Twisting the Law
THE FLOYD DEATH WATCH-The trial of Derek Chauvin is underway. The press writes articles searching for ways to say something unimportant about it.
On Sunday, 3/28, an article in the SF Chronicle wonders if a “snap decision” defense would work, or would the defense be better off with a “trying to do his job well” approach. Six paragraphs go by that way, without ever mentioning that Floyd had already been arrested and was in handcuffs when killed. He was killed in custody. After a decade of massive demonstrations against police brutality, they continue to kill people in custody in the open. How blind does one have to be to suggest one should trust the police? Wouldn’t that be the height of irrationality?
Berkeley City Council unanimously passes major reforms in hopes of more equitable policing
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BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) Berkeley City Council held a special meeting Tuesday night to vote on sweeping police reforms.
Convened before police killed George Floyd last May, Berkeley s Fair and Impartial Policing Workgroup, shared data on racial disparities, when it comes to who Berkeley Police stop in cars, on bikes, and on foot. In Berkeley, for the years 2015 to 2018, black drivers were about eight times more likely to be stopped than White drivers, said Police Review Commissioner, Kitty Calavita, while showing a bar graph that demonstrated the imbalance.
After months of delay, Berkeley City Council struck down a vote of no confidence in Berkeley Police Department Chief Andrew Greenwood, citing the council’s lack of legal authority over the employment status of city department heads.
The resolution was first proposed by former Councilmember Cheryl Davila last year following a controversial statement made by Greenwood during a June city council discussion on police reform. When asked during the meeting what tear gas alternatives are available to officers as a means of crowd dispersal, Greenwood stated, “Firearms. We can shoot people,” before apologizing for the comment later in the meeting.
Protesters tear down fences at Berkeley rally to save People’s Park
With echoes of People’s Park’s legacy of resistance, protesters reacted Friday to UC Berkeley taking the first steps towards developing the land for student housing.
People’s Park co-founder Michael Delacour at a rally to stop UC Berkeley from building on People’s Park. Jan. 29, 2021. Photo: Pete Rosos
Fifty-two years after founding People’s Park, Michael Delacour stood in front of a crowd that had gathered Friday afternoon to protest UC Berkeley’s plan to develop housing on the park’s grounds.
Delacour, now 83 years old, told the crowd how he helped turn a vacant lot into a park during the heart of Berkeley’s anti-Vietnam war movement. Then, he eyed the fences erected by the university ten days earlier in preparation for the development of student housing on the site.
Aimee Ziegler, Lisa Teague, Russell Bates, and Yesica Prado watch the Zoom broadcast of the Berkeley Community Safety Coalition Homeless Memorial on Dec. 12. Photo: Pete Rosos
On Saturday, a coalition of advocates for Berkeley’s homeless community gathered online to sing, pray and demand justice for the unhoused people and their supporters who died in Berkeley this year.
The memorial came as new shelter-in-place orders and heavy rain underlined the increasing pressures that quarantine and winter have placed on the city’s unsheltered residents.
“Winter’s here. With Covid, where are people going to go this year?” asked boona cheema, the former director of Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS) and community activist.