News and Events--In the Community

PUEBLO joins Copwatch panel on civilian oversight of police

Rashidah Grinage, representing the Campaign on Community Safety and Police Accountability (CCSPA), joined Chris Morray Jones from the Ella Baker Center’s PoliceWatch and Michelle Gross from Communities United Against Police Brutality of Minneapolis to present a workshop on civilian oversight models, as part of the 1st National Copwatch Conference, which was held July 13-15th at LaneyCollege in Oakland. The workshop was attended by about 30 people from throughout the United States and was emotionally charged, with many attendees sharing their own experiences of police misconduct and the difficulties they encountered in trying to get justice.

Ron Dellums invites PUEBLO to forum at Grand Lake Theater

PUEBLO was invited to bring our questions and issues to Ron Dellums' "Neighbor to Neighbor" forum at the Grand Lake Theatre on Saturday, April 22nd.

Rashidah was able to share with him some of the more startling findings of our police survey and asked him to comment. She mentioned that the survey revealed that only 1 out of 10 Oakland residents who reported having a negative interaction with police had filed a complaint, and that the satisfaction or dissatisfaction that Oakland residents felt about their experience with Oakland police was directly correlated to their ethnicity and class.

Mr. Dellums responded with the observation that "911 style policing" tends to reflect bias: depending on where the calls for service originate, police tend to respond differently. He suggested that community policing, a shift in approach, would tend to "equalize" the delivery of police services to a greater extent, and encouraged us to move toward implementing community policing to a greater extent.

Rashidah Grinage of PUEBLO addresses violence in Oakland on KPFA's Morning Show

On March 21st, PUEBLO's Rashidah Grinage appeared on the Morning Show, along with Oakland City Council member Desley Brooks to talk about the violence in Oakland that prompted City officials to consider declaring a state of emergency. Are more police the answer? Do we need a more comprehensive and balanced approach to public safety? Is the police association (OPOA) really running the show, instead of the Chief?

Take a listen to the discussion.

Community Speak Out

PUEBLO sponsored a lively "speak out" at Frick Middle School Saturday, March 4th. On hand were Oakland Police Chief Wayne Tucker, Citizens' Police Review Board Director Joyce Hicks and her staff -- Patrick Caceres, Audrey Montana and Sean Quinlan. In addition, noted civil rights attorney John Burris attended and talked about the Riders' class action Negotiated Settlement and its proposed reforms. Also in attendance was District 6 Council member Desley Brooks who received a rousing reception from the community members presented when she declared that the Chief's plan to re-deploy officers to the streets had been thwarted by the political agendas of Mayor Jerry Brown and Council President Ignacio de la Fuente. She asserted that a plan developed by Chief Tucker would add a considerable number of additional officers to the streets when they are most needed, without the hiring of additional officers, but that due to the political ambitions of Brown and de la Fuente, both of whom were counting on support for their campaigns from the Oakland Police Officers' Association, the plan had not been implemented.

Some members of the community talked about incidents with police that they felt were badly handled. The Chief promised to meet with these folks and follow up on their cases. Other residents complained about the poor response time when they call 911. John Burris refuted the notion that the Negotiated Settlement and its mandated reforms and deadlines are responsible for the woes of the OPD in meeting the demands of public safety on the streets.

Article about community speak (Berkeley Daily Planet)

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