Poor Mojo's Newswire

The Oakland police department (OPD) has long been one of the most controversial urban law enforcement agencies in America, with a string of high-profile criminal and brutality allegations going back decades. It is also tough turf to police. Oakland is a city that has suffered from considerable urban blight, gang problems and drug issues. It is a historic centre of black American culture and radical black politics, having given birth to the Black Panther movement in the 1960s. There have been persistent reports of police criminality and abuse, especially aimed at the city's black population, where community activists say low-level police harassment is a fact of life. Latest census figures show black people make up the biggest single ethnic group in Oakland at 27.3%, with white people at 25.9% and Hispanics at 25.4%. Despite having almost the same size populations in the city, however, white people account for only 16% of OPD vehicle stops, and 6.7% of motorists searched. Black people in Oakland, by contrast, account for a whopping 48% of vehicle stops, and 65.8% of motorists searched. But it is the major incidents that really stand out when examining how OPD polices its community, and in particular the poorer black neighbourhoods of Oakland. In 1968 OPD officers shot and killed Bobby Hutton. The 17-year-old Black Panther party member was involved in a shootout with police, but surrendered and stripped down to his underwear to show he was unarmed. However, he died after being shot by police at least 12 times. That incident helped set a tone of discord between OPD and large segments of the city's black community that has lasted until the present day. . . .

Despite initial denials, Oakland-area police deliberately fired and tossed flash-bang grenades at Occupy Oakland protesters last night, even ones who had been visibly harmed by the police assault. Video shot by KTVU shows flash-bang grenades fired by riot police deep into the protesting crowd. Near the barricades where a Veteran for Peace holds his flag amid tear gas, a protester is knocked down by a flash-bang grenade. After a crowd surrounds the victim, riot police toss more flash-bang grenades into their midst. The police initially denied that officers had used flash-bang grenades. “The loud noises that were heard originated from M-80 explosives thrown at police by protesters,” a statement from the department falsely claimed.

Not wanting to be assaulted anymore, I retreated. I found a commanding officer and told him what had happened. He went to get an officer to help me file a complaint. As I stood there, I noticed all the mainstream media trucks packing it in. I asked another officer if it was OK if I was there. She showed me where media was allowed to stand, so I joined a small group of independent media like myself. Next thing I knew, we were tear-gassed. That explains why the TV trucks left, and explains why they grouped us together. Guess what folks? Tear gas fucking sucks. It hurts, it stings, it is nothing you want to experience. Of course, this made all of us alternative press folks run away from the tear gas. After that, the police refused to let any of us go back into the camp. Maybe if you had a press badge, but we know what happened to most of those people. So tonight, the citizens right to peacefully assemble was halted. The media was tear gassed, and then not allowed to cover the story.