6/8/20 Oakland Police Commission Meeting Public Comments

“I want to start off by saying rest in peace Erik Salgado, who was shot 40 times by CHP. They
hit the stomach of the lady who was with him, who was pregnant. I was not aware that I'd be
having a place in this town hall, not contacted by anyone, only through a flyer, and also found
out today. Many people in positions of power, especially the media and the police commission
are trying to write off young organizers' energy and propelling it into their own agenda. I don't
care to talk about peaceful protests. I care to talk about the fact that people want accountability
and acknowledgement of what OPD has been doing to peaceful protestors and the community
for years. [On] the protest held on June 1st, there were many protesters that were arrested,
teargassed and outright harassed because of a curfew. However, the police did this to people
before curfew had even started, and there's a lot of evidence to prove this. So police were just
hungry that night. I don't care to work with police and the police commission for issues that you
should know about. What makes you all of a sudden want to know your opinions on bettering
the problems that you created? The youth are more focused on organizing. Well, I'm more
focused on organizing to combat these issues and get real results and trying to fix the problem
from within Oakland Police needs to be defunded immediately. How is it not a problem that
police receive more funding than education in Oakland?”
“I just got back from [an event] in response to Erik, the young man who was murdered by
[California] Highway Patrol. And I do want to share that I am part of a cohort to where the
members live next door. And because the bullets entered their residence, they had to secure a
bed at a hotel room. Their child was sleeping in that room. So this is obviously a critical situation
that needs to be resolved. I already believe, and I will strongly urge the Oakland Police
Department to also volunteer to have your budget cut as well. I understand money. I understand
salaries, budgets, and pensions. I understand that that might sound like a ridiculous notion, but
we're not going to get to a place of improving relationships unless we get full buy-in from this
police department, there has been a long history, and I want to remind folks that the issues with
OPD goes all the way back to the founding of the Black Panther Party. When you chose to join
the force, you did inherit this legacy, whether that appears fair to you or not.”
“It was in 1999 when we were in the streets, demanding justice for Aaron Williams in San
Francisco. Aaron was killed and with no weapon and only a few short years later, I lost one of
my best friends, Idriss Stelley, who was shot by the police 33 times in the Metreon Theater. And
we watched as his body was rolled out. He had a fingernail clipper and it was mistaken for a
knife and he was in a mental health crisis. So in some ways today, I give these short comments
really in honor of his mother shortly after Idriss’ murder, we were in the streets again for the
murder of Sheila Detoy. She was shot in her temple by a police officer in San Francisco. Her
boyfriend was driving the car, the district attorney at the time charged Sheila's boyfriend,
Michael Negron with her murder using a provocative act theory as the premise for the charge.
The vigor and the fury and the clear strategy that we see from the young men who led last
week's march and also their intolerance for the notion of reform, it reminds us of what Malcolm
[X] said. You know, he said, I don't have a chip on my shoulder, I have your foot in my neck.
I think it's important for us to understand that the folks who led not only the movement for
integration in this country or a free South Africa, but folks like my aunt, were very clear that the