Mayor Dellums Responds to New Years Day Bart Shooting

[raventakayama]

@shiggashane1 Its clear that they are protesting violence against civilians by those of authority. Accident or not, police officers need to be held to the strictest letter of the law. The notion that police officers don't break the law in general is pure ignorance. The claims of racism comes with the black stereotype. Too often are blacks treated in accordance to the stereotype, which means that cops seemingly handle blacks or minorities with what could be described as EXTREME caution... cont

[raventakayama]

@shigg for their own lives. Its as if officers are taking stereotyping to heart when handling cases in the black community. To say that this doesn't happen with any validity would mean that you, yourself live in a black community and you've NEVER witnessed it. Which I totally doubt. Profiling is a common police tactic employed in every state in the US. Minorities view profiling as an act of prejudice and rightfully so. You know as well as I do that this situation could have been better handled.

[AmxKiller]

lmao lmao lol

[SETH33dxdx]

Fuck this white devil

[AlanMolstad]

What I see going on is that there is anger.

The cause of the anger is the shooting.

But the mayor is being swept up in the anger of the mob, and every once in a while the mob turns on the mayor and seems to think he is somehow at fault for the shooting too.

So the mayor has to make a speech just so that the mob will not try to blame him for the shooting .

But all of this anger, all of this speech making and riots and meetings and yelling things across the room is pointless.

[AlanMolstad]

If there is anyone who should speak to the press every day it would be the DA's office.

That office should try to keep the city updated as to how things stand with this case.

People have a right to be kept up to date as this goes to trial.

[AlanMolstad]

("yeah right. don't be surprised if Mehserle is acquitted")

jayare214:

Remember it's not up to the D.A. to find the cop guilty.

This will all be handled in court.

I do expect the trial will be moved far from the Bay area so the judge can find a jury not connected or influenced by all the people in the riot.

I expect the DA will do his best.

He understands the number of eyes on this case.

[jayare214]

I see what u say my friend, but I must respectfully disagree. My step brother was murdered (shot in the back in 1993 by BART police. his father recieved 10 million dollars, but the police walked free. I am born and raised in Oakland and have seen the "justice" system in action for years. I applaud you for your faith in the rules, but I understand that rules are followed or ignored by men. history in oakland is not on the side of true blind fair justice. be well.

[AlanMolstad]

jayare,

I know nothing about BART or about what life is like in the Bay Area.

All I know is what I see going on in connection to this shooting.

So far I see in connection to this shooting, the cops doing an Excellent job!

On the other hand, I have been watching people at BART meetings stand up and make fools of themselves with their lack of common sense.

I also see many within the Bay area black leadership running around like Chicken Little.

[BlakeVII]

No amount of investigation can return the life of the young man who was shot... true.

But the life of the police officer, IF or when he is found guilty should be DESTROYED and be made an example of for all police officers to see and to learn.

[Quellezbaby5]

I say The Best Way to Protetest this is to Boycott Bart untill criminal charges a brought against the police officer that killed Oscar Grant... We Gotta hit wheres it hurts as longs as they are getting out money Bart doesnt give a damn what we talkin about... BOYCOTT BART!!!!!!!!!!

[jayare214]

We know its a tradgedy Ron...wheres the leadership???? wheres the connection to the people of Oakland who are outraged??? Mayor Ron should be looking at this as "if it could happen to Oscar it could happen to me, or my son, or grandson. a week late and all he can offer is this?? Fuck dellums (lowercase d) !!! he is incompetent, and ineffective, uninterested in fixing oakland, and disconnected from the very people who elected and supported his ass these past few decades. Oakland deserves better!

[Quellezbaby5]

I Here And Your Somewhat Right!!! HOwever we cant rely on Ron Dellums To Do evERYting for us! Im 19 & in my nineteen years here in oakland ive herd that ever mayor of oakland was a bum ass mayor!! then i came to the realization that the mayor is one person he or she can not wave a magic wand and make everything good, we as a community gotta make shit happen... we together are way more powerful than any government official and untill we realize that as a community we will continue 2 be bambozzled

[skuderjay]

People like you already have their mind made up about Mayor Dellums.. and people like you view every situation as an opportunity to chime in with your criticism.  I suspect that neither your comments or your feelings have anything to do with what happened to Oscar Grant (RIP).

[jayare214]

actually no....i was a big fan of Dellums prior to this past 6 months of incompetence. It took him a WEEK to respond to Grant's murder. a wekk????? yeah Im just being hard on mayor ROn.....he's doing a heckuva job.

[skuderjay]

Damnit... I thought I had you... :-)

[AlanMolstad]

Jay

What do you want to happen?

Is there some new thing you want to have happen?

I just dont understand what people seem to be always yelling to the mayor about doing?

The Mayor didnt shoot the kid, so why all the anger at him from some people?

[jayare214]

What I would like to see is dellums spearhead a campaign to mobilize voters in oakland to pass legislation either banning the BART police outright or setting up citizen review boards. I want him and the BART board of directors to work towards a real, lasting, and permanent solution to all the things that went wrong.

No he didn't shoot Oscar, but as the leader of the city he needs to be more than a figurehead.

[AlanMolstad]

("permanent solution to all the things that went wrong")

The way I see things: What went wrong is that right in the middle of making an arrest a cop pulled his gun out and shot a kid in the back for no reason.

Had nothing to do with anyone or anything else.

No reason, he just just shot the kid and now will go before our court system to pay for his actions.

[AlanMolstad]

I dont try to explain away the cops guilt by attempting to point to anyone else.

Im not going to try to say: "Oh the cop is a victim too, oh he had a bad mommy"

or

"He had low self-esteem due to a bad hair day"

The "solution" is to make a clear example of this cop with the full force of our laws.

That will do a lot more to get the message across to the cops more than setting up yet another 'sensitivity training' class the cops will only sleep though

[AlanMolstad]

I also dont believe that BART needs to pass some type of new rules to keep this from happening again.

If that were true then this cop who killed the kid could defend his actions by saying, "Well there was no rule against doing that yet"

No, the BART and Bay areas have plenty of rules and laws on the books already to prosecute this cop's actions.

There is no gray-area here!

[AlanMolstad]

I also dont understand what type of new Law people demanding 'change' are looking for to be passed?

They want a law that says "BART COPS CAN NO LONGER SHOOT KIDS IN THE BACK AS THEY LAY FLAT ON THE GROUND"?

Really think such a law would have helped?

[jayare214]

and I saw this the same as you...what ALSO went wrong was the media, didn't pay attention to the story until riots broke out and oakland burned. Dellums didn't speak out till the people wanted blood. The wheels of justice should have been in motion the day it happened, not a week + later. Cops are going to fuck up, but the wheels of justice should not be allowed to move that slow. and in a predominantly black town the black mayor should say something the next as soon as he knows it happened.

[jayare214]

and its not about a new law. its about the fact that Bart police are have no transparency, and no citizen review board. no oversight creates a culture where its us against them, and disobedience to the rules you speak of is the norm. Bart police have been accused of violence towards black riders for years. this was just the first caught on tape. the people should be over seeing this public transportation company and its hot headed security team.

[AlanMolstad]

("and no citizen review board")

You think the answer it to form yet another pointless government bureaucracy?

So that they can hold more endless meetings where all they talk about is holding other meetings where the discussion will be about the lack of progress made at a past meeting?

No

Just make a clear example out of this cop.

Turn the DA loose on him, take the chain off.

This will teach all the cops across this country that they have to remember what happend to "The Bart Cop"

[jayare214]

yeah right. don't be surprised if Mehserle is acquitted. DA Orloff has a history of siding with the police in shootings involving young black men. Alameda county DA's department has done nothing to prosecute police misconduct, and I don't anticipate that changing anytime soon...let's see what your dog does...his leash is off....I just think he's a poodle.

[jayare214]

bart police politely asked the officer to give a statement 3 days after. he didn't answer for a week and fled the state after quitting the force. one must only assume that in a regular investigation, where the principles involved are known. statements are collected right away. If the police shoot someone they give a statement on the spot. Why did this officer not give a statement the night of the shooting or soon after? not enough time to craft a story?? his memory works different from ours?

[AlanMolstad]

As far as I heard from an interview with a Police spokesman on CNN, the cop was held that very night in an area of the Police Station for a number of hours.

I also believe that there was an attempt to ask him some questions after the kid died and that the cop asked for protection under the Fifth Amendment.

And that is his right to do so.

From the interview I heard with the Police spokesman it seems the police followed the rules right down the line.

[jayare214]

re OPD spokesman you are aware that the cheif of police resigned in disgrace two days ago, the head of internal affairs is under investigation and 12 officers just fired for manipulating evidence right?  he didnt give a statement at all the night of the incident because the BART police union contract allowed for him not to. he dd not invoke the 5th. the Da, and police dept did not announce an investigation until it became clear Bart would not investigate properly. nearly a week later.

[AlanMolstad]

I posted my answer from the offical BART website.

They have a webpage set up that asks and answers the most common questions in an effort to stop the many internet myths that are springing up.

[AlanMolstad]

BART did ask the officer for such a statement at the time of the incident but he invoked his Fifth Amendment Right and was represented, at the scene, by legal counsel.

Subsequent attempts to compel the officer to provide a statement were thwarted when the officer failed to show for a scheduled meeting with BART investigators and his attorney submitted the officers letter of resignation.

[AlanMolstad]

Seems to me that I remember seeing a BART shooting video on YouTube the next day.

I also remember watching the video on TV too right after it happend too.

So as far as I can see, the media has been all over this story.

As for the cops? I think that whenever a cop kills a person there is always a review. They gave the results of this to the D.A, who filed charges and had an arrest out of State within a few hours.

The system worked fine.

[AlanMolstad]

I dont know what the Mayor could have said that would have made any difference in this story at all.

This is a legal matter of the courts to decide , not of the politicians.

I watch the Mayor speak and I see no point to his making a speech at all.

He says nothing new, just makes some general platatudes about the need to "Come Together" that always sounds good (but means nothing).

Pointless...

[AlanMolstad]

"Pointless"

People demanded the Mayor address the situation...why?

What can he do?

So the mayor stands up, talks loudly making cliche after empty cliche.

He waves his arms, and people say "Amen!, Tell it Brother"

But of what real good is all this , becides placating the mob?

[jayare214]

1) the media outside the bay area didnt cover the story untll jan 8th after the night of rioting. this is a national story akin to Rodney King, except with cold blooded murder involved.

[jayare214]

the mayor owes it to his constituency to weigh in on any injustice involving a government entity within his jurisdiction. It's not about placating a mob, its about letting the people know that he is as interested as they are in pursuing justice and that this will not be tolerated or swept under the rug. the week of silence let to tempers and blood boiling over. silence from the mayor, the DA deferring to the BART police (he didnt take the case until after the riot)

[AlanMolstad]

("letting the people know that he is as interested")

That makes him sound like Mommy kissing a boo-boo to make it better.

( It doesn't actually make it better, )

[jayare214]

lets take your point. the police (under authority of the mayor) commit a heinous crime. the mayor has absolutly NO obligation to speak to the people who elected him, and pay taxes. really??? hey if thats the way you want government accountability more power to you...

[AlanMolstad]

If the Mayor has any point to speaking, then thats fine.

But I listened now to all the different speakers and so far what is there to show for all these meetings and talking and anger?....zip

I listened to the Mayor's little talk in the street he gave, and I heard nothing but blah blah blah

What nonsense!

The person, the "only" person I would like to hear would be the DA talking about the case so far and where things go next?

Or the cop's Lawyer and the direction of his defence

[AlanMolstad]

("lets take your point. the police (under authority of the mayor) ")

Are they?

I have some doubt as to the BART cops being under the authority of this one Mayor....

Im not 100% sure, but I think BART is set up with it's own cops and leadership not connected or under the Mayor's office.

[AlanMolstad]

See thats the thing.

I could understand people saying that the Mayor has to do "something" if there was something that the Mayor should do.

But is there?

Is there something real that the mayor has left undone?

Then I hear people saying that "Now the mayor get it"...Just because the mayor stood up and made a speech.

But I listened to that speech and it was just a pile of empty words, that people yelled, "Amen Brother!" to.

Didn't change anything.

Didnt help or harm the case.

[AlanMolstad]

("the DA deferring to the BART police...") Actually this is the subject of investigations by the BART Police, Oakland Police, and the Alameda County District Attorney, with a representative of the State Attorney Generals Office observing

BART detectives completed their investigation on Monday, January 12 and provided the results to the Alameda District Attorneys office.

The D.A.s office conducted a separate, independent investigation.

[jayare214]

Bart police completed their investigation 12 days after it happened, with no statement from THEIR officer who did the shooting....REALLY????? Im sure the investigation was thorough. He quit and fled the state so as not to have to give a statment to BART investigators.

[AlanMolstad]

("with no statement from THEIR officer who did the shooting....REALLY?????")

Yes Jay, really.

Clearly the there were enough witnesses to provide enough information so that the DA felt the case worthy of fileing charges against the cop.

[dutchboy895]

Listen, folks, and just don't react. The Mayor is not the police, he's not the messiah. LISTEN to what he says. WE HAVE GOT TO STOP KILLING EACH OTHER. WHERE IS THIS CROWD, THIS OUTRAGE WHEN BLACK MEN ARE KILLED BY BLACK MEN IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY? There's a bunch of individuals who would love to kick this so they can play the headlines. ALL THIS IS A DRILL to the professional riot makers. THEY WANT THE POLICE TO SMASH HEADS. WAKE UP PEOPLE, YOU ARE BEING PLAYED.

[skuderjay]

WHY DO BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT (BART) POLICE NEED GUNS? The BART organization has shown that they can't handle the responsibility the comes with access to deadly force. Local police should be called for situations that require deadly force. DISARM THE BART POLICE.

[skuderjay]

The Mayor doesn't arrest people.. Thats the police.. The Mayor does not prosecute people.. that's the The District Attorney.

[ozzsihing]

Very sad. That cop is a bad man.

[smellyfooty]

"I'm going to go around and around in a circle BEFORE I get to the point. So stay close cause i'm about to lose you..."

he's so afraid of the "community" finding out the truth, that it might start a riot.

Please! Stop patting people on the head!

We're gonna find injustice and kick it in the ASS! There doesn't need to be a riot if JUSTICE were served appropriately AND in an appropriate manner.

NO JUSTICE! NO PEACE!

...divided we fall..

[duinay2]

Ron, you should place the Officer under arrest, at least house arrest, in a safe place to show the public some action is being done TO THE OFFICER "SYMBOLICALLY" so the city don't get out of control. Besides, he can't go outside anyways. All this investigation crap can concur simultaneously. After all, he did shoot a man in his back - accident or not - people are going to demand retribution and the faster something is done the better.

[shango44]

Very well said...I'd vote for him.

[ND7652]

Good but SIX DAYS LATER. Then you MIGHT think about investigating what happen.