6/8/20 Oakland Police Commission Meeting Public Comments

the selectively enforced show of force of the short-lived curfew was a fiasco and the use of tear
gas during a respiratory disease pandemic was a predictable, but shameful travesty on the part
of OPD. Throughout last weekend, I was left with the impression that OPD in collaboration with
a number of other police forces on loan from around the Bay and CHP wanted to show force
and a very narrowly conceived downtown corridor and around HQ at 7th and Broadway, while to
my mind, intentionally neglecting its ostensible duty of providing order in the city, in order to
score political points. In fact, on Sunday's protest, a Lieutenant whose name unfortunately I did
not get was speaking to protesters at 8th and Clay admitted as much in my presence when he
said we want to be out in East Oakland stopping fires, but you're keeping us here instead. To
me, these are not the words and actions of a municipal service that's beholden to public interest,
but of a gang that acts strategically to protect its geographic and political turf with a combination
of overwhelming force, via protection racket. I'd like to urge any other public speakers on the call
to make your voices heard once again on tomorrow's City Council meeting, to affirm the text of a
ballot measure, to clarify the ability of this commission to provide civilian oversight of OPD.
There are multiple possible versions that can be adopted to my view. It's extremely important
that the city attorney and counsel not torpedo the measure or insert poison pills, but strengthen
and expand the commissions and our ability to provide oversight. If we're serious at all about
calls to restrict police power, it has to start with some semblance of accountability, which this
commission can only provide with power behind it, to countervail the power of the police.”
“I'm a social worker in the city of Oakland, working with homeless, senior citizens. And as I am
one of the last people in my agency who's working on the frontlines and meeting homeless
seniors on the streets or in their, temporary hotel rooms or housing, I witnessed the terror of my
seniors every day and as an Indigenous and Jewish person, the police terror that's inflicted on
Black bodies in Oakland and around the world is unacceptable. No city should be proud of how
many people are living in a tent when 45% of their budget is spent on police who cannot even
abide by basic human rights and human decency. I feel terrified of the police. My clients feel
terrified of the police. I have had maybe one police interaction in my entire life that didn't go
completely sideways and make me feel afraid or threatened or purposely intimidated over
absolutely nothing.”
“I just wanted to start by saying Black lives matter. I wanted to share my account of what
happened on Sunday, May 31st at the intersection of 14th and Broadway at approximately 5:46
PM. A friend and I had been participating in the caravan for justice that was occurring around
Lake Merritt in the downtown area for about an hour.When we decided to head to Latham
Square to take the break, up the block at 14th and Broadway, we could see that the caravan
was still taking place and there were a number of people gathering on the sidewalk and in the
intersection to show support. Around the same time, I noticed a police SUV vehicle parked at
the corner of 16th and Telegraph watching the demonstrations up ahead. It was not there when
we had first sat down. All of a sudden for no reason that I discern from my vantage point of
about a block away, the police car peeled around the corner going at least 40 miles an hour.
Behind that, three to four SUVS followed all speeding towards the intersection. Around the
same time there were loud bangs and that I first thought there were fireworks. White smoke