The next time you think it is a good idea to give the police a monopoly on gun ownership.

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I used to live there- did live there for 19 and 1/2 years. I moved to Nashville after being burglarized, facing a rape attenpt( stranger) and a purse snatch mugging.

To maintain a balance between those who will and those who won't harm you is a very difficult issue. The young man should not from the reports have been shot. I wonder about the cop's mental state at the time. Was it just a case of one time too many?

There are other victims of this incident in the form of every passenger that was on that BART train on which the young men were fighting. Did they not fear for THEIR safety as well? I believe that they did - and I also weep for their families as well as well as those who must endure the rage of others unjustly as they just try to live their lives. In a stress filled world- this is just one more thing. The other passengers did not know if the young men were armed or not. The last Friday at 5:15 pm that I lived in Oakland-2 cars came around the corner , the passenger of the 1st jumped out and ran towards a crowded bus stop. The second car stopped, the driver got out and shot the first within 100 ft of a crowded bus stop where people were waiting for AC Transit buses. I saw this from my porch. And vowed never to live in Oakland again.

I agree that "A pinstripe suit does not mean that they will not kill you while baggy pants...will" But I am wondering if it was just 1 time too many. Like it or not, psychology does play a part and image does matter. White or black or anything else- if you dress bad, act bad and get pleasure intimidating those around you- should you be surprised if there is a reaction one day. Sadly it might not be the reaction that you want. Respect must be earned. Fear is not respect.

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this is only in response to the "things to do" section of the article. First, the officer resigned from the force almost immediately after the shooting. He is not and has not been on the job since the shooting. Because he resigned, BART has been more limited in its ability to bring him before an internal review board. Second, the officer has been arrested as of 1/13/09, Third, while the response has been slow, the matter is being investigated by BART, Oakland PD and is also being monitored by the State Attorney General's office.

All of us in the Bay Area need to keep the pressure on for full prosecution of this incident as well as procedure and policy changes that will stop future incidents.

Just thought it was important for Alternet readers to know the current status

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From 1986 to 1992. I had lived and worked in Oakland. I am a 45 yr old white man. I was a District manager for 10 autoshops. One day I was at our shop on San Pablo Ave in Oakland. And Ken a young black man. Who was my manager there. Told me have you ever heard of DWB. I thought he meant DWI. You know, Driving While Intoxicated. No Ken said, DWB. Ken said, I have 8 guys working for me here. 4 blacks, 2 whites and 2 latino's. And you know that old beat up Ford p/u I asked the company to get. So we could have a company truck to get parts. I said yes, so whats this all about. Ken said, guess how many times my 4 non-black employess have been pulled over an searched, by police. Driving that old truck. He told me ZERO. And guess how many times my black employees have been pulled over in that truck. Since we got it 8 months ago. Ken said, they have been pulled over 10 times. Now Ken was a pretty smart guy. He could see I didn't really believe him. So he called his guys over. And I must say I was shocked. I had no idea that was going on. And the fear and hate in their eye's. When they told me their stories of the Oakland Police. I still to this day. Can't get over the matter of fact way they said their stories with the Oakland Police. To them it was a fact of life. And if you lived in Oakland you either lived with it. Or you moved. And most had familys and couldn't afford to move. Now you might be thinking what IS DWB. For black people it's pretty obvious. For me DWB was a wake-up call, to the disparity of equality in our country. Now I know not everyone is perfect. No matter what your race is. Theres good and simply bad people. But because your Black. You shouldn't have to worry about DWB. DRIVING WHILE BLACK!

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What are the chances the masked white hoodlums were policemen trained to create violence where none exists to give uniformed police the excuse to crack down?

It's not like it isn't common practice these days. Google it.

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No one should be surprised by the excessive force used in this shooting.
When law enforcement officers are confronted by any group of black males, they are extremely sensitive to "violent outbursts". Moreover, there is not enough community relations training of police officers who are not indigenous to that community so that they can effectively function as an integral part of the community. For those who praise law enforcement officers for risking their lives to "protect" American citizens in their cities, I say, be fortunate that you are not one of the people who have been harassed, beaten, shot, or unjustly arrested. And so....the beat goes on!!!

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break the law and get arrested.
Don't they have the right to be safe?
The simple fact is that if he had not been breaking the law he never would have gotten shot.

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You do know that anything that offends a black person will not be tolerated, even words get banned.
Let me know when they ban the word fag will you?

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FIRST, What occurred in Oakland was most unfortunate and should not have occurred. It however highlights what I said on another article with respect police misuse of tasers,
“while I readily agree, some police are over using tazers, they also have legitimate use, and are better than where one suspect in New York City was shot 45 times by police with 40 Cal. Bullets only to be found later to only be reaching for his wallet to show identification. To wit, definite rules should be established by all police departments for when and when not to use tazers.” They are the lesser of two dangers.

SECOND, Something must be done about wanton ridicules insane violence such as recorded in your article, “As the march reached the Lake Merritt BART Station and headquarters of BART police downtown, clashes immediately broke out, leaving one police cruiser destroyed alongside a burning dumpster. Marchers dispersed down side streets to the sounds of police weapons discharging and the sting of tear gas in the air. … Hundreds of businesses and cars were damaged or destroyed, and dumpsters were left burning. The next day, a BART board of directors meeting was filled beyond capacity and overwhelmed with community members expressing indignant rage, clearly feeling validated and empowered to speak up by the previous night's rebellion.” This type of anarchy should NOT be permitted and those committing it should be duly punished and made to repair the damage done.

THIRD, The trying to confiscate evidence by BART police is totally unacceptable. This type of police action must be circumscribed as it is in violation of the constitution what individuals will not be deprived of property except through due legal process.

FOURTH, As I said elsewhere about the Gaza conflict, but applicable here, “The question should NOT be who broke the cease fire, but that of peace. All should pursue peace and love and NOT violence and hate. But many are just fooling themselves, it is not what either the Bible or the Bible knockoff the Qur'an actually say, but how religious leaders ...interpretation of what is written either in the Bible or the bible knockoff the Qur'an that matters and governs actions. It matters not what the Bible and/or the Bible knockoff really say. People go by what they are taught by their religious leaders. ...but what their religious leaders told them. Therefore, it is the religion at fault, irregardless of what their particular holy book, be it the Bible or the Bible knockoff the Qur'an may say. Neither is so called Christianity or in Islam are most individuals actions really governed in any way by what their particular holy book really says, but they are governed by the interpretation of their religious leaders. Thus, knowing this reality, one would be either just plain stupid and/or dumb to even bother looking at a particular religion's holy book and expect the members would conform to it. Take the Rig Vede and find me for example a Hindu actually conforming to it instead of the interpretation given to it by his religious leaders, like looking for a needle in the haystack per K.S. Lal, India's greatest historian.

Hamas is NOT seeking peace as clearly shown by Hamas' denial of the right of the Israelites to exist; whereas, Israel never has denied the right of the Palestines to existence. Nor has Israel ever used civilians as human shields or suicide bombers. Both of these practices show a clear disregard for peace and love of life and fellow man. Both the Ishmaelites - Hamas, and the Hebrews - Israelites should be walking with the TRUE GOD as did Abraham, but neither are.

For details, go to, http://religioustruths.proboards59.com/

An Educational Referral Forum and start learning the ways of peace and reality. If there are any questions or you want to discuss, PM me at this forum.

Iris89

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Police are there first to protect the safety of the public, which means the presumption of innocence and respect of all must come first. This us versus them mentality among the police must come to a screeching halt- yesterday and should never have been allowed in the first place.

The heavy handed attitude many in law enforcement have toward ordinary citizens of all backgrounds is steadily getting worse. Shooting, abusing and roughing up those who pay your salary and make up the community that gives you the badge is not wise by any reasonable logic.

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they're ruining a great site with insanity and hatred. I know we shouldn't feed them, but in the sense of tolerating intolerance, is the blacklisting angle really a completely indefensible attack on free speech?

"freedom of expression doesn't make it all right" - PWEI

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"BART police tried to confiscate all the videos taken by witnesses." -- Shouldn't the other officers be arrested as accessories to murder?

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