Protests Over BART Shooting Turn Violent (Oakland)

[High Plains]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

(01-07) 20:04 PST Oakland -- A protest over the fatal shooting by a BART police officer of an unarmed man mushroomed into a violent confrontation tonight as a faction of protesters smashed a police car, broke windows on parked cars and at least one business and blocked streets in downtown Oakland.

The protest started peacefully shortly after 3 p.m. at the Fruitvale Station in Oakland, where BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle shot 22-year-old Oscar Grant of Hayward to death early on New Year's Day. BART shut down the station well into the evening commute, although the demonstration there was peaceful.

However, shortly after nightfall, a group of roughly 200 protesters split off and headed toward downtown Oakland, prompting the transit agency to close the Lake Merritt station.

Oakland Police Officer Michael Cardoza parked his car across the intersection of Eighth and Madison streets to prevent traffic from flowing toward Broadway and into the protest. But he told The Chronicle that 30 to 40 protesters quickly surrounded his car and started smashing it with bottles and rocks. Cardoza jumped out of the car, and he said some protesters tried to set the car on fire, while others jumped onto the hood - incidents repeatedly shown on television. Cardoza said the protesters "were trying to entice us into doing something."


<snip> more at link


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/07/MN2N155CN1.DTL&tsp=1

---

This is going on right now. Being broadcast live on KRON-4.

It looks like it might be police brutality payback time.

[High Plains]

1. Some Oakland BART stops were closed for awhile.

I think the main downtown one still is.

[Poll_Blind]

2. Do you know if the coverage is streaming anywhere?

I'll check KRON again in case I missed a link.

PB

[High Plains]

5. That's what I would have recommended. There are already some videos...

...up on YouTube. "Oakland BART" ought to find 'em for you.

[Webster Green]

3. It's about time people started fighting back.

Fuck the goddamn pigs! :grr:

[subsuelo]

63. Hey if Israel can massacre hundreds of Gazans and get away with it

I guess Oakland police can go ahead and beat up a few protestors

[TahitiNut]

4. Completely foreseeable. It's insane that they've been so lax in dealing with this.

Someone's head should roll over such an abysmal response to such an atrocity.

[thunder rising]

6. What's fucked up is that they destroy their own neighborhoods. Why not go the cops neighborhood.

[crikkett]

40. What's actually fucked up is that the cops don't live in the neighborhood they police.

It would encourage them to actually embody "protect and serve" if they were working with (working over?) their neighbors.

[Freddie Stubbs]

61. Who patrols the neighborhhods were police officers live?

:shrug:

[slackmaster]

54. The officer in question lives in a small city in a rural county

His address is in the public record.

It would not be a good place to hold a riot. People who live in the area are heavily armed. Many more people would die.

Downtown Oakland is a great place to go ape shit. Lots of stuff to break, and nobody to stop you. They'll probably escalate to burning things soon.

[Threedifferentones]

62. This is the sad truth about riots, at least in America, from what I have seen.

So long as the rioters only destroy their own neighborhoods, cops will sit back. But, if the rioters actually go to the source of the problem, ie the homes of cops and affluent people, you can bet the cops, national guard, etc. will crush the protest with extreme prejudice.

[High Plains]

7. "No justice, no peace. Fuck the police."

But this looks relatively low-level. There are small fires burning in various places around the city, there have been some arrests made, some unruly crowds, but I don't think this is going to blow up tonight.

Still, I hope the cops are listening.

[Newsjock]

8. They just blew up a random car parked on the street

And they broke out the windows at a neighborhood McDonald's. It's no longer a protest; it's become an excuse for random thugs to cause destruction.

[chollybocker]

9. The revolution starts at 11

[Wizard777]

10. I knew this was comming. If they exonerate the officer.

:wow: :scared: :hide: :nuke: :hide: :scared: :wow:

[SpookyCat]

12. If they exonerate that cop, I'll be on the steet as well.

This is straight up bullshit. This cop quit the force today, so he doesn't have to talk to Internal Affairs. What are the odds this guy isn't gonna run? How is he not arrested? Why the quiet response from the powers that be?

I don't care if this was an "accident" or not...he murdered that kid, and he cannot be above the law.

[VP505]

11. What would they expect the public reaction to be

after one of their finest so brazenly executed that young man. I hope the powers that be are smart enough to see to it that the officer is held accountable to the same extent that any average citizen would be.

[Peggy Day]

13. Rioting in Oakland, Ca because of the Bart killing

Source: cbs ktvu

Just heard

Read more: http://cbs5.com/ http://www.ktvu.com/news/18434205/detail.html#-

---

It's turning ugly.

[rvablue]

14. You might want to give a description....some of us are on dial-up

How about a synopsis.

[Peggy Day]

15. My take is that some people were protesting, and it got out of hand.

Now I hear the riot police are there. I'm not very good at starting posts, or replying. As a matter of fact, I've been enjoying DU since 2001, and as you can see, I don't even have 1000 posts yet. Everyday, I come here first though.

[crikkett]

41. Thanks for the info. n/t

[krispos42]

16. Here's a link

Protests over BART shooting turn violent
Demian Bulwa, Charles Burress,Matthai Kuruvila, Chronicle Staff Writers

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(01-07) 21:13 PST Oakland -- A protest over the fatal shooting by a BART police officer of an unarmed man mushroomed into a violent confrontation tonight, as a faction of protesters smashed a police car and storefronts, set several cars on fire and blocked streets in downtown Oakland.

Protesters smashed the storefronts of McDonald's as well as stores called Creative African Braids and Oakland Yoon's Pharmacy. Cars along 14th Street were smashed, and some were set ablaze.

A woman walked out of Creative African Braids holding a baby in her arms.

"This is our business," she shouted. "This is our shop. This is what you call a protest?"

Nia Sykes, 24, of San Francisco, a protester who was with the group, said, "I feel like the night is going great. I feel like Oakland should make some noise. This is how we need to fight back.

<snip>

The protest started peacefully shortly after 3 p.m. at the Fruitvale Station in Oakland, where BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle shot 22-year-old Oscar Grant of Hayward to death early New Year's Day. BART shut down the station well into the evening commute, although the demonstration there was peaceful.

However, shortly after nightfall, a group of roughly 200 protesters split off and head toward downtown Oakland, prompting the transit agency to close the Lake Merritt station.

<more>

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/07/MN2N155CN1.DTL

[npk]

18. They burned an AA owned business

What the hell sense does that make. That black lady agreed with the protest and now she has lost her business because a group of fucking morons decided that what she had spent her life working for was worth torching to send a message, a message that these people apparently think more violence will solve what happened to an innocent black man. I am sorry to say this another sad and tragic day for this country. I feel nothing but pain and sadness for Oscar Grant and his family. I hope the police officer serves prison time for this crime. I just don't understand what happened tonight.


edit: for spelling

[CreekDog]

21. It's a disgrace and a dishonor, but they have arrested 14 people

and those on video shown doing these things should be arrested and charged.

[npk]

22. I agree 100%

Some people are looking for an excuse to riot and cause property damage, that has little to do with the death of this man Oscar Grant. The protest earlier in the day that was peaceful, those were the people that truly cared about what happened to Oscar Grant, not these people who rioted tonight.

I am glad these arrests have been made. This doesn't help the situation.

[Sultana]

23. Dumb fucks

:argh:

[Luminous Animal]

29. Well no they didn't burn any businesses...

they broke windows. Not cool but I don't think she's going to lose her business because of a broken window.

[slackmaster]

52. It's certainly going to hurt all the businesses in the area

Nobody with a lick of sense is going to go anywhere near there until things calm down.

It's a real shame too. There are some fine restaurants and interesting shops in downtown Oakland. I had one of the best meals of my life at Le Cheval restaurant a couple of years ago.

[CreekDog]

17. Luckily the Oakland Police are on top of this, surely more competent than BARTpolice

Those seen in videos causing damage during these protests should be arrested and charged according to what they did.

Those that protest peacefully should be applauded and supported.

The DA should have taken action to show that a proper investigation of the BART police officer would happen.

This travesty of police brutality is being followed up with a travesty of justice in that the DA is not taking or appearing to take this seriously.

[npk]

19. Yeah the officers who have to clean up this mess

are the Oakland police officers who had nothing to do with the shooting death of Oscar Grant. Typical.

[CreekDog]

20. According to KTVU tonight, the theory about mistaking gun for taser is undermined

turns out the officer in videos taken earlier had reached for and taken out his taser prior to taking out his gun and firing.

according to attorneys who usually defend police, the officer is likely to face state criminal charges from negligent manslaughter to 2nd degree murder.

[Politicalboi]

24. I wonder how they defend the taser

The man was on the ground with his hands behind his back why the fuck tase him? And 2 cops were holding him down. I still wonder if the officer who shot him had seen war in Iraq which could explain his reaction to shoot.

[CreekDog]

25. attorneys and experts interviewed are saying he was not supposed to draw his gun

at all.

not merely not shoot it, but that it was a case where it was improper to even draw that weapon.

[Luminous Animal]

28. Transit beat cops shouldn't even have weapons.

In my opinion.

[CreekDog]

30. Transit cops should ride the trains...BART police ride these

:wtf: :banghead: (BART only operates trains.)



you never see them on a moving train. if they get called you *may* see them on the platform at best.

why the hell are they in patrol cars all the time. they are policing a *rail* system. must be in their freakin' contract that they don't have to ride with us commuters. :eyes:

[cboy4]

38. I agree with all of what you wrote, because I never see them

on the trains either, unless they hop on to respond to an incident.

But I feel they definitely should be armed.

Who would take that job if you didn't have a weapon in some of those neighborhoods where everyone else does?

[WriteDown]

58. BART doesn't run the buses?

We have DART in Dallas and they run the light rail and the buses.

[CreekDog]

60. BART only includes specific rail lines

The don't run any regularly scheduled bus service.

Bus service in the Bay Area is run by the local transit agency in that county or area.

[shanti]

56. they don't here in sacramento

actually, they are pretty much useless. if there's a disturbance they call the "real" cops.

[MicaelS]

53. Two words "forcing compliance"

Because ALL police are increasingly using tasers as a method of forcing compliance. You don't do EXACTLY what they say it's ZAP!!! The taser is not supposed to be used this way. This is just the latest in the long line of the misuse or attempted misuse of tasers. As far as I'm concerned they should be treated just like a firearm, you draw one and fire it, you should be subject to the same type of investigation.

[WTF_2009]

26. Rioting in Oakland, Ca because of the Bart killing

"RIOTS ARE the voice of the unheard." MLK

Riots are the only way they will be heard.

The "Bart" police officer accidentally shot this guy... ok. Still he should be arrested and face trial. I can guarantee if you or I accidentally shot someone, unarmed, face down, in a BART station. We would NOT be at home writing our resignation letter... Except if it was on the wall of the local jail.

[EFerrari]

32. You are generous. I can't see "accident" in that video. n/t

[John Kerry VonErich]

34. Only a matter of time before riots get perverted into a Warzone

nt

[Luminous Animal]

27. Is this any surprise?

I don't condone the vandalism but the city of Oakland fueled this rage by 1) barely speaking to the community and 2) letting this murderer hide out for 7 days. It has been handled miserably and has stoked people's rage. Oakland and BART cops have a history of violence and abuse of the AA community and the lack of response, both judicially and politically, is inexcusable.

[EFerrari]

31. The footage I saw tonight showed downtown completely out of control.

I hope no one else gets killed. And no, it's not surprise at all. BART cops and the OPD have a reputation of abusiveness. It was just a matter of time.

[mackerel]

33. I heard the cop resigned-any truth to it?

It's true you never see the BART police riding the train or even in the terminals.

[EFerrari]

35. He seems to have submitted a letter of resignation.

I think that prevents the department from being able to question him in an administrative hearing. He's probably lawyering up.

[WriteDown]

45. "Johannes Mehserle"

Do you think he is an exchange officer from South Africa? :shrug:

[slackmaster]

55. Sounds Krautish to me

His wife has a name that is popular in Germany too.

[WriteDown]

57. Could be....

I've rarely met cops with such an unusual name. Puzzling.

[cboy4]

37. BART cops have a reputation of abusiveness?

That's the first I've heard.

Of course, I never see them on the train when I'm riding into the City.

So I have no idea what they do.

[crikkett]

42. Oakland cops do. n/t

[cboy4]

44. I'm aware of that, but (A) they weren't the officers who shot this

young man, and (B)Oakland's behavior has nothing to do with BART PD's behavior.

I'm trying to learn more about the claim that BART has a reputation.

If never heard of such an accusation.

[crikkett]

47. Me neither.

My point was that the protesters obviously conflated the two forces.

[Grinchie]

36. FOr those that don't know the root cause -- A BART Police Officer executed a civilian

and was witnessed by dozens of passengers, and also caught on camera, reaching for his gun, and then shooting an individual named Grant while he was held face down on the concrete by two other police men. Grant on the video shows him cooperating with police before being thrown to the ground with excessive force, and then executed by the Police Officer.

The Police Officer was to meet with the Board of Directors today, but instead, sent his lawyer who then tendered his resignation from the Police force.

The Incident happened on New Years Eve, and the video shot of the officer executing the suspect for no apparent reason have sparked some civil disobedience because there have been no charges, and the authorities have not moved fast enough to get to the bottom of this incident, which is unlawful use of excessive force.

Unfortunately, it seems that the cops are caught in another Rodney King incident, and the people of Oakland, bot black and white are outraged by this event.

To be honest, I was shocked when I saw the video of the incident filmed on New Years Eve, and it saddens me that this incident could be the spark that could trigger a wildfire in these tough times.

The cops did a bad thing, and the people are demanding justice, as they should.

For those calling these protesters idiots and automatically siding with the police are trained sheep that don't know how to get to the real story and take sides with no understanding whatsoever.

This is all available to see for yourself on www.ktvu.com. You be the judge, but for those siding with the Police, you're gonna eat crow.

[GliderGuider]

39. The rioting in Greece started over the killing of one man.

This is mild, even polite, in comparison to that. Let's see what the mood of the citizenry is like after a year of economic depression and job losses.

To those getting all sniffy over some property damage:

On the one hand we have the murder of a submitting citizen by a cop.
On the other hand we have some broken windows and a few burned cars.
What is a human life worth? Should the rest of the proles simply tug their forelocks and go shopping?

[crikkett]

43. It was the killing of a 14yo boy, actually n/t

[GliderGuider]

49. Yes, and he was killed by a ricochet, not an aimed bullet.

If an accidental death like that can have such dire consequences in a country that's fallen on economic hard times, imagine the effect "official murders" like this will have in the US in another year -- with 10 or 12 million more unemployed and another couple of million home foreclosures...

[KansDem]

46. I don't understand. What is it about summary executions that they don't like?

:sarcasm:

A summary execution is a variety of extrajudicial killing in which a person is killed on the spot without trial. Summary executions are often practiced by police, military, and paramilitary organizations and are associated with guerrilla warfare and counterinsurgency. Countries often accused of such actions include Algeria, Chile (under Pinochet), Iran, Syria, Russia, China and Myanmar (Burma). Now, the United States?

According to international law, summary executions are illegal as it is the denial of the right to life without fair trial.

"Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life."(International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR - 1966, Article 6.1)

--more--
Wikipedia-"Summary Execution"

[crikkett]

48. Remember when "Suicide by Cop" was in fashion?

[dana_b]

50. 105 arrested

hair salon, and two other stores smashed. I'm all for protest - a peaceful protet - but violence begets violence and some had a mob mentatlity. The news is portraying it as an unruly mob (which it was - partially). This is going to get worse.

an update:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/07/BA2N155CN1.DTL

[slackmaster]

51. Shouldn't people wait until the cop is exonerated before they start rioting?

I thought that was how it was supposed to work.

Doesn't anybody give a shit about the fucking rules any more?

[Hell Hath No Fury]

59. Does anyone know if this was the Black Bloc?

Sounds like their MO. They show up at every -- and I mean every -- local protest, no matter what the focus, and break off from the main group with the express purpose of fucking around with the cops and doing minor damage. They are compromised of young, white, middle class twerps who think wearing a bandana makes them Che. :eyes:

Right before Xmas I was at a candlelight vigil at Union Square against Prop. 8 and the little fuckers were there as well, dancing with the cops down Market Street.

They bore the crap out of me.