Northbay CopWatch

More Police In Schools Leads to More Students Under Arrest [northbaycopwatch.blogspot.com/2013/04/2013-04-15-more-police-in-schools-leads.html]

Police Accountability Clinic and Helpline [Pachline.org]

2013-05-10 Concord police officer shoots, kills man in Antioch

This happened Friday night. Concord police shot and killed Charles Burns 21 yrs old. They said the car was used as a weapon which justified the shooting, but Charles was shot when he got out of the car and tried to run. Charles wasn't in the car when they shot him. They couldn't chase him down? TV news reports show bullet holes in houses & broken windows from the cops. One girl in the neighborhood said Charles was a nice guy.

2013-05-11 "Police: Concord police officer shoots, kills man in Antioch"
by Katie Nelson and Rowena Coetsee from "Contra Costa Times" [http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_23224012/report-concord-police-officer-shoots-kills-man-antioch]:
ANTIOCH -- Fearing for their safety, Concord police officers fired several rounds at a man who was attempting to elude capture Friday night, fatally wounding him, according to police.
At 9 p.m., officers closed in on a home in the 2700 block of Barcelona Circle in Antioch where they had been conducting surveillance, Concord police Lt. Steve Dyer said in a statement. Concord detectives had secured a search warrant for the home based on suspected "dangerous drug sales" by a 21-year-old male resident, he said.
During surveillance, the suspect, who has not been formally identified, came out of his home and got into a vehicle driven by another man. As officers attempted to contact the suspect to serve the search warrant, the driver of the vehicle accelerated rapidly and rammed a police car, occupied by an officer, Dyer said.
The suspect then ran from the car and two officers fearing for their safety shot him, Dyer said.
He died of his injuries.
According to ABC 7 news, family and witnesses told them that 21-year-old Charles Burns was the man who was shot.
The driver of the suspect vehicle, a 21-year-old old Bay Point resident who has not been identified by police, was uninjured and taken into custody. He was later interviewed by investigators and booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer.
The officer-involved shooting is being investigated by a multi-agency investigative team comprised of officers from the Antioch Police Department, the Concord Police Department and the Contra Costa County District Attorneys Office, according to Dyer.

Justice for Kayla Moore!

2013-04-18 "Officer Frankel Claims That NOBODY Killed Kayla Moore"
by "WeCopwatch.org" [http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/04/18/18735460.php]:
Officer Frankel insinuated today that medical reports would conclude Berkeley police were not responsible for the death of Kayla Moore, a transgendered person who died in police custody on February 12, 2013. Since her death, Berkeley police have released a single statement that was both brief and vague.
Nobody Killed Kayla Moore?


"April 17th: Celebrating Kalya (Xavier) Moore, killed by Berkeley Police"
message from Annie at "Berkeley Copwatch" [www.berkeleycopwatch.org]:
Greetings all, We are working with the family of Kayla (Xavier) Moore, killed by Berkeley police on February 13, 2013 to organize a joyous birthday celebration and memorial in front of the Gaia building where she was killed. We are also continuing to put pressure on the Berkeley Police. After a birthday celebration mc'd by members of Kayla's family and involving family, friends, and local concerned groups across the Bay Area, we will march to the Berkeley Police Station to deliver a oversized Public Records Act Request to the Berkeley Police Department. We are demanding that they release all information and reports related to Kayla's death to our ongoing People's Investigation.
 Below please find the press release, and attached a flyer for Kayla's birthday celebration and protest.
Please join us in celebrating and remembering Kayla!

2013-04-17 Event Remembering/ Celebrating the life of Kayla (Xavier) Moore on her birthday
Birthday Memorial Celebration
When: 5:00pm, Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Where: 2116 Allston Way (near Shattuck Ave.) in Berkeley
  and
Press Conference and delivery of the Public Records Act Request to the police station.
Where: 2100 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley
When: 6:15 PM
CONTACT "Berkeley Copwatch" & "Coalition for a Safe Berkeley"
Andrea Prichett (Berkeley Copwatch) [510-229-0527] [prichett@locrian.com]
Diana Bohn (Coalition for a Safe Berkeley) [510-525-5497] [510-926-5871] [nicca@igc.org]  
On what would have been Kayla Moore’s 42nd birthday, we invite all justice (and fun) loving people to join us for a remembrance and get-to-know you event in celebration of her life. You see, we are also forging a movement to demand justice for Kayla Moore. Since the night of February 12, 2013 when police claimed to be responding to a call about a “disturbance” on the 5th Floor of the Gaia Building in downtown Berkeley, the BPD has provided almost no information about what happened that night. According to the Coroner’s office, the BPD has asked that a “hold” be placed on the release of the autopsy report. They say it could take 6-8 months to release.
Quote by Elysse Paige- Moore, stepmother: “Xavier had a very difficult life, but an indomitable spirit. He suffered with mental illness from an early age, struggling throughout his life with paranoid schizophrenia and posttraumatic stress syndrome. He also had a near genius I.Q. and a photographic memory. He was a poet and a gifted singer and oh could he dance, even at 350 lbs! He was generous, and often took in homeless friends giving them shelter and cooking 3 course gourmet meals for them. Despite his challenges, he was resilient and resourceful. His spirit was unbreakable and served as an example to everyone he touched.”
Demands of the Berkeley Police Department:
* Release the police reports on the incident that took place on February 12-13th, 2013.
* Release the Coroner’s Report.
* Publish the investigation results.
Background:
As details of the tragic death of 41 year old Berkeley resident Xavier Christopher Moore in police custody begin to emerge, residents are asking why this person died and why police are slow to release information in this case.
According to Berkeley Police, officers were dispatched for a mental health evaluation at about 11:50 pm on February 12, 2013, although neighbors on the same floor heard no disturbance until the police arrived.
After officers appeared at Moore's residence the situation escalated, and shortly thereafter Moore died in police custody. Neighbors observed officers carrying Moore on a gurney, unconscious and in restraints, out of the building. In a city that is known internationally for disability awareness, social consciousness and protection of civil liberties, it is unacceptable that a mental health evaluation should end in death. The District Attorney says that since this is not an officer involved shooting, they are not even investigating the case. We find all of this unacceptable.
We are calling on the Berkeley Police Department to release the police reports and the Coroner’s Report, and to publish the investigation results on the incident that took place on February 12-13th, 2013. If misconduct has occurred, officers must be disciplined. If it was a failure of policy and administration, the public must be allowed to analyze the case and to assist in addressing this breakdown in city services. In any case, we demand that the Berkeley Police Department comply with Public Records Act requests and that they make information about that night’s events available to the public as quickly as possible.


2013-03-14 "Answers! Not Undercovers! Berkeley Police and the Kayla Moore coverup"
by Jacob Crawford [http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/03/14/18733597.php]:
On February 12th, 2013 Officers from the Berkeley Police Department killed a transperson named Kayla Moore. In the days to follow, BPD would remain silent on how somebody could just die in their custody.
As the weeks passed, Berkeley Copwatch was able to get some information from the coroner, and on February 28th they held a press conference to call for an investigation into Kayla's suspicious death.
 Berkeley Police would still not come forward with any information.
 On March 12, one month after the killing, a autonomous protest would be held in Berkeley by concerned people from around the bay.
 Instead of bringing answers, Berkeley Police brought undercover units, who would fan out into the march attempting to identify "leaders" of a leaderless march. The march started in People's Park, would go to the police station, and end back by the park without incident.
 If Berkeley Police put as much time, money, and energy into the investigation of Kayla Moore's death, as they did on this particular march, the "investigation" would have been done weeks ago.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN-9B0u3orE]:



2013-03-13 "March for Kayla Moore, Berkeley, California"
by Tom Vee [http://www.youtube.com/user/TomVeeTV], posted at [http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/03/13/18733550.php]:
On February 12th, Berkeley Police murdered Kayla Moore. Kayla Moore lived with "mental illness" and has been described by friends and family as a Transgender person who "passed as a woman." Exactly one month later on March 12th, while police and corporate media are largely silent about the death, a nighttime march was held to call attention to the lack of accountability for the in-custody murder in Berkeley.
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGLRTiLhdtA]:



2013-03-12 "March Against Berkeley Police Murder of Kayla Moore (formerly named Xavier)"
Tuesday, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
People's Park, Berkeley, CA
Called for by "Anonymous Queers in Action"
[indybay.org/newsitems/2013/03/05/18733177.php]
On February 12th Berkeley Police murdered Xavier Moore. Xavier Moore lived with “mental illness” and has been described by friends and family as a Transgender person who “passed as a woman.”
 From Berkeley Copwatch:
 “The BPD’s press release of February 13th says that they responded to “a disturbance call” at Moore’s apartment. Media reports have said this call was related to mental health. If she was going through a mental health crisis, was anyone present trained to respond to that kind of situation, to evaluate, and deescalate? According to an article from February 26th in the Oakland Tribune: “Berkeley: Man who died after struggle with police was severely mentally ill,” rather than take her to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation, when they found out she had an outstanding warrant in San Francisco, they told her they were going to arrest her.
An article in the San Francisco Chronicle dated February 13th “Man dies in struggle with Berkeley police,” mentions “a disturbance between roommates,” as causing the police to arrive. The Daily Californian February 14th article “Man dies after being taken into police custody,” says that other residents heard a “commotion on the fifth floor of the building before the officers arrived on the scene.” None of the witnesses we spoke to heard any sort of commotion or disturbance until after the police arrived. Why the consistent difference? In fact, the police were at Moore’s apartment twice that night. This isn’t mentioned at all by the police or media reports. The police first showed up around 11:00pm, and left without incident. The incident resulting in Moore’s death was the second police visit, occurring around 11:50pm. According to witnesses, when they returned a second time, there was a sizable police presence. Why did they come back an hour later with so many officers? What were they preparing to do?”
Nearly one month later and the Berkeley Police still have not released information as to the cause of Xavier's death, leaving most questions unanswered. However we do know that there was no commotion or overt disturbance prior to BPD's arrival. We know when Berkeley Police arrived at Xavier's home, for the second time in one night, they had police back-up but they did not have a mental health mobile crisis team with them. We know Xavier was alive and not on the verge of death prior to the arrival of the Berkeley Police. We know police regularly murder people of color, gender-variant people, and people with “mental illness.” We also know only one Police Officer in California has been convicted in the death of a civilian and his charges were brought only after massive riots swept Oakland.
Unfortunately Xavier's death is not an anomaly. This past weekend Bay Area Police have murdered four people and watched one woman bleed to death after she was attacked by her abusive ex-husband.
San Francisco Police murdered Aaron Sawyer (23) after he allegedly stole a car on Saturday morning. San Jose Police murdered a man yet to be identified after they deemed him to be “suspicious.” Union City Police shot an unidentified man to death after they pulled him over for an unstated reason. Hayward Police murdered an unidentified man after his car crashed into one of their police cruisers. In the case of Xavier Moore, whether by neglect or intent the result is the same. Xavier Moore is dead. The Berkeley Police killed Xavier Moore.
This is a call for an uncompromisingly militant march against the racist and transphobic Berkeley Police who murdered Xavier Moore. The march will begin at People's Park on Tuesday March 12th at 6:30pm. It is also a call for queer people, trans people, women, and people of color to form a bloc against police murders and harassment at the March Against Capitalism and Police Repression taking place at Oscar Grant Plaza in Oakland on Friday, March 15th at 8pm

2013-04-15 "More Police In Schools Leads to More Students Under Arrest"

by Kristina Chew by Kristina Chew from "Care2.com" [http://www.care2.com/causes/more-police-in-schools-more-students-under-arrest.html]:
After the Sandy Hook School tragedy and too many reports of school shootings to count, school districts across the U.S. are clamoring for more police in their schools. The National Rifle Association has wasted no time in calling for police officers in every single school. But while it is not at all clear if the full-time presence of police officers deters crime or the threat of armed intruders, putting more police officers in school has resulted in more student arrests and misdemeanor charges “for essentially nonviolent behavior including scuffles, truancy and cursing at teachers,” the New York Times reports [http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/12/education/with-police-in-schools-more-children-in-court.html?hpw&_r=0&pagewanted=all].
Police (and metal detectors) in the corridors of U.S. school are nothing new. As one my college students noted, at her New York City high school, students had to go through as much security every day to get to their classes as passengers do to get on airplanes, removing belts, shoes and anything with metal. Now, it seems that students can expect to see police officers as routinely as teachers.

“No Evidence” That Police in Schools Improves Safety -
The Obama administration has called for an increase in police officers in the nations’s schools. Indeed, since the 1990s, thousands of federal dollars have been allocated for “police resource officers” in elementary, middle and high schools since the 1990s. School districts including those of Houston, Los Angeles and Philadelphia have their own police forces.
A full-time police presence in school hallways certainly changes a school’s atmosphere, but as University of Maryland criminologist Denise C. Gottfredson says in the New York Times: “There is no evidence that placing officers in the schools improves safety. And it increases the number of minor behavior problems that are referred to the police, pushing kids into the criminal system.”
Rather than providing security, police officers end up dealing with disciplinary issues that schools themselves should address — instead of enhancing students’ safety, school districts hand over discipline to law enforcement. Having students cited for misbehavior teaches them nothing and certainly not positive, pro-active strategies for dealing with anger, impulsivity and other challenging behaviors.

Minority Students More Frequently Arrested -
What’s more, black and Latino/a students, as well as students with disabilities, are arrested or given criminal citations in disproportionate numbers, as civil rights groups including the NAACP report [http://b.3cdn.net/advancement/df16da132af1903e5b_zlm6bkclv.pdf]. Youth advocates have begun to fight back and not only because of the injustice of students having to face criminal courts for infractions such as cursing at teachers or truancy. Not only do they end up missing school for court appearances; students also face fines, community service and criminal charges on their record that can mean rejection from the military and jobs.
The case of 12-year-old De’Angelo Rollins is too typical. Soon after starting to attend Bryan Middle School in Texas (where some 100,000 misdemeanor tickets are written up for students in one year), he and another boy got into a scuffle and were both issued citations. De’Angelo had to go through “repeated court appearances;” he pleaded no contest and was fined $69 and sentenced to 20 hours of community service and four months probation.
Of course students must be safe in school, but simply calling in police officers is a sign that school districts are foregoing educating students and addressing their challenges. As no one less than Wallace B. Jefferson, the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, said in a speech to the Legislature in March [http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/call-arms], “We are criminalizing our children for nonviolent offenses.”
Forget about a school-to-prison pipeline [http://www.care2.com/causes/the-school-to-prison-pipeline-students-weight-in.html]. What’s really going on in public schools in the U.S. is that school is prison, or a place where you’re under constant surveillance by the police.

2013-04-08 "Suisun City police, deputies use guns to remove disabled woman from home during illegal eviction; Occupy will help wheel-chair bound owner move belonging"

Contact: Sandra Williams [530-867-0671] [sewilliams55@aol.com]

SUISUN CITY, CA --
Less than two weeks after Sheriff's deputies and local police broke into the home of a 52-year-old disabled woman in a wheelchair, and evicted her and her family at gunpoint, she said Occupy volunteers will help her remove her belongings. She has called a press conference during the removal, starting this Monday (April 8), at about 10:30 a.m. (1215 pheasant drive, Suisun City).
Sandra Williams, a disabled African American mother of an injured Afghanistan War veteran, was told by a bankruptcy judge March 28 that he would give her no more time to resolve questions about foreclosure. Then, just hours later deputies and local police, who didn't identify themselves, pounded on the doors of the Suisun City home (breaking the front door) and -- and at gun point removed everyone in the home, including a Latino caretaker.
Ms Williams suffered an asthma attack and had to be rushed to the hospital after the home invasion. She had just been released from a two week stay in the hospital, Ms.Williams, now homeless, maintains she was illegally foreclosed on, and that she is a victim of identity theft. She said she has three different deeds of trust, and that someone used her personal identity and the notary public's information to record a false deed of trust on her home. She told that to the judge, but he didn't listen. Neither did deputies and police.

2013-04-07 "Memorials of Officer Jim Capoot defaced in Vallejo"

from "Vallejo Times-Herald" [www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_22973519/memorials-officer-jim-capoot-defaced-vallejo]:
Two memorials to slain Vallejo Officer Jim Capoot were defaced in the last week. The incidents seemed to have occurred between Wednesday and Thursday night, police said Saturday. In the memorial on Rollingwood Drive, an image of Capoot was spray-painted white, while the image of slain Officer Jeff Azuar was left untouched.
Additionally, the Vallejo Police Activities League mural on Wallace Avenue was again defaced. Capoot's image was also spray-painted white in that case, with swear words written around it as well as the slogan "fight the power."
Police vowed to continuously clean the memorials, and said neighbors were also keeping a watchful eye. Capoot was shot and killed in November 2011 as he pursued a robbery suspect in North Vallejo. Azuar was killed in April 2000 as he tried to serve a warrant.

BEWARE OF THE AGENT PROVOCATEUR

The agent provocateur may be a paid, or unpaid agent enlisted by the enemies of our folk. His function is
to infiltrate, disrupt, and/or destroy.
Like a Trojan Horse, the agent provocateur works to destroy our folkish communities from within. He does
this by first winning the trust and confidence of those he has targeted.
There are two kinds of provocateurs: the soft provocateur, and the hard provocateur. Both are dangerous to
the kindred, so be on guard.
The soft provocateur is an expert at the three D’s of destruction: Dissension, distraction, and disruption.
His arsenal includes fabrications, distortions, misrepresentations, and misinformation. He spreads slander
systematically and craftily; seeking to undermine the kindred leadership, and thus deny it of it’s driving force.
He plants seeds of doubt with the object of turning the kindreds attentions away from folkish activity, and
instead diverting it and it’s resources against itself. His modus operandi is: divide and conquer!
The hard provocateur is a more direct animal, and therefore a bit easier to detect and contain. He presents
himself as a man of action, and is consistently trying to lure others into illegal actions. It is implied that if you
don’t follow his plans of illegality, then you are somehow lacking in spirit or dedication. He thus uses
intimidation and peer pressure to entrap otherwise intelligent folk into participating in illegal schemes that are
both doomed to fail, and designed to place the kindred in a poor public light.
It’s imperative for kindred leadership to take decisive action against suspected agent provocateurs.
Whether a person is just plain gossipy or an actual provocateur is immaterial if, after repeated warnings the
gossiper persists, and the damage is real. As for suspected hard agent provocateurs, conspiracy laws demand quick and decisive action.
Consequently, the folk should be alert to the signs described, and report them to the kindred leadership.
Quick expulsion should follow if accusations are verified as to wrongful conduct, and net proof of whether one actually is an agent provocateur should be the standard. And if so proven, that person must be avoided by all, with even friendship taking a back seat to kindred security.
The folk communities must establish guidelines both within their own kindreds, and between each other.
Intra-organizatonal cooperation is absolutely required to prevent “floaters” from traveling from one group to
another.
* Beware of all strangers. Historically, resistance to tyrants has taken the form of small autonomous groups
whose members know and trust one another from long experience. These groups are then united by
common interest, common goals, and common literature. But, a strict hierarchy will soon be broken by the
tyrants’ agents.
* Beware of the man who is “too perfect.” He says all the right things, he needs little persuasion, and he
supplies money. The wealthy are usually in bed with the tyrant, and they are the last to oppose despotism.
* Be doubly aware of a stranger who proposes illegal activities. You will soon find him testifying against
you in Federal court.
* Beware of those who draw checks from the enemy. They are very likely to have divided loyalties. It is
difficult for a man to destroy the beast from whose teats he sucks.
* Avoid drunks, drug users, and anyone of unstable character. Always chose quality over quantity.
* Recognize the media tactics, and don’t react to buzz words. Religious separatists, White separatists, tax
resistors, and other groups are called cultists, bigots, Nazis, and other words which the masses are
conditioned to hate. After the media have demonized the target, as in Waco, Texas, the Government is free
to murder at will. Ask yourself, “Is it wrong for people to preserve their religion, their race, or to resist
oppressive taxation?”
* Beware of someone whose intellect, education, and background appear different from those with whom he
attempts to associate. Most people inter-relate with others of the same interests and backgrounds.
* Investigate. Do a little investigation. To be sure, the Federals can create good cover. But, they seldom
bother because up to now resistance groups have almost never checked their associates’ backgrounds.
* Recognize the ruthlessness of the tyrants, and act accordingly. A government which will mass murder
innocent women and children is not going to play “Fair” with you.