A little blast from the past on Oakland PD's brutality against protesters

[Downtown Hound]

This happened in the early days of the Iraq War, shortly after the U.S. first invaded. A group of Oakland police officers literally opened fire with WOODEN bullets (which have killed people before) on a group of totally peacefully protesters singing. The real gem of this incident, which you will see on he video, is that even after the crowd retreated, police continued to pursue them and fire at them. A totally unarmed crowd that was totally peaceful, and the police basically use them as target practice for the better part of several minutes. You can see peple try and protect themselves with their protest signs as they flee.

And yet, in spite of the massive show of police state thuggery and fascism, the protesters continue to sing and chant while the wooden bullets pelt them. It's an amazing and beautiful sight.

The police were sued for this and did have to pony up a multi-million dollar settlement to the protesters for brutality, but not a single officer involved was ever disciplined or fired. They also promised more training for their officers. But as Scott Olsen can testify, that so-called training hasn't amounted to much over eight years later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GdzuzQKs8M

And now, here's what this little police rampage looked like when all was said and done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha8ifGaDYDk

[valerief]

1. They're like friggin' Blackwater animals. nt

[PDJane]

2. This is infuriating........and depressing.

These tactics are no different than any police state. Same shit as here during the G8....

[Hotler]

3. k & r Fucking assholes n/t

[abq e streeter]

4. And I was literally blasted by them in the past

1st anniversary march for People's Park in 1971. Luckily was not hit by any projectiles. I was tear gassed twice and pepper sprayed (definitely the worse of the 2) by Oakland/Alameda County police. I was doing nothing but walking down the street as I erroneously had assumed was my constitutional right. I will never ever forget the sight of lines of those militarized police forces in full battle gear, with their grenade launchers and most chillingly (but typical for those days) their badges and any form of identification of individual officers , removed . I'd like to say I was brave, but I was scared shitless at seeing those grenade launchers along with the intentional obscuring of any means of identifying the perpetrator of any violence and/or brutality on their part.
Thugs then, thugs now...

[robdogbucky]

6. They killed James Rector in Berkeley in 1969

"...The local South Campus neighborhood was the scene of a major confrontation between student protesters and police in May 1969. A mural near the park, painted by Berkeley artist O'Brien Thiele and lawyer/artist Osha Neumann, depicts the shooting of James Rector, a student who died from shotgun wounds inflicted by the police on May 15, 1969...

...Conflict

Arriving in the early afternoon, the protesters were met by the remaining 159 Berkeley and university police officers assigned to guard the fenced-off park site. The protesters opened a fire hydrant, the officers fired tear gas canisters, some protesters attempted to tear down the fence, and bottles, rocks, and bricks<16> were thrown. A major confrontation ensued between police and the crowd. Initial attempts by the police to disperse the protesters were not successful, so more officers were called in from surrounding cities. At least one car was set on fire.<16>

Reagan's Chief of Staff, Edwin Meese III, a former district attorney from Alameda County, had established a reputation for firm opposition to those protesting the Vietnam War at the Oakland Induction Center and elsewhere. Meese assumed responsibility for the governmental response to the People's Park protest, and he called in the Alameda County Sheriff's deputies, which brought the total police presence to 791 officers from various jurisdictions.<12> Under Meese's direction, the police were permitted to use whatever methods they chose against the crowds, which had swelled to approximately 6,000 people. Officers in full riot gear (helmets, shields and gas masks) obscured their badges to avoid being identified and headed into the crowds with nightsticks swinging ."<17>

Alameda County Sheriff's deputies used shotguns to fire "00" buckshot at people sitting on the roof at the Telegraph Repertory Cinema, fatally wounding student James Rector and permanently blinding carpenter Alan Blanchard. The University of California Police Department (UCPD) claims Rector threw steel rebar down onto the police, however according to Time Magazine, Rector was a bystander, not a protester.<18> As the protesters retreated, the Alameda County Sheriff's deputies pursued them several blocks down Telegraph Avenue as far as Willard Junior High School at Derby Street, firing tear gas canisters and "00" buckshot into their backs as they fled...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People's_Park




Those brave officers



Protect and Serve



Right

[HCE SuiGeneris]

5. Thank you for posting this painful reminder.

:kick:

[PDJane]

7. I looked at this again........

Notice how many of those people are shot in the back?

[Downtown Hound]

8. Yep. But I'm sure they were still a danger to society. n/t