My friend, Carolyn, was arrested earlier this month at a protest in Oakland, CA.
On New Years Day 2009, Oscar Grant, an unarmed black man was shot and killed by BART policeman, Johannes Mesherle. Several videos were made by witnesses documenting the murder and the abusive events leading up to it. Over the following year and half Oakland witnessed numerous protests directed against the racism and police brutality of the Oscar Grant murder.
On Novemeber 5, 2010, Johannes Mesherle was sentenced to two years in prison for "involuntarily manslaughter." It is likely he will be released in less than a year if he behaves himself. My friend and former classmate, Carolyn, told me that there are people that have been arrested at protests that serve time in prison longer than this, and this policeman killed someone! There was a protest organized on this day, since a minimal sentence was expected for a white police officer. Carolyn was arrested at this protest.
Here is how she described it in a letter she sent to her friends:
The rally was proceeded by a march towards the BART station where Oscar Grant was murdered almost two years ago. Riot police in full protective gear and guns, Homeland Security, and Cops from 8 counties were there, fully ready for yet another riot in Oakland. They strategically blocked and diverted us from the direct linear path to the BART station and into residential, quiet neighborhoods. After about 30 minutes blocking, with lines 3 police deep, every chance to get to where we were going, they fully surrounded us. At one point, they made an announcement for the press only to leave. Over the bullhorn they yelled “this is a crime scene, you are all under arrest. Do not resist arrest.” Slowly, all 152 of us were bound with plastic handcuffs that tore at our wrists, and lined up on the ground. I witnessed 3 people beat to the ground by police, who were not at all resisting. We were loaded into police vans and processed on site, taken to jail, then processed into jail, SLOWLY, starting around 8pm.
Lots of different kinds of people were at the rally. People of color, white people, high-schoolers and their teachers, people from SF, Oakland, Berkeley and likely other places too. People were denied their medications (one of my 13 jailmates was denied her anxiety/anti depression medicine that she needs to take every 8 hours), and were denied medical aid for injuries received at arrest. Prison guards would tell us every time we asked a question, it’d add an hour to our time. They would laugh and make fun of us. We got one disgusting bologna sandwich during the 13 hours. I did not mind this, people have it way way worse, but I say it just to let you all know my experience. They were fucking assholes. Pigs.
I was released on my birthday (wooo!) around 8am- I was one of the first to be released. We spent the day connecting with everyone who was let out and making sure contact info was taken down to arrange for legal support for this bogus mass arrest. People were generally angry but supportive of each other, tired and disappointed by the sentence but still talking about what a better world looks like and how we need to get there. It was an experience for sure, I could say so much on it. Two people are still in jail from Nov. 5.
Throughout the years, the media has done a wonderful job at being completely one-sided, dividing people, and creating false claims about who exactly the protestors were and why they were doing what they were doing. The biggest one is that “outside agitators” come into Oakland at every riot, who are mostly white male anarchists, and just want to break things and destroy things. The news says that these outside agitators are leading young brown youth into danger. This completely nullifies and takes power away from the dozens of organizations started directly after the murder. Religious groups, pacifist groups, anarchists, communists, longshoresman, non-profits, and more than fit into neat little categories. The riots have not been all white. The people arrested actually have been largely from the Bay area. Oakland is largely Black and Latin.
Carolyn is one of over 400 people arrested as a result of the Oscar Grant murder. The Oakland 100 is an organization that has been helping those that have been arrested pay for their legal fees.
supporttheoakland100.wordpress.com
I encourage you to sign this petition to drop the charges on those arrested on November 5. http://www.change.org/petitions/view/drop_the_charges
------------
I want to say a couple things about all this:
1. Why do BART policeman carry firearms? Is this really necessary? Does it really make subway travelers safer?
2. This is the United States of America. We should be allowed to protest against our judicial, legislative and executive systems. As a result of these events the police are discouraging people from asserting their first amendment rights by arresting peaceful protestors. The threat of risking arrest and a potential prison sentence is enough to ward off many would-be activists.
I read on another blog that police told a woman with cancer who requested space to lie down that she "should have thought about her cancer before getting arrested.” No reasonable person intends to be arrested. This woman intended to assert her rights as an American. It's almost as if to say, "You want to protest? Then we'll see you in jail."
These arrests have been made unfairly. And I believe they constitute suppression of my fellow Americans rights and freedoms.
To Carolyn - thank you for standing up against injustice. I salute you.
