Oakland: Riots In The Streets
"Walter Benjamin asked himself how in 1830 the Paris rioters shot at town clocks, in different parts of the city and without coordinating the action; for our part we cannot fail to reflect on why wild youths of today are burning cars. In fact, what does the car represent in contemporary society? We leave the question unanswered."
Stop protesting. Start fighting.
A protest was held January 7th at the Fruitvale BART station. Protesters gathered at 3pm and by 5pm the crowd had swelled to around one thousand people. At 6pm some of the protesters started marching down Broadway towards downtown Oakland. Around 6:35 there was a confrontation with a police car and a burning dumpster was shoved into it as people shook and jumped on the car. Hundred of police then moved in, shooting tear gas into the crowd. The protest continued into the night as dozens of protesters took over and blocked the intersection of 14th and Broadway for over an hour with several people lying on the ground to show how Oscar was lying when he was shot. A line of hundreds of riot police then moved in and pushed the crowd up 14th. The crowd pushed back and dozens of car windows were broken and a minivan was set one fire. The police then charged and as protesters dispersed windows were broken on a McDonalds and at least two more cars were set on fire.
8:30pm Two more cars near 14th and Madison are on fire and there have been more arrests.
8:10pm Crowd is dispersing. KPIX helicopter shows windows being smashed in on a McDonalds a block of so away.
8:07pm All cars on one side street have had their windows smashed and a minivan is on fire.
8:05pm Police are dividing crowd and charging at protesters. Several people are being put in police vans. An online feed from kpix.com seems to show police have dragged one person behind a police van and at least 4 police are beating the person with batons .
8:00pm A line of police is moving in and pushing the protesters out of the intersection. Many protesters are pushing back and several car windows are being smashed.
7:45pm Police just ordered the crowd to disperse and have told the crowd that anyone who does not leave the area in 10 minutes will be arrested.
7:40pm Dozens of people are still at 14th and Broadway, surrounded by hundreds of police cars and police in riot gear. Several people are lying on the ground in the intersection re-enacting how Oscar Grant was lying when he was shot.
7:10pm People are blocking Broadway and 14th chanting “We are Oscar Grant”
7:05pm: 50 or so people now marching back up Broadway towards 13th
6:40pm: Police are using tear gas and rubber bullets on crowd. 12 cops on foot and an armored truck chased people on Broadway towards the freeway.
6:35pm: Reports of people jumping on cop car and dumpster on fire near 7th and Madison
4:00pm: The crowd has swelled to around 300 people. BART has issued an advisory announcing the closure of the Fruitvale station "due to civil protest." A bus bridge has been established at Coliseum station.
3pm: Protesters have begun to gather at Fruitvale BART.
http://www.indybay.org
Showing posts with label murder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label murder. Show all posts
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Oakland Riot Reportback - We Are Oscar Grant
Last night, nearly a thousand people gathered in solidarity at the Fruitvale BART station to seek justice for the shooting murder of Oscar Grant by the BART police on New Years Day. The protest turned into a riot when we marched downtown, and the police used tear gas, rubber bullets, beat people with their nightsticks, and even started turning off street lights later in the evening to lessen visibility in the areas where we had stand-offs with the swat.
From 430pm to 930pm, me and Cootie, a few comrades, and an entire mob, moved through the streets of downtown Oakland, from rally to march to riot. Crowds were dispersed by the police, would break off into smaller factions, and regroup for new stand-offs. The police were clearly struggling to keep up. The cops shoved me around a bit, but I later retaliated (after recovering from the gas) by calmly taunting them with a camera in their faces - knowing that they could not arrest me for what I was doing. Turns out, my dog doesn't like cops either, and we spent a good amount of time at the front during standstills, facing off with the line of cops while Cootiemonster barked at them and I videotaped them.
A few were arrested. Some were provoked, others seemed arbitrary. The line of cops would occasionally swarm out like a flash in a mob, grab someone - seemingly at random - and suck them back behind the police line. All those I saw arrested were men of color, the majority black. Some of them beaten within distant view after they were detained. The line of cops held back protesters from getting close enough to videotape, and often attempted to block our view from scuffles that would break out occassionally. Some of the cops would actually honor our rights once we asserted that WE HAVE A RIGHT TO OBSERVE, but most of the time, they would respond with threats of violence and arrest.
A police car was jumped on and smashed up after a dumpster on fire was pushed into it. Cars were smashed and trampled in the path of the protest, several cars were lit on fire, and I saw at least one explode. Windows were smashed, trashcans, kiosks, and dumpsters were dragged into the streets to create obstacles against the pursuing line of cops. The windows of the McDonald's were smashed, and I watched as the cops came out of nowhere and chased down the kid. We all cheered him on, but ultimately, he got caught. Those fuckers can run really fast, so be warned.
I was teargassed while helping put out a fire that had started on the side of someone's house. I was pissed, and it burned like hell. Cootie was fine, and stuck beside me calmly like a badass riot dog the whole time (except for the one time I dropped her leash and she ran to the front of the march.)
I saw two women walking back from their car which had been completely smashed up, and said, "Hey lady, we're sorry about that", gesturing to their car. The owner of the car smiled back at me, saying casually, "Oh don't worry about it. I have insurance. And if that means that there is the chance that that kid will see justice, then its worth it. The police shouldn't get away with this kind of violence."
Fucking awesome.
Oakland mayor Ron Dellums came out later on during the riots with two bodyguards, and were swarmed by protesters who pleaded, demanded, yelled at, and reasoned with him to take action against the perpetrators of the shooting and address the urgency of the situation. Nervous police officers monitored the crowd some 50 feet away as the mob encircled the mayor and they strolled down 14th St. surveying the event.
"He said the killing was a homicide and that he had ordered the City of Oakland to investigate the BART killing. The crowd interrupted much of his speech, expressing their displeasure with the situation."
I left around 930pm, right before "Round 2". You can read more about it at indymedia. By the end of the night, 105 people had been arrested.
It is also important to note that the organizers did NOT plan for this riot to happen. I can attest to the multiple times throughout the rally and march that the organizers were yelling for the crowd not to use violence or provoke the cops - to remain calm and keep it a peaceful protest. It was not the strategy, nor the intention of the organizers for this event to turn into a riot. But you can't control an angry, hurt mob in the face of riot police with a history of racist authoritarianism. Emotions were running high, and the tension between the cops and the crowd was at a palpable breaking point.
And things broke.
Sometimes you gotta stop protesting, and start fighting back. More strategy, more self-control, and more organizing if we are to gain allies and arm ourselves effectively against the state.
I caught a lot of footage on my camera-phone (they're really handy for that!), and once I figure out how to upload and increase the quality of the videos, I will upload them to the blog. If anyone has any suggestions for video editing programs I can use to lighten and sharpen dark cameraphone footage, that would be great!
Stay tuned for updates.
From 430pm to 930pm, me and Cootie, a few comrades, and an entire mob, moved through the streets of downtown Oakland, from rally to march to riot. Crowds were dispersed by the police, would break off into smaller factions, and regroup for new stand-offs. The police were clearly struggling to keep up. The cops shoved me around a bit, but I later retaliated (after recovering from the gas) by calmly taunting them with a camera in their faces - knowing that they could not arrest me for what I was doing. Turns out, my dog doesn't like cops either, and we spent a good amount of time at the front during standstills, facing off with the line of cops while Cootiemonster barked at them and I videotaped them.
A few were arrested. Some were provoked, others seemed arbitrary. The line of cops would occasionally swarm out like a flash in a mob, grab someone - seemingly at random - and suck them back behind the police line. All those I saw arrested were men of color, the majority black. Some of them beaten within distant view after they were detained. The line of cops held back protesters from getting close enough to videotape, and often attempted to block our view from scuffles that would break out occassionally. Some of the cops would actually honor our rights once we asserted that WE HAVE A RIGHT TO OBSERVE, but most of the time, they would respond with threats of violence and arrest.
A police car was jumped on and smashed up after a dumpster on fire was pushed into it. Cars were smashed and trampled in the path of the protest, several cars were lit on fire, and I saw at least one explode. Windows were smashed, trashcans, kiosks, and dumpsters were dragged into the streets to create obstacles against the pursuing line of cops. The windows of the McDonald's were smashed, and I watched as the cops came out of nowhere and chased down the kid. We all cheered him on, but ultimately, he got caught. Those fuckers can run really fast, so be warned.
I was teargassed while helping put out a fire that had started on the side of someone's house. I was pissed, and it burned like hell. Cootie was fine, and stuck beside me calmly like a badass riot dog the whole time (except for the one time I dropped her leash and she ran to the front of the march.)
I saw two women walking back from their car which had been completely smashed up, and said, "Hey lady, we're sorry about that", gesturing to their car. The owner of the car smiled back at me, saying casually, "Oh don't worry about it. I have insurance. And if that means that there is the chance that that kid will see justice, then its worth it. The police shouldn't get away with this kind of violence."
Fucking awesome.
Oakland mayor Ron Dellums came out later on during the riots with two bodyguards, and were swarmed by protesters who pleaded, demanded, yelled at, and reasoned with him to take action against the perpetrators of the shooting and address the urgency of the situation. Nervous police officers monitored the crowd some 50 feet away as the mob encircled the mayor and they strolled down 14th St. surveying the event.
"He said the killing was a homicide and that he had ordered the City of Oakland to investigate the BART killing. The crowd interrupted much of his speech, expressing their displeasure with the situation."
I left around 930pm, right before "Round 2". You can read more about it at indymedia. By the end of the night, 105 people had been arrested.
It is also important to note that the organizers did NOT plan for this riot to happen. I can attest to the multiple times throughout the rally and march that the organizers were yelling for the crowd not to use violence or provoke the cops - to remain calm and keep it a peaceful protest. It was not the strategy, nor the intention of the organizers for this event to turn into a riot. But you can't control an angry, hurt mob in the face of riot police with a history of racist authoritarianism. Emotions were running high, and the tension between the cops and the crowd was at a palpable breaking point.
And things broke.
Sometimes you gotta stop protesting, and start fighting back. More strategy, more self-control, and more organizing if we are to gain allies and arm ourselves effectively against the state.
I caught a lot of footage on my camera-phone (they're really handy for that!), and once I figure out how to upload and increase the quality of the videos, I will upload them to the blog. If anyone has any suggestions for video editing programs I can use to lighten and sharpen dark cameraphone footage, that would be great!
Stay tuned for updates.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Justice for Oscar Grant! Protest His Untimely Death - Wed, Jan. 7, 3-7pm
Repost. I don't know who is organizing this protest, but the event was posted on my Facebook.
------------------------------------------------------>
Justice for Oscar Grant
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
3:00pm - 7:00pm
FRUITVALE BART STATION
3401 East 12th Street
Oakland, CA
Please spread the word - we need numbers tomorrow to show our outrage and demand accountability!
WE DEMAND:
1) All officers involved be taken off duty without pay, and fully prosecuted;
2) That the U.S. Justice Department investigate the incident as a violation of civil rights;
3) That BART establish an independent citizens’ review board for its officers; and
4) That the BART police officers be disarmed!
------------------------------------------------------>
Justice for Oscar Grant
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
3:00pm - 7:00pm
FRUITVALE BART STATION
3401 East 12th Street
Oakland, CA
Please spread the word - we need numbers tomorrow to show our outrage and demand accountability!
WE DEMAND:
1) All officers involved be taken off duty without pay, and fully prosecuted;
2) That the U.S. Justice Department investigate the incident as a violation of civil rights;
3) That BART establish an independent citizens’ review board for its officers; and
4) That the BART police officers be disarmed!
STOP THE U.S./ISRAELI WAR IN GAZA! National Day of Protest: San Francisco, Washington, Los Angeles...
Repost. Spread the word.
-------------------------------->
National Day of Protest Against the Israeli Bombings in Gaza
Saturday, January 10, 2009
11:00am - 6:00pm
Civic Center
San Francisco, CA
The Israeli government has escalated its constant attacks on Gaza into a ground invasion. Hundreds of Palestinians have been murdered and thousands wounded. The bombs are being dropped on schools, homes, ambulances, tunnels, places of worship and more.
Millions of people around the world are demonstrating to stop the attacks on Gaza and in solidarity with the Palestinian people. The ANSWER Coalition, Free Palestine Alliance, Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, National Council of Arab Americans, and Al-Awda-International Palestine Right to Return Coalition call on people across the country and around the world to take to the streets to show solidarity with the Palestinian People in Gaza and demand an immediate end to the murderous attacks carried out by the U.S.-backed Israeli military.
-------------------------------->
National Day of Protest Against the Israeli Bombings in Gaza
Saturday, January 10, 2009
11:00am - 6:00pm
Civic Center
San Francisco, CA
The Israeli government has escalated its constant attacks on Gaza into a ground invasion. Hundreds of Palestinians have been murdered and thousands wounded. The bombs are being dropped on schools, homes, ambulances, tunnels, places of worship and more.
Millions of people around the world are demonstrating to stop the attacks on Gaza and in solidarity with the Palestinian people. The ANSWER Coalition, Free Palestine Alliance, Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, National Council of Arab Americans, and Al-Awda-International Palestine Right to Return Coalition call on people across the country and around the world to take to the streets to show solidarity with the Palestinian People in Gaza and demand an immediate end to the murderous attacks carried out by the U.S.-backed Israeli military.
Another Article About the Murder of Oscar Grant
You can read another article about the shooting in the San Jose Mercury News here.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Oscar Grant Murdered on New Years Day by Oakland BART Police!
Around 2 a.m. on New Year's Day, 22 year old Oscar Grant was shot and killed by BART police in the Fruitvale, Oakland BART station. Grant was on the floor with his hands up, and witnesses have stated that he was not resisting when the officer fired the single shot that killed him.
A home video taken by another passenger caught the scene on tape, and is being circulated to TV stations and on the internet. Below is some information about the shooting I received from a MySpace bulletin, and a clip of the video aired on ABC7 (this was one of the clearest edits of the video made from the raw footage that I've found so far).
The police need to be held accountable for this murder and injustice! There is no excuse for shooting an unarmed person laying on the ground - a finger on the trigger is not an accident! This is bullshit.
Karina Vargas told CBS 5 that she was making the tape available so the public would know what transpired shortly after 2 a.m. Thursday at BART's Fruitvale station when Oscar Grant was shot.
The video, that Vargas said she shot on a brand new camera she received for Christmas, would seem to support previous witnesses accounts that Grant was laying on his stomach with his hands behind him on the train platform when a single shot was fired by a BART officer.
According to Vargas, Grant was not resisting when the gunshot was fired. Vargas said she was standing only about 5 feet away from the shooting scene. She also said she resisted an officer's attempt to confiscate her camera.
Vargas, who said she was on her way home from a New Year's celebration along the Embarcadero in San Francisco when she witnessed the shooting, contended that Grant's "rights were definitely violated" by police.
BART officials have said Grant was unarmed and implied the shooting was an accident, saying the officer's gun discharged while he and four other officers responded to reports that two groups of young men were fighting on a train that had come from San Francisco and was en route to the Dublin/Pleasanton station.
Grant's family in Hayward has formally hired attorney John Burris to look into the circumstances surrounding his death.
The Oakland attorney, who has filed numerous lawsuits against police departments on behalf of family members of people who have been shot and killed by officers, scheduled a Sunday morning news conference to discuss developments in the case.
"It's an outrageous set of facts. My sense is clear that this was an unjustifiable shooting," Burris said based on witness statements, but prior to the videotape being made public. "There were no movements and he was not trying to overrun the police officer. A gun cannot discharge accidentally, you have to have your finger on the trigger.
"When conduct like this occurs, there is a price to pay," he added. "Police have to be held accountable when they engage in this kind of unlawful conduct.
BART officials have not released the name of the officer who shot Grant. They said the officer has worked for BART for nearly two years and was placed on administrative leave following the shooting.
The Alameda County District Attorney's office is handling the official investigation into the shooting. The D.A.'s office has not commented on the case.
A home video taken by another passenger caught the scene on tape, and is being circulated to TV stations and on the internet. Below is some information about the shooting I received from a MySpace bulletin, and a clip of the video aired on ABC7 (this was one of the clearest edits of the video made from the raw footage that I've found so far).
The police need to be held accountable for this murder and injustice! There is no excuse for shooting an unarmed person laying on the ground - a finger on the trigger is not an accident! This is bullshit.
Karina Vargas told CBS 5 that she was making the tape available so the public would know what transpired shortly after 2 a.m. Thursday at BART's Fruitvale station when Oscar Grant was shot.
The video, that Vargas said she shot on a brand new camera she received for Christmas, would seem to support previous witnesses accounts that Grant was laying on his stomach with his hands behind him on the train platform when a single shot was fired by a BART officer.
According to Vargas, Grant was not resisting when the gunshot was fired. Vargas said she was standing only about 5 feet away from the shooting scene. She also said she resisted an officer's attempt to confiscate her camera.
Vargas, who said she was on her way home from a New Year's celebration along the Embarcadero in San Francisco when she witnessed the shooting, contended that Grant's "rights were definitely violated" by police.
BART officials have said Grant was unarmed and implied the shooting was an accident, saying the officer's gun discharged while he and four other officers responded to reports that two groups of young men were fighting on a train that had come from San Francisco and was en route to the Dublin/Pleasanton station.
Grant's family in Hayward has formally hired attorney John Burris to look into the circumstances surrounding his death.
The Oakland attorney, who has filed numerous lawsuits against police departments on behalf of family members of people who have been shot and killed by officers, scheduled a Sunday morning news conference to discuss developments in the case.
"It's an outrageous set of facts. My sense is clear that this was an unjustifiable shooting," Burris said based on witness statements, but prior to the videotape being made public. "There were no movements and he was not trying to overrun the police officer. A gun cannot discharge accidentally, you have to have your finger on the trigger.
"When conduct like this occurs, there is a price to pay," he added. "Police have to be held accountable when they engage in this kind of unlawful conduct.
BART officials have not released the name of the officer who shot Grant. They said the officer has worked for BART for nearly two years and was placed on administrative leave following the shooting.
The Alameda County District Attorney's office is handling the official investigation into the shooting. The D.A.'s office has not commented on the case.
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