A man was killed today. Beaten and shot. It happens a lot in Oakland. One hundred and four people were killed in 2009, a huge percentage of them young black males. But this one was different.
alyssa011968 Alyssa
@JoshuaHol: Im sure never been as many reporters at the scene of a black youth's murder in history of Oakland. Swarms. #OO #OccupyOakland
You see, he was killed at 14th and Broadway, not many yards outside the perimeter of the #Occupation.
It didn't matter that
A number of people from the camp came over and tried to break it up...
or that
After the shooting, a number of people from the camp stood in a line and locked their arms, trying to keep onlookers away so Oakland firefighters could tend to the victim...
or even that
occupyoakland Occupy Oakland
The only involvement camp had in shooting incident was medics being first responders to the incident. city shutting lights off didn't help
No, the politicians that are out to destroy #OccupyOakland don't give a flying fuck about any of that. After all is said and done, how can you argue with logic like this?
Two prominent critics of the encampment, however, said the question of whether the dead man or the killers were protesters was irrelevant.
"This camp is attracting an element that's adding to the problem that already exists," said City Council President Larry Reid.
It's true. I've been down there more times in the past four weeks than the entire rest of my life, and I'm the scum of the Earth.
Then we get
Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente, who has also called for the camp's removal, said tonight, "Unfortunately, we will have no excuse for not taking action. This was escalating and was going to happen."
Which makes about as much sense as Rick Perry in a debate. But sense is no longer, if it ever was, of value on this debate. Every Oakland pol is now gunning for #OccupyOakland. They will grasp at any straw and fling every bit of garbage they can find to destroy it. It's just a rumor, after all, the President of the City Council was repeating:
susie_c Susie Cagle
#occupyoakland "we believe the police acted appropriately..." pres just said Scott Olsen might've actually been injured by a baseball bat??
The only thing that is (barely) holding them back, and probably won't much longer, is the dim realization of the potential consequences, including innocent deaths, of trying to forcibly remove the camp.
I'll leave you with this note regarding what the rest of Oakland thinks about all this:
JoshuaHol Joshua Holland
Common sentiment here is that this is only news bc of #OO. "If this happened in West Oak, the body'd still be laying in the fucking street"
Read the absurd letter from the Oakland Police Officer's Association regarding the murder and the occupation, reprinted in the updates below
Thu Nov 10, 2011 at 9:22 PM PT:
Oakland crime statistics report an overall upward trend in crime based on data from 11 years with violent crime increasing and property crime decreasing. Based on this trend, the crime rate in Oakland for 2011 is expected to be higher than in 2009.
The city violent crime rate for Oakland in 2009 was higher than the national violent crime rate average by 291.01% and the city property crime rate in Oakland was higher than the national property crime rate average by 66.06%.
In 2009 the city violent crime rate in Oakland was higher than the violent crime rate in California by 255.75% and the city property crime rate in Oakland was higher than the property crime rate in California by 84.57%
http://www.cityrating.com/...
.
Thu Nov 10, 2011 at 9:50 PM PT: The snark begins.
flipsville Jane Doe
Pretty soon any crime that occurs within a three radius of any #Occupy site will be the fault of the Occupiers. #ows #occupyoakland
Thu Nov 10, 2011 at 9:54 PM PT: Oh, the things that come across twitter feeds.
Saintless RT @timomcd: just saw lucy lawless handcuffed at #occupyoakland. crowds chanting "free xena" we are the 99%
Thu Nov 10, 2011 at 10:06 PM PT:
(7:42 PST): According to this new video, released by an Occupy Oakland activist who witnessed the incident, the shooting occurred during a fight over “a bag of weed.” He concludes: “It’s gotten real nasty down here, real fast.
http://patdollard.com/...
Thu Nov 10, 2011 at 10:25 PM PT: Vigil at #OccupyOakland
garonsen Gavin Aronsen
An #occupyoakland medic who was among first on the scene to aid the murder victim asks everyone to remove their hats for 2 mins of silence.
13 minutes ago
9:27 AM PT: Unf***ing real.
AN OPEN LETTER TO OCCUPY OAKLAND FROM THE OAKLAND POLICE OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION
November 11, 2011
On behalf of the 645 Oakland police officers we represent, this letter comes to you out of duty to protect the Oakland community and its citizens.
Oakland police officers are the 99% and we understand and sympathize with your message. We respect your right to peaceful protest.
We are also sworn to protect the citizens of Oakland. Right now, Oakland is in a state of emergency.
Our police officers are the 99% struggling in Oakland neighborhoods every day to contain the 1% who rob, steal, rape and murder our law-abiding citizens. The Occupy Oakland protest, now 30 days old, is taking our police officers out of Oakland neighborhoods and away from protecting the citizens of Oakland.
In an average city in California, this might not be of emergency proportions for its citizens. Oakland is not an “average” city – we have the highest violent crime rate in California. We are the 5th most violent city in the United States – with more shootings and homicides than any city west of the Mississippi.
Last night’s murder, right in the epicenter of Occupy Oakland, is unacceptable. So is the violence being promoted by “renegade” protesters who are lighting firebombs, destroying property and attacking police.
What is even more tragic is that homicides are a frequent occurrence in Oakland. This is the real emergency: Yesterday’s murder was Oakland’s 101st homicide of 2011. It is time for us to stop directing all of our efforts at policing the small enclave of “Occupy Oakland” and get back to our job of protecting the citizens of Oakland in the neighborhoods where our residents live.
The events of recent weeks have shown that many occupiers at Frank Ogawa Plaza are citizens of other communities with limited interest in preserving the greater good and safety of our City.
Please, we ask you: Leave Frank Ogawa Plaza peacefully and immediately so Oakland Police can get back to work fighting the devastating crime that’s occurring in our neighborhoods.
You have sent the world a strong message; now it is time to go home. Your leaving today, peacefully, of your own free will, on the 30th day, will send a message to Oakland that you care about our citizens and respect our city.
With last night’s homicide, in broad daylight, in the middle of rush hour, Frank Ogawa Plaza is no longer safe. Please leave peacefully, with your heads held high, so we can get police officers back to work fighting crime in Oakland neighborhoods.
Thank you.
9:40 AM PT: Oakland Police Officers Association
555 5th Street
Oakland, CA 94607-3500
(510) 834-9670
11:11 AM PT:
Veterans March Against Police Brutality
START DATE: Friday November 11
TIME: 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Location Details:
14th & BROADWAY, OSCAR GRANT PLAZA, Amphitheater
Event Type: Protest
As part of Veterans Day, veterans will be leading a march against police brutality on November 11th, 2011 in Oakland. We will start with a press conference and rally with an update and statement from Scott Olsen at Oscar Grant Plaza starting at 4pm.
We welcome all veterans of the 99% to lead the way and all supporters to join us as we march the streets. We march not only for injured veterans Scott Olsen, Kayvan Sabeghi and Doug Connor, but for all those who have been killed or injured as a result of police brutality.
Kayvan Sabeghi and Doug Connor were injured on November 3, 2011 while being detained near Oscar Grant Plaza. Kayvan was severely beaten and suffered a lacerated spleen and internal bleeding. He was abused and denied medical treatment. For hours, Kayvan waited in a holding cell in severe pain before receiving medical attention. Doug is an ex-army flight nurse who was attempting to help injured protesters in jail when he was then put in additional handcuffs that were so tight on his wrists that his hands turned blue and were numb. He was left in those handcuffs for several hours until he was released.
Numerous injuries have been incurred at the hands of the police in our communities. This is unacceptable.
We strongly believe that the 99% should be free to exercise our constitutionally guaranteed right of free speech and peaceful assembly without fear of harm.
Oakland citizens have long been on the receiving end of police violence. The most recent victims have been military veterans who served their country in foreign wars, only to be seriously injured at home as they exercised the freedoms they served to protect.
While it has been the recent injurious of three of our military brothers that has catalyzed us, we stand against violence and brutality toward ANY of our people- veteran, civilian or otherwise.
As military members, we put our lives on the line in the name of protecting our country and its citizens (including the police). We take our oath to protect and defend the Constitution very seriously and while we may have departed the military, we never disavowed our commitment.
We will return to the streets this Veterans Day to remember our brothers and sisters who have served to protect the freedoms that the Oakland Police Department and the Alameda County Sheriffs have decided do not exist. We join the people of Oakland in affirmation of our Constitution, our right to peacefully assemble and to do so without fear of violence from those sworn to protect and serve.
