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Riots in Oakland

OGRipper

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,653
1,128
NORCAL is the hizzle
Haven't seen much about this here other than Sanjuro's post in the PAWN. I think it deserves more attention but if a mod want to move it, fine.

There were violent riots in Oakland last night in protest of the shooting of Oscar Grant.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/07/MN2N155CN1.DTL

"A protest over the fatal shooting by a BART police officer of an unarmed man mushroomed into several hours of violence Wednesday night as demonstrators smashed storefronts and cars, set several cars ablaze and blocked streets in downtown Oakland.

The roving mob expressed fury at police and frustration over society's racial injustice. Yet the demonstrators were often indiscriminate, frequently targeting the businesses and prized possessions of people of color."
 
sanjuro

sanjuro

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Sep 13, 2004
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I wanted to write 3 things:

1. While this is a horrible, unnecessary tragedy, ultimately, it is the fault of one man, the officer which pulled the trigger. He was not trained or authorized to fire, the BART police are not known for the brutality, and there was no cover-up.

2. I talked with a friend who lives in Fruitvale, and he commented how much locals hate the Oakland P.D. and they think BART police is a joke. Obviously, the bad feelings run deep.

3. I like a good riot.
 
X3pilot

X3pilot

Texans fan - LOL
Aug 13, 2007
5,860
1
SoMD
With no chance of the Raiders winning a Super Bowl in the next millennium, might as well riot over this.
 
TN

TN

Hey baby, want a hot dog?
Jul 9, 2002
14,301
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I for those like myself who are usually too lazy to google the details...BART is Bay Area Rapid Transit & the guy who got shot was laying face down on the platform when he was capped from behind by this scum bag.

At least the cop could have said his wallet looked like a gun. :disgust:
 
H8R

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
35
Have I mentioned that I fvcking hate Oakland and I'm glad I moved?
 
CBJ

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,877
4,221
Copenhagen, Denmark
I am not good with the English language but I understand that riots are a good thing. People always seems happy and they say isn't that a riot. Fun times in Oakland I am sure.
 
manimal

manimal

Ociffer Tackleberry
Feb 27, 2002
7,212
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Blindly running into cactus
sanjuro said:
I wanted to write 3 things:

1. While this is a horrible, unnecessary tragedy, ultimately, it is the fault of one man, the officer which pulled the trigger. He was not trained or authorized to fire, the BART police are not known for the brutality, and there was no cover-up.
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yup, these idiots were forced to take to the streets and break stuff that isn't theirs. definitely the cops fault for that :rolleyes:

nose meet razor to spite face.
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,942
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If you haven't seen the videos, the young man that was killed was all but blindfolded and given a cigarette. Just plain outrageous.
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,942
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media blackout
sanjuro said:
I wanted to write 3 things:

1. While this is a horrible, unnecessary tragedy, ultimately, it is the fault of one man, the officer which pulled the trigger. He was not trained or authorized to fire, the BART police are not known for the brutality, and there was no cover-up.
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If he wasn't trained OR authorized to fire, then why is he even carrying a firearm?

Also, I've read that this isn't the first problematic incident from this particular officer.
 
OGRipper

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,653
1,128
NORCAL is the hizzle
The whole thing is pretty unreal. I work in downtown Oakland - I'm here right now. One of the BART stations they closed last night is right outside my office, and the vandalism occurred within a few blocks. There are a lot of police around, and there is some tension in the air, but so far it's calm out there.

The closest thing to an "explanation" is that the officer mistook his gun for a taser. :shocked: The videos show a pretty clear look of surprise on the officers face immediately after he pulled the trigger.

As if that wasn't scary enough, it doesn't even look like a situation where a taser was needed - the videos may not tell the whole story, but Oscar Grant was on his stomach and seemed be to completely under police control. The bullet went through his back, ricocheted off the ground, and back up through his chest.

Still, destroying random people's property is stupid.
 
OGRipper

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,653
1,128
NORCAL is the hizzle
jonKranked said:
If he wasn't trained OR authorized to fire, then why is he even carrying a firearm?
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They ARE trained and authorized to use force under certain circumstances.

"BART's Police Department is full service and has more than 200 officers who investigate the same types of crimes as their city counterparts. The training standards are the same as well, and the pay is similar."

"Mehserle was a 2006 graduate of the Napa Valley College Criminal Justice Training Center, a 22-week police academy program that includes instruction on how to use force and when to use weapons such as guns, batons, Tasers and pepper spray, said program director Damien Sandoval."

"At the news conference, BART Patrol Cmdr. Travis Gibson said officers are trained to pull their guns when a BART patron or an officer is in danger. "You use what force is reasonable to neutralize the situation without the person losing their life or the officer their life," he said."

Edit: All quotes are from SFGate.com, the SF Chronicle website.
 
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sanjuro

sanjuro

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OGRipper said:
They ARE trained and authorized to use force under certain circumstances.

"BART's Police Department is full service and has more than 200 officers who investigate the same types of crimes as their city counterparts. The training standards are the same as well, and the pay is similar."

"Mehserle was a 2006 graduate of the Napa Valley College Criminal Justice Training Center, a 22-week police academy program that includes instruction on how to use force and when to use weapons such as guns, batons, Tasers and pepper spray, said program director Damien Sandoval."

"At the news conference, BART Patrol Cmdr. Travis Gibson said officers are trained to pull their guns when a BART patron or an officer is in danger. "You use what force is reasonable to neutralize the situation without the person losing their life or the officer their life," he said."

Edit: All quotes are from SFGate.com, the SF Chronicle website.
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I shouldn't have used the word "trained". It has no relevance, since all police are taught how to restrain a suspect.

Mostly, I was thinking about riots and how certain tactics, like firing rubber bullets, has to be drilled correctly. This was not that kind of circumstance.
 
loco-gringo

loco-gringo

Crusading Clamp Monkey
Sep 27, 2006
8,887
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Deep in the heart of TEXAS
The cop will get his due. I'm sure of that. Rioting because a cop killing someone is stupid. Who riots when all of these rioting thug mother f*ckers and their homies kills someone??? Anyone that is capable of rioting, for any reason other than self preservation is an animal and should be treated as such. It's just plain f*cking retarded to riot. Period.

Protest peacefully - whatever.

Riot - stupid.
 
W

WhoRyder

Turbo Monkey
Nov 28, 2007
1,834
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NYC
pretty messed up....

The guy was def. under police control, in the video you see him pull out weapon stand up and pull trigger, there is no doubt in my mind that he knew he had his GUN.... if you see the video clearly, the gun is Black and Tazer Guns are YELLOW.......


I don't agree on the rioting though and destroying stuff.... a peaceful protest, yes.... destroying other peoples property NOT COOL.....

I'm Convinced the cop knew he had a GUN, not a TAZER.. See for yourself....
 
W

WhoRyder

Turbo Monkey
Nov 28, 2007
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0
NYC
pretty messed up....

The guy was def. under police control, in the video you see him pull out weapon stand up and pull trigger, there is no doubt in my mind that he knew he had his GUN.... if you see the video clearly, the gun is Black and Tazer Guns are YELLOW.......


I don't agree on the rioting though and destroying stuff.... a peaceful protest, yes.... destroying other peoples property NOT COOL.....

I'm Convinced the cop knew he had a GUN, not a TAZER.. See for yourself....

Look at how long it took for him to pull the trigger... he CLEARLY knew he had his 9MM and not a Yellow Tazer Gun:

 
sanjuro

sanjuro

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Sep 13, 2004
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SF
WhoRyder said:
I'm Convinced the cop knew he had a GUN, not a TAZER.. See for yourself....
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There is another vid from the door directly in front of the incident. You can see the officer's reaction before and after.

He didn't seem angry beforehand, and he definitely had a "Oh, Sh*t" look afterwards.
 
sanjuro

sanjuro

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Sep 13, 2004
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btw, my favorite line so far is how Ron Dellum, the mayor of Oakland, is hoping for a position in the Obama government.

Right. Maybe for the federal riot control department.
 
W

WhoRyder

Turbo Monkey
Nov 28, 2007
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NYC
There are bad people out there, even cops unfortunately.....

I saw that video too, where he said Oh sh1t... he said it because he knew he was screwed... afterward he resigned from the dept. so that he doesn't have to cooperate with the investigation....

There was no need for the guy to even pull out anything.... No Gun, No baton, NOTHING.... that is just plain Murder.....

The dude probably hated black people... who knows... i say Convict the dude for murder........
 
W

WhoRyder

Turbo Monkey
Nov 28, 2007
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NYC
Da Peach said:
I guess maybe that's what people are so bent out of shape about.
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exactly, it is MURDER..... it is an Execution.....

i think it's about time we all (Americans) realize that there are messed up people out there too, and cops aren;t the exceptions,

Do i hate police because of this? NO.....

Do i believe there are crooked cops out there? YES.....

It's amazing.... just amazing, if it were anyone else there'd be a manhunt....
 
W

WhoRyder

Turbo Monkey
Nov 28, 2007
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NYC
Kinda reminds me of this shooting:


Undercover cop shoots unarmed guy in back of the head in Puerto Rico...... after shooting himself.... then he quit from the police and was later found dead in a ditch somewhere.....

the case is still open... No suspects....
 
Westy

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,438
20,238
Sleazattle
It certainly could have been an accident but if that is the case the lack of action on the part of the authorities is inexcusable. I'm pretty sure I would be charged with manslaughter if I accidentally pulled the trigger of a gun while purposely pointing it at someone.
 
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