This is a broadcast by Oakland OG Davey D that focuses on the recent killings in East Oakland. The highlight of the show is an interview with Mistah FAB midway through. I have a lot to say and it will be forthcoming shortly, but this shall have to suffice for now. Bottom line: This is not a laughing or cheering matter. I am a community activist and believe our justice system is flawed, but am not naive enough to regard this a revolutionary act. This was a bad decision, and for us to sponsor it will only create further community repression.I am by no means a fan of the police, but it's too easy to perpetuate this dichotomous legacy of distrust and hatred. We need to (wo)man up and solve this problem with sense and community involvement. Five more men have died in Oakland and I refuse to call this genocide progress. . .
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13 comments:
yo thanks for this is there any way I could get a downloadable file of that audio? Mistah FAB = the truth
Not really feeling everything FAB said there. Just because someone might fear cops, or as he said "feel for their lives" when a cop pulls you over does not justify that level of violence as "self defense."
^^He aint tryna "justify" he just sayin tho; there might be much more to certain situations than simply "eyo let's go kill a cop" and actually fearing for ones life could very possibly be a major factor in those situations. I aint tryna "justify" nothin neither, like the man said that's somebodys father that aint never comin home no more but it IS very very important to put things in proper perspective here
Let me say this. After the first two cops were shot, hundreds of officers responded and shut the entire area of east oakland down, and baricaded Lavelle Mixon in the immediate area of the crime scene, until he was found promptly a few hours later. Why do the police not respond this aggressively when a civilian is murdered? In oakland, you get two cop cars a few hours later, and a bit of yellow tape. Its a double standard. A cops life is worth more than a civilian's life. In a city with 130 something murders each year, the OPD has been doing pretty good to have been going all of these homicide ridden years without getting hit. My condolences to the families of the slain police officers, but it was only a matter of time before they felt the same pain that Oakland citizens have been feeling for several years.
I really do not understand the Us versus Them mentality here.
I work in a Public Safety Agency in Oakland. I live in Oakland.
The Police Officers do not feel like they are understood at all here. They are damned if they do, damned if they don't.
If they respond rapidly, arrest people, kick down doors they are "racist" "gestapo" "pigs". If they try to respond more gently, work with the community, solve issues, they are 'DOING NOTHING", "not caring about us" and "racist".
So what the hell are they supposed to do?
Why are you separating the Police from the Community? They are community members too!!! They are people, not nameless, faceless uniforms that are here to "terrorize" you.
And most importantly, if you think that a shhoting/murder in Oakland gets "two cop cars an hour later" then either you don't live in Oakland, or have not seen a shooting scene here. There are AT LEAST 10 Officers that respond to the "average" shooting, not including the ones that try to canvas the neighborhood, the technicians for photos and the detrectives.
Maybe a better question is why does the community not try to rid itself of the cancer of crime and the "thug life". Why does the community refuse to talk to the police, as if they were the enemy? They aren't. They are their for every person that lives here.
If you have had a negative experience with them, then report it to the Internal Affairs Division, and I assure you that they will follow up with it.
I'm currently studing to get my pHD and I jave a few rough statistics for you: ANANYMOUS MARCH 28, 2009 2:32 PM. Public Safety Agency? Never heard of it. That's not to say that it doens't exist. But I know that In Oakland the public is a lot of things, but it sure as hell isn't safe. So that's probobly why I haven't heard of you.
I've lived in Oakland and Richmond my whole life. I had a friend die in my arms on Gaskill in North Oakland in 2002 while we waited an hour for the police to show up. His body was cold when they arrived. Cops tend to their own. Between 2003 and today there have been over 600 civilian homicides in Oakland. In that same period of time do you know how many cops died in the line of duty? Until the Lavelle Mixon situation, that number was 0. Now its 4. 500 civilians to 4 police officers lost to Oakland violence. But the papers say that these police officers put their life on the line every day. Not so. Civilians put their lives on the line every day in Oakland. And most people who are murdered in Oakland, left the house on their fateful day, without a city issue glock .40, a city issue bullet proof vest, a city issue radio that can call about 60 of their buddies to come to their aide at any given time (equipped with riffles, handguns, and helicopters).
OPD officers don't even live in the city anymore. They are 90% residenents of more affluent bay area communities like Concord, Moraga, Danville, Dublin, ect. They are not members of the Oakland communities. They are employees. They ride around on motorcycles and in cars for their shifts, and then return home to affluent communities. This is where the us vs. them mentality kicks in. They could care less about what is happening in our communities, and they are desencitized to our issues. At the end of the day, their children go to school in systems that work. Thier children can go to parks that aren't populated by drugs. Their children don't have to stare the effects of violence, drugs, and economic depression in the face at an early age. But thier children are raised off of the city of Oakland's paychecks.
I also happen to know several people coming up who chose to enter the police academy. None of them are the type of people that would consider heroic. These four cops that got killed, its a tragic situation, my heart goes out to their families, but it is not much different from four firefighters dying while attempting to stop a burning house. Or four soldiers dying in combat in Iraq. It is their JOBS, and they work in a city where crime runs rampat. In a city with 100+ gun related homicides each year, if police were actively trying to stop this crime, some cops probobly will be shot in the process. Some cops probobly will die in the process. Just like a dog catcher can expect to get bitten. In Oakland there is not a sufficient effort to stop civilian homicides. There is definitely not an effort to find offenders, becuase 90% of these shootings go unsolved. 1hr? My my my how fast they found Lavelle Mixon. You know why? Becuase they WANTED to find him. They TRIED THEIR HARDEST to find him. They wanted him to pay for hitting them so close. For the first time, you see these officers crying. I have seen mothers, and fathers, and grandmothers, and aunts, and sisters, and brothers, and children of my fellow slain oaklanders cry so many times that I wonder how lake merritt hasn't overflowed. Never have a seen an OPD officer cry at the scene of a crime.
There is a double standard for police officers. A BART cop murders a kid for no reason, he goes to trial, a kid murders a cop, he is guranteed to get gunned down by the police. And subsequentally demonized.
Lavelle Mixon murdered two police officers in cold blood. The second two, were members of a SWAT team unit assigned to run into the building where Mixon was cornered and apprehend him, Dead or Alive. Due to him already having shot two police officers at this point, they were going to kill him. That simple. If you believe anything other than that, you are naive. He shot two SWAT team officers that were coming in there with intensions to kill him. They released the ballistics information on these cops who were killed by Mixon. All shots to the head. Mixon's funeral was closed casket. No ballistics information released. Because they swiss cheesed his body. This is what SWAT teams are trained to do. Read about Tarike Wilson of OHIO.
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/08/justice_dept_to_review_lima_po.html
Mixon was indeed a criminal. The likes of which citizens of Oakland fall victim too every day. He was also a man who made a choice. He made the choice that he would rather die than go back to prison. That doesn't make him a demon, or a monster. A criminal... yes a lawbreaker yes... but he is indeed human. He wasn't afraid to fight back against the police, as most thugs are.
The SWAT team said they didn't expect an AK-47. Any young Oakland resident knows that assault weapons run rampant in our community. And are often used to shoot up neighborhoods.
Love the police all you want. To them a civilian's death is responded to with less fervor than the death of a police officer. This has just been proven by the series of events. Feel free to respond back, Oakland Public Safety Officer.
I love FAB for this. Best words I heard bout the situation so far.
yo Anonymous march 29, 2009 2:10 AM:
well put, very well put.
To Anonymous March 29 - 2:10AM
I was the person that posted as the Oakland Public Safety Officer.
Let me be more clear. I am an Oakland Firefighter. I am Black. I live in the City of Oakland.
You have many things in your posting that I consider to be patently false.
I have a been a Firefighter in this city for more than a decade. I have been to more shootings and murders than I ever would wish on anyone.
NEVER NEVER NEVER do the police just wait around for an hour to respond for the report of s shooting. If you call and say your correct address and what is going on, you will have the Police in minutes flat, period. End of story.
I just do not believe that in the story you speak about that anyone called 911 and said "someone is shot 1234 Gaskill"....If you, or someone else did, they would get there right away, and we as the Fire Department are always right behind.
Here is a little dose of reality for you:
Most shootings we go on, everyone scatters, and "no one saw shit". True. You try to catch people when the only answer you get is "I didn't see anything".
The difference in the shootings of the Police Officers, we had some good Samaritans that told the OPD were the guy went.
To address why these Officers live outside of Oakland, lets be real. When you have been arresting people that hate you and hate everything you stand for (law, not breaking the law, rules, authority, etc) do you really want to take your family out and get recognized by these same people? Do you want to feel like you are on duty 24/7? How good for the psyche is that? It doesn't matter what city it is, Walnut Creek, Concord, Danville, cops do not live in the city that they work in. It is just too little separation from work to home.
There is no Us versus Them. I work with the Police every day. I see them on calls and I see them hanging around the Firehouse. They really do care what is going on in the city. Well, at least most of them do. What you may perceive to be distance and separation from the community is just them trying to remain unbiased and professional, when all they do is get insulted all day long EVERY FREAKING DAY!
If you don't want to get arrested or bothered by the Police in Oakland the solution is really simple: Don't do stupid shit.
Don't sell or use drugs. Don't get drunk and drive. Don't blow stop signs. Don't do illegal shit, and I guarantee you, you will not get arrested.
If you do get arrested by the Police for no reason, call the damn Internal Affairs or the Mayors Office. They will help.
I am sick and tired of people saying that the Polcie are F-ing with them. Of course it is usally followed by "I was just going a bit fast", or "I just had a dime on me", or "I just forgot to renew my registration".
Well, guess what, YOU DESERVE TO GET F-ED WITH IF YOU ARE DOING THIS KIND OF SHIT!!! Follow the rules, and you will be fine.
Check this out firefighter. In Moraga, 89% of the police officers live in Moraga. In Alamo, its over 80%. Check out piedmont, similar numbers. Don't tell me what happened to my boy wasn't reality, because it was reality whether you choose to believe it or not. I don't know what oakland you live in homie, but you sure as hell don't live in the one i'm from. You pobobly from monclair or something. And you really don't know how to have a debate either. You spoke to only a few of the points I raised. The bottom line is this, Police protect thier own homie. In Oakland between 2003 and now violent crime rate has gone up, and violent crime arrest rates have plummeted. Good thing your a firefighter and not a lawyer, because you can''t hold up a debate for shit. Check the numbers. That'll be like if there were are greater ammount of fires and you guys were putting out less houses. Its not becuase there are no "good samaratins" OPD responded with 200+ cops and a fucking SWAT team within an hour. That's unheard of homie. They baracaded off the whole macauthur area in east oakland. Cops can afford to live in nicer neighborhoods, so that's where they live. Do you realize that it used to be a rule for response time that you had to live within a 20 mi radius of the city? Keep living in a bubble and detached from your people. You seem to have the right attitude to be a cop. DO you realize how you keep bringing up IA as if they aren't cops too? Why would somebody who is fucked over by the police, call other police to solve the problem. You just don't get it bruh. You probobly never will. You probobly think the police were justified in killing Oscar Grant III because he wasn't "following the rules".
You still missed the main point :
You don't want to get arrested or fucked with, stop doing stupid shit.
Period. End of story.
For further instruction watch this video by Chris Rock:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj0mtxXEGE8
Here you are firefighter: you should read and watch these
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCN3ItdRILQ
and here
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/09/23/18449224.php
Was this man doing stupid shit? Don't be oblivious and out of touch. You post a video from Chris Rock in a serious debate about real issues. What's next... a quote from Bill Cosby?
You've got your mind made up that the OPD and other public services in Oakland work efficiently and any backlash are noncooperation issues that they have are completely the fault of the community. The OPD is severely flawed, just as our community is, dude. You can deny it so that you can sleep better at night, or you can acknowledge the reality of the situation. And that is major flaws on both sides of the table.
For the Anonymous argument Check out this article. Definitely proves one guys' point over the other. Sorry anonymous firefighter.... looks like you got owned by nbc news.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Why-Would-Anyone-Cheer-OPD-Killings.html
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