Entries Tagged 'Police State' ↓

Cops or Counselors? The Crisis in Berkeley’s Mental Health System 

Join us for a public examination of Berkeley’s Emergency Mental Health Services and whether Police should even be involved as responders.       

Tasers, spit hoods, pepper spray, hog-tie and “the Wrap”: Is this what Berkeley means by the term “Mental Health Services”? Numerous incidents in Berkeleyshow that the “compassionate care” we thought was being given by mental health care professionals has deteriorated into the systematic use of brute force against those in crisis.

SPEAKERS* VIDEOS CLIPS* WORKSHOP

Updates on the People’s Investigation into the in-custody death of Kayla Moore at the hands of the Berkeley Police Department

Free and Open to the Public

May 30th 7pm

East Bay Media Center

1939 Addison Street(Btw MLK and Milvia)

sponsored by Berkeley Copwatch (berkeleycopwatch @yahoo.com)

Check us out on Facebook: Justice4kaylamoore

We demand that BPD allow the release of the Coroner’s report and the police report of what happened to Kayla (Xavier) Moore on the night of February 12-13.

Berkeley City Council

Tuesday, April 30th

2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way

Rally at 6:00pm and speak out at 7:00pm

-    BPD has asked the Coroner to delay release of the autopsy for up to 8 months.

-  BPD has not released any information about their investigation but the officers involved have all been returned to their job.

- The District Attorney is not even investigating this incident for possible criminal conduct because, “ It wasn’t an officer involved shooting”.

We Hold the Mayor, The City Manager and the City Council responsible for what happened. The city leadership has allowed police to function without accountability and mental health services to be provided by aggressive cops.

For more information contact Berkeley Copwatch at berkeleycopwatch@yahoo.com

(510) 548-0425

When voters across California go to the polls in November, we will find options in the SAFE California Act: here, we are offered the opportunity to make a decision about whether we prefer sentencing others to the death penalty or life without parole.

Tim Young, writing from Death Row, San Quentin, is clear that both are a death penalty. And lurking quietly behind this tantalizing choice to judge the fate of others, he reveals something else: SAFE includes a provision to divert $100 million dollars over the next three years (and possibly beyond) from the state’s General Fund into law enforcement, and only law enforcement.

For the whole story see below. Thanks for your research and perspective, Tim.

sfbayview.com/2012/just-when-you-thought-it-was-safe/

And, to check out the full details of the SAFE Act, see:

www.safecalifornia.org/facts/about

“You can’t take care of the crops if the gates are closed…”

Activists have been farming UC Berkeley’s Gill Tract Farm since April, and were arrested, without charges in May. For the latest updates, see:

www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_21028179/occupy-farm-activists-re-occupy-uc-berkeley-farm

Solid investigative work and public pressure kept this phase of police militarization at bay! University of California Berkeley has decided it doesn’t need a Lenco Bearcat on campus afterall, and Albany and Berkeley also agree this is not needed in their communities.

Keep up the fight to keep our streets safe! For the full story see the Albany Patch:

albany.patch.com/articles/authorities-cancel-order-for-armored-vehicle

Here is a link to a petition contesting the purchase of the armored vehicle:

forcechange.com/24991/urge-berkeley-to-resist-acquisition-of-armored-military-vehicle/

Apparently, the City Council isn’t happy with the BPD, but is the Bearcat already on its way? We’re not just upset about militarization and police department secrets, we don’t want it here:

www.insidebayarea.com/bay-area-news/ci_20953583/berkeley-council-blasts-cops-buying-armored-car

If Berkeley Police Department has its wishes granted by Homeland Security, this will join our local arsenal. What would this be used for?

Armored_Vehicle_Flyer

Berkeley Police Department is currently seeking funding and training from UASI (Urban Areas Security Initiative- a Homeland Security program that trains local police departments in urban warfare.) Berkeley Police are now trying to buy a giant armored vehicle that will be used to suppress protests and terrorize demonstrators. According to their grant application, they intend to share this tank-like vehicle with UC Berkeley Police and Albany Police. Berkeley Police have already come under criticism for their conduct at UCB and Oakland Occupy protests. Without increased accountability, BPD risks becoming a department that is not only out of control, but very heavily armed.

The Berkeley Police Review Commission has been effectively rendered incapable of holding BPD officers accountable for their actions. Until the City Council and the people of Berkeley rewrite the ordinance establishing civilian oversight of the police, it is truly dangerous to give them even more war material with which to suppress dissent.

The Berkeley Municipal Code requires that Police Department (PD) Agreements be reduced to writing and presented to the City Council for approval. The council has a real choice in the matter!

The Northern California Regional Intelligence Center (NCRIC) program encourages police “spying’ on persons involved in non-criminal behaviors: taking a photo of a building, buying fertilizer, wearing a headscarf or turban, and then sending a Suspicious Activity Report to NCRIC.

1) We demand that the City Council reject pacts with NCRIC*, the Spying program, and UASI. These programs are set to expire June 30, 2012.

2) We also demand that the Berkeley PD not respond to mutual aid requests for purely First Amendment activities and not respond to, or request aid from jurisdictions that use brutal tactics and/or so-called non-lethal weapons. And of course, no armored vehicles.

FOR INFO CONTACT BERKELEY COPWATCH 510-548-0425 or berkeleycopwatch@yahoo.com

We Don’t Need a Tank! We Need Police Accountability! Say NO to Mutual Aid
Pacts with Federal Agencies!

STOP THE FEDERALIZATION OF BERKELEY POLICE
BERKELEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
TUESDAY MAY 15, 2012
6pm Rally on the steps of City Hall
(MLK and Center Street)

Come and Speak out at the Tuesday May 15, 2012 City Council, 7pm Old City Hall
at 2134 M.L. King Jr. Way, Berkeley.

Berkeley is violating its own laws! The Berkeley Municipal Code requires that
Police Department (PD) Agreements be reduced to writing and presented to the
City Council for approval.

NCRIC*, the Spying program, and UASI**, the urban warfare program, are merely
verbal agreements coordinated with the FBI and Homeland Security. These
programs expire June 30, 2012. Being in violation of local law they must not be
renewed or allowed to continue without Council action.

*The Northern California Regional Intelligence Center program encourages police
“spying’ on persons involved in non-criminal behaviors: taking a photo of a
building, buying fertilizer, wearing a headscarf or turban, and then sending a
Suspicious Activity Report to NCRIC.
**The Urban Areas Security Initiative, through Urban Shield conducts urban
warfare exercises with local police departments.

Also ask that the Berkeley PD not respond to mutual aid requests for purely
First Amendment activities and not respond to, or request aid from
jurisdictions that use brutal tactics and/or so-called non-lethal weapons.