets, and seven of our guys went to the hospital. I don’t want to imply that the police deliberately did this, but it doesn’t make sense.”
https://thinkprogress.org/flashback-oakland-paid-2-million-settlement-after-attacking-dozens-of-antiwar-protesters-in-2003-8c8ac1392f4d#.lv5ut7kfy
04 City of Oakland Paid 100k for an independent report of OPD's response to Occupy Oakland
June 2012
Report: Aggressive Police Response to Occupy Oakland Was "Flawed"
The Oakland Police Department's aggressive response to an Occupy Oakland protest that made international news last October was "flawed," according to a newly released 120-page report (PDF). Commissioned by the city in December and conducted by the Frazier Group consulting firm for $100,000, the report criticized the department for its "outdated, dangerous, and ineffective" crowd-control tactics, which critically injured one protester.
More than 1,000 complaints have been filed over the OPD's handing of various Occupy Oakland protests, according to the East Bay Express. The OPD has repeatedly violated its own crowd-control policy, which was adopted following an aggressive response to a 2003 antiwar protest that resulted in lawsuits that cost the department more than $2 million. OPD Chief Howard Jordan, who was a lieutenant at the time, was involved in policing that protest and was deposed during the ensuing investigation. In both cases, the heavy-handed tactics centered on the use of "less-lethal" projectiles, such as the beanbag round that later injured Scott Olsen. The Frazier report said such weapons should be replaced with "state of the art equipment that will reduce injuries" and "help prevent property damage."
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/06/occupy-oakland-police-response-report
Indpendent Report: Flawed response by Oakland Police to October 25 "Occupy Oakland" Protest.
Oakland Police, Mayor, Administrator Say Reforms arleady in progress. Pledge Continued Improvements
Indpendent reports commissioned by the City Administrator confirmed that the Oakland Police Department's respose to the Occupy Oakland protest on October 25 last year was flawed by inadequate staffing, insuffient planning, lack of understanding of modern crowd management techniques, and outdated policies and protocals
https://www.scribd.com/document/97137127/City-of-Oakland-Findings-on-independent-report-investigating-OPD-handling-of-Occupy-protesters
Report: Aggressive Police Response to Occupy Oakland Was "Flawed"
The Oakland Police Department's aggressive response to an Occupy Oakland protest that made international news last October was "flawed," according to a newly released 120-page report (PDF). Commissioned by the city in December and conducted by the Frazier Group consulting firm for $100,000, the report criticized the department for its "outdated, dangerous, and ineffective" crowd-control tactics, which critically injured one protester.
More than 1,000 complaints have been filed over the OPD's handing of various Occupy Oakland protests, according to the East Bay Express. The OPD has repeatedly violated its own crowd-control policy, which was adopted following an aggressive response to a 2003 antiwar protest that resulted in lawsuits that cost the department more than $2 million. OPD Chief Howard Jordan, who was a lieutenant at the time, was involved in policing that protest and was deposed during the ensuing investigation. In both cases, the heavy-handed tactics centered on the use of "less-lethal" projectiles, such as the beanbag round that later injured Scott Olsen. The Frazier report said such weapons should be replaced with "state of the art equipment that will reduce injuries" and "help prevent property damage."
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/06/occupy-oakland-police-response-report
Indpendent Report: Flawed response by Oakland Police to October 25 "Occupy Oakland" Protest.
Oakland Police, Mayor, Administrator Say Reforms arleady in progress. Pledge Continued Improvements
Indpendent reports commissioned by the City Administrator confirmed that the Oakland Police Department's respose to the Occupy Oakland protest on October 25 last year was flawed by inadequate staffing, insuffient planning, lack of understanding of modern crowd management techniques, and outdated policies and protocals
https://www.scribd.com/document/97137127/City-of-Oakland-Findings-on-independent-report-investigating-OPD-handling-of-Occupy-protesters
06 Oakland Police Dept (OPD) - OPD investigator compromised the Scott Olsen criminal investigation
June 2012
OPD Screws Up Scott Olsen Investigation?
A new report reveals that a department investigator may have compromised the investigation into the shooting of the Marine veteran.
Filings made last week in the court of federal Judge Thelton Henderson reveal that the Oakland Police Department's investigation into which of its officers shot Marine veteran Scott Olsen with a beanbag round on October 25 may have been compromised by the actions of an officer assigned to the case. "It is alleged an OPD investigator compromised the Scott Olson [sic] criminal investigation," the court document reads. "This will require interviews of several members of CID [Criminal Investigations Division] and Tango Teams [tactical teams armed with less-than-lethal munitions] but will not require any extensive analysis of video or other evidence."
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/opd-screws-up-scott-olsen-investigation/Content?oid=3233648
In February 2012, after reviewing video recordings and other police records, private investigator Jacob Crawford and I identified Roche as the officer who threw the flash-bang grenade at Olsen (see "Officer in Scott Olsen Incident Identified?" 2/22/12). Additional reporting later revealed that OPD had prematurely ended its investigation into the Olsen incident and that the department investigators lied to the Alameda District Attorney's Office about it (see, "OPD Screws Up Scott Olsen Investigation," 6/13/12). OPD's conduct elicited concern from former Baltimore Police Commissioner Tom Frazier, whom the city had hired to review OPD's conduct during Occupy Oakland. Frazier determined that department investigators had "compromised" the probe of the Olsen incident.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/why-oakland-cant-fire-bad-cops/Content?oid=4074076
OPD Screws Up Scott Olsen Investigation?
A new report reveals that a department investigator may have compromised the investigation into the shooting of the Marine veteran.
Filings made last week in the court of federal Judge Thelton Henderson reveal that the Oakland Police Department's investigation into which of its officers shot Marine veteran Scott Olsen with a beanbag round on October 25 may have been compromised by the actions of an officer assigned to the case. "It is alleged an OPD investigator compromised the Scott Olson [sic] criminal investigation," the court document reads. "This will require interviews of several members of CID [Criminal Investigations Division] and Tango Teams [tactical teams armed with less-than-lethal munitions] but will not require any extensive analysis of video or other evidence."
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/opd-screws-up-scott-olsen-investigation/Content?oid=3233648
In February 2012, after reviewing video recordings and other police records, private investigator Jacob Crawford and I identified Roche as the officer who threw the flash-bang grenade at Olsen (see "Officer in Scott Olsen Incident Identified?" 2/22/12). Additional reporting later revealed that OPD had prematurely ended its investigation into the Olsen incident and that the department investigators lied to the Alameda District Attorney's Office about it (see, "OPD Screws Up Scott Olsen Investigation," 6/13/12). OPD's conduct elicited concern from former Baltimore Police Commissioner Tom Frazier, whom the city had hired to review OPD's conduct during Occupy Oakland. Frazier determined that department investigators had "compromised" the probe of the Olsen incident.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/why-oakland-cant-fire-bad-cops/Content?oid=4074076
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