Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Video Undermines Police "Probe" of Kaplan and Quan
Media / Politics / People Robert Gammon — Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 4:09 PM
Video of the Johannes Mehserle verdict protests appear to undermine the decision by Oakland police to “investigate” Councilwomen Jean Quan and Rebecca Kaplan for allegedly obstructing police business. In this piece from Bay Citizen, a joint venture of the New York Times and UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, Kaplan is clearly shown yelling at an anarchist who had thrown an object at police, while Quan is urging others to form a line separating the angry anarchists from police:
As the Express has previously reported, Kaplan and Quan also were attempting to create a buffer between marching police officers and peaceful demonstrators who were still at the intersection of Broadway and 14th Street. The councilwomen helped slow down the advancing police line, thereby giving peaceful protesters a chance to leave the area, once police had declared the protests an “unlawful assembly.”
In other words, the so-called police "investigation" appears to be nothing more than a political stunt aimed at hurting the councilwomen’s chances in this year’s mayor’s race — while helping the police union’s favored candidate, ex-state Senator Don Perata. The probe also smells of political payback, since both Quan and Kaplan had been outspoken about police not contributing to their pensions, while Perata has steadfastly remained in the cops’ union’s corner.
Comments (9)
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Here's a concise timeline of the Oakland Police Officer's Association attempt to manufacture a scandal about Quan and Kaplan: http://bit.ly/bCdw3e
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Oh please this is what Jean Quan links on her website- I have no idea what it shows her doing that is positive- I do hear the police announcing an unlawful assembly. I think Ms. Quan is trying to get people to form a line to obstruct police but I can't be sure if that is what she is doing or she does it. I do hear Ms. Kaplan talking like a second grade teacher - she just lost my vote even though I did applaud her for speaking out against that silly BART airport extension- the article calls the person an anarchist- how does the writer know this- maybe he's just a regular old miscreant trouble maker. What bothers me is not the silly story but that Jean Quan thinks it important enough to link from her "newsletter" to show she's doing something "important." I think not Ms. Quan. I think Quan is hardly working for your neighborhood and who will hardly be working for your city if elected mayor, shudder the thought. I don't care if she walked in support of Oscar Grant (another miscreant- who shouldn't have been shot- but he should have behaved himself and if he did he may not be dead- really a tragedy- or against the BART Police or why she was out this night I'd like to know if she voted on any city worker raises in the past years, gave pension goodies so rich it makes chocolate mousse look like a diet dessert, did she reform any departments and get rid of city workers?, Make city government more transparent, effective and responsible to/for the taxpayer?, make OAK government stick to the letter and intent of bond measures, implore fiscal reality/discipline from city government- these are what matter to me, Ms. quan.
Talk about manipulation. Way to completely ignore other publicly available video that clearly shows these two obstructing the police. I realize some people just HAVE to find a way to defend these two Council Members, no matter what a great deal of evidence to the contrary suggests, but let's not protect their defenders have anything but a political agenda in mind. And by the way, I am SO not a fan on Don Perata.
Forget the investigation, there's enough on video to ARREST Kaplan. There's footage with her pushing back an officer. That's assault, plain and simple. She's also an accessory to looting.
I don't have ANY doubt they both went down there for political reasons. They don't care at all about stopping riots or police brutality. Neither would have shown up if there weren't cameras there.
The picture of Kaplan with her hand on the police officer pushing him back speaks volumes. Let the police do their job, they did not need the council members "help"
The fact that the OPD is pursuing this "probe" while at the same time announcing to the citizens that they're refusing to do their jobs--i.e. stomping their little blue feet because the city quite responsibly would not give them what no one in these times gets, a promise of job security--is especially rich. Where else could people announce their intention to not do their jobs and still have a job to come to--let alone bankroll their non-Oakland-resident lifestyles?
Thank you, Ms. Quan and Ms. Kaplan, for standing up and doing right.
It's pretty obvious that this is political, because nobody started talking about an investigation until the middle of this week. The councilmembers' opponents had to see a news story, manufacture outrage by spinning the story, and then tell OPOA to start an investigation.
It the councilmembers had done anything wrong, which they did NOT, they would have been arrested on the spot. OPD arrested a school board member without hesitation, and if the councilmembers had actually obstructed OPD, they would have be arrested too.
Regarding the protest arrests of a school board member and a principal. OPD spokeswoman Holly Joshi recently said "The way the law is written, it's supposed to be equal. We're supposed to apply it equally across the board."
In short, this "probe" is bullshit.
Another informative article brought to you by Bob Gammon.... ha! For an objective report on the tweedle-dum and tweedle-dee's roll in the riots, I suggest readers cross to CBS, where you're literally invited to form an opinion - & not be spoon-fed someone else's.
http://cbs5.com/video/?id=67299@kpix.dayport.com
