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 shooting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shooting. Show all posts
Thursday, January 8, 2009
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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