generic

Oakland cop got out his car. Walked the beat. Shadowed him for 5 blocks. He went into convenience stores, beauty shops. “How is everything?” Shook hands. Smiles.

Con: He’s 5 blocks from a car when a call comes in.

Pro: Walked ahead of him. Saw 3 or 4 skeezy types spot the cop and decide to walk the opposite direction.

Foot patrols. How bout that.

bremser:

Oscar Grant’s photograph of Johannes Mehserle

Oscar Grant’s photograph of transit police officer Johannes Mehserle is rare: a portrait of the photographer’s killer. Unlike the recent photograph that a politician captured in the Philippines, Grant’s photograph, taken moments before Mehserle shot him in the back, was intentional.

Much of the media attention given to the Oscar Grant case focused on a handful of videos made by other passengers on the BART train, some of which show Grant being shot. While being detained by BART police, Grant called his ex-girlfriend Sophina Mesa twice from the platform. During this time he also took the photo of Mehserle and sent it to Mesa. Grant’s photograph of Mehserle did not get as much coverage as the videos, as it wasn’t released until the trial began.

Grant’s photograph raises an important issue that faces every American: the right to photograph, videotape and document while being detained or arrested by the police. Many of us assume we have this right, but with existing wiretapping laws, you can still be arrested and your camera confiscated. Radley Balko’s Reason.com article “The War on Cameras” is essential reading on this subject.

Demian Bulwa is a reporter and editor for the San Francisco Chronicle, who has covered the Oscar Grant case since the shooting, through the entire Mehserle trial. I asked him a few questions over the phone about this photograph.

How did the prosecution and defense use this photograph as evidence in the trial?

Both sides used flat screen TVs, multimedia, everything was timed and choreographed. It seemed they felt they might lose credibility if they weren’t sharp with multimedia. At times the arguments felt like PowerPoint presentations. There were photos, quotes, videos, video of the Taser training.

It was used by prosecution to show two things: 1. that he [Mehserle] knew his Taser from his gun, that he had actually taken out his Taser twice, that he knew full well between the two weapons. 2. That Oscar was being abused and was concerned about it.

It was one of many pieces of evidence. It’s part of the puzzle, and hard to tell which ones stuck with the jury.

What facts were presented about the photograph, when it was taken? Did he take it while face down, turning around?

Grant was sitting on the ground. The guys were sitting on the edge of the platform for a while. He wouldn’t have had the opportunity in the last moments, the officers were on top of him, with his arms behind him.

Was there any suggestion by either side that taking this photograph provoked Mehserle, or was some form of resisting arrest?

I don’t recall.

Based on the evidence in the trial, and your own speculation, why do you think Oscar Grant took this photograph?

Most likely he was documenting unfair treatment. He said something to his girlfriend [during the phone call], like “I’m getting beat up here.” It was a way of documenting that, and putting Mehserle on notice. If you take a picture of someone you are saying: I’m watching your behavior. You’re accountable. You are expressing your concern and putting them on notice.

Sometimes the audacity and inventiveness of the excuse is so great you just have to give them a pass.

2 years? Sheee-it. I’ve had phone plans longer than that.

(via sendmelies)

Add to cart.

(via sweetmelissa)

sexpigeon:

Ninety-nine cents but worth at least twice that, no doubt.

I’m thinking the cost of accidentally taking an illegal turn on 16th Street is a little high.

Tea Party organizer: What are you doing?

Counter-protester: I’m just protestin’, dude.

Tea Party organizer: We don’t want you here.

Counter-protester: I have as much right to be here as you do.

Tea Party organizer: Just know that we’re prepared for you infil-traitors. If you or your friends show up, we’ve prepared a police response. Do you know what that is?

Counter-protester: Whatever.

Tea Party organizer: If you or your infil-traitor friends are disruptive, we have a police response ready to go.

Hey, Marleen.

I guess you’re not just some random internet person. You’re a crusader for government accountability. I don’t follow Oakland politics, or how your city raided the police fund, but your lawsuit sounds like a great cause, no matter which side of the Bay you hail from. So, bravo. Hats off to you.

(Sorry for calling your city a non-caring warzone. And a toilet.)*

But I’m not sure why passing my post to the Chief of Police would help. It seems like the officer was within the letter of the law. Unless he was lying, officers are instructed to disregard everything but their detail. And the Chief only enforces existing policy, right?

After all, the breakdown wasn’t just the officer on the iPhone. It was also the dispatcher on the day after the crime, keeping me waiting for 5 hours. It’s the dispatcher not calling to notify me that the police were never going to arrive. (I lost a day of work, waiting.) It’s the fact that my armed assault still hasn’t been reported. The breakdown was systemic, on every level—not just the parts that got attention. I doubt a Chief of Police will address each of those problems just because of one guy with some broken ribs. I think it’s more likely that you and I and the blogosphere represent a public relations problem.

I appreciate your kind words, but I feel like maybe I’ve given the wrong impression: I’m not some cross-bay hipster new to Oakland crime. I’ve worked in a medical clinic in downtown Oakland for over 7 years. We specialize in drug addiction—primarily long-term heroin use. Interfacing with a criminal element is in my job description. I make health-based media for drug addicts and other underrepresented populations. I’ve shot video inside crackhouses. I’m not a delicate flower. If anything, I’m inured to the weltschmerz. I’ve had every window broken, every item stolen, every tire slashed. It’s just the cost of doing business in Oakland.

I get it. It’s a question of resources. Oakland’s are stretched past the breaking point. There’s only so much law enforcement to go around. So I don’t see why the Chief should be particularly concerned about the police response to my one incident.

And look, Real Talk: I’m barely concerned. I had to be badgered by my friends to even file a report in the first place. I didn’t have any illusions about catching the perps. I was guilted into it. My friends said I owe it to the public interest to let the Police department collect crime statistics. The shock only came when it turned out the Police weren’t as interested.

I wish I’d just gone on with the rest of my day. But because my attackers were faceless, and the idle officer was not, I harbor more resentment at him, than I do at the two thugs who tried to kill me—which is insane. And If I have that much trouble filing a police report, my god, how much does your average lower-income Oakland resident have? Why bother? How much crime goes unreported every day because it’s too big a hassle?

My oldest friend in the whole wide world is an odd mix: he works with law enforcement, but he’s also a stand-up comic. He wrote a scene based on the way the police should have handled my mugging:

Generic: Hey, man, this black guy tried to kill me even though I voted for Obama. Can you take a report for me?

Officer: Oh, sorry, I’m actually tied up on this special detail, but since I’m sitting here talking to my girlfriend while my wife is home with the kids, tell me what happened.

Generic: Here’s a link to my blog.

Officer: Sorry that happened. Don’t run next time. You can file a report over the phone with our front desk. Here’s the number. But, let me see if I can get a U-boat out. 

Generic: What’s a U-boat? I’m assuming it’s not a German submarine.

Officer: Ha, ha. You’re funny, crime victim… no, a U-boat is a police car deployed with only one officer who’s whole purpose is to take the minor reports when other officers are tied up or on patrol. I think we have one in service today.

Generic: Thank you. Now I won’t need to take a picture and let the local news station know how inept you are. 

He really gets me.

So I sort of got held-up at gunpoint day-before-yesterday. This is a photo of the Oakland cop who wouldn’t take the report. I’m not embellishing. He flat-out refused. Absolutely not. Can’t help you, pal. End of story.

He was sitting there, on the corner of 41st & 42nd, jabbering on his iPhone. He’s probably still there now. I limped up and asked if he could take a record of how I almost got murdered not 10 feet from where I was standing. He ignored me, wouldn’t roll down the windshield.

Then I whipped out my iPhone and tried to take a picture. That got his attention. Suddenly he was all PR.

I admit, I was not bubbles & sunshine to begin with. Yesterday I waited for 5 hours for the OPD to come and take a report. No one called to say why the police were a no-show. So I was happy to walk back to the crime scene and see a police officer parked there the next morning. And I would have turned a blind-eye to his initial brush off. People on the street are weird—even bruised victims looking to report a crime.

But then he explained: There’s a construction retrofit happening across the street. He’s been contracted out to monitor that and only that. He can’t engage in any other police work. He can’t take my report, even if it involves just sitting in his car, writing.

Which is an insult to the intelligence. If an assault was happening in front of him, he wouldn’t stand on ceremony. I was about to mention that when he took one laconic look at my San Francisco Giants jersey and said, “Listen, I don’t know how long you’ve been living here, but I’ve worked here 20 years…” Hand to god, he said it.

Which may have been the only thing to make me feel worse: to imply that because I’m not an Oaklander, I matter less. When it was clear that he wasn’t going to take the report, I got back in my car and watched him for a few more minutes. He went back to talking on his iPhone. I am now going to make the completely unsubstantiated claim that he wasn’t conducting official police business. Pretty sweet gig.

And at the end of the day, I understand the big picture. I really do. The situation in Oakland is such that if there’s going to be any retrofitting of the city’s infrastructure, private companies need to feel protected from violence and theft. Which means those lower levels of police protection come at the immediate expense of the citizenry. I totally get it. It means a guy with a gun has to sit in his car and watch construction workers on bulldozers, yet ignore the mugging victim. Sad, but true.

I guess it’s no surprise that police are overworked in Oakland. I guess it’s to be expected in a parolee dumping ground. But my god, what a toilet of city this is.

ihatethismess: warispeace:

SFPD arrest a protestor on March 21, 2003 at a demonstration against the war in Iraq

I wish I knew why this moment of civil disobedience irks me so much. I guess it’s the dead weight thing—as if most of the cops on the SFPD didn’t hate the Iraq War as much as we all did. 99.99% of the arrests were peaceable, unlike Señor Drama here. We filled up the jails. They had to use the piers for overflow.

The cops handed out sandwiches. I traded a ham & cheese for a PB&J from a 40 year-old mom. I was wearing a suit. Most of us were trying to make a point to the media, the White House and our fellow countrymen. We weren’t there to play games with the guy in riot gear who was already pulling in overtime.