Tag: SFPD

During the fall of 1966, racial and economic disparity exploded into a violent three-day conflict between local and state law enforcement, the National Guard and the Black community of Bayview Hunters Point.

This is not a case of too little, too late – it is instead: FINALLY! Thanks to Sen. Nancy Skinner’s 2019 law, SB 1421, records from SFPD, DPA, the District Attorney and the SF Police Commission are being released to the new CopWatch SF database, which now contains a growing list of local cops with records, available to the public.

Today, San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin and Supervisor Shamann Walton announced a resolution motivated by the murder of George Floyd to protect the public and particularly people of color from police misconduct. The resolution urges the San Francisco Civil Service Commission to prohibit the San Francisco Police Department and San Francisco Sheriff’s Department from hiring officers with a known history of serious police misconduct. Supervisors Hillary Ronen, Aaron Peskin, Matt Haney, Dean Preston, Sandra Lee Fewer and Norman Yee are cosponsors of the resolution.

The country is mourning after a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd, an unarmed Black man accused of a nonviolent offense. Our country is plagued by police use of excessive force and violence, especially against communities of color.

“Despite three reports studying Black People in regard to racism in 55 years, Black San Franciscans are worse off than ever before.”

On Tuesday at noon, join the rally and press conference on the steps of City Hall to demand justice for Mario Woods and an end to war on Black and Brown people in San Francisco, and attend the hearing on the US Department of Justice’s 272 recommendations at 3 p.m.

Hundreds gathered last night for a candlelight vigil and march to City Hall in honor of Jeff Adachi, San Francisco’s beloved public defender who died suddenly last week.

Ronnie Goodman, a well known San Francisco artist who is experiencing homelessness, had his artwork confiscated by the City, and was then arrested and spent a night in jail. He was charged with a state anti-lodging law known as 647e, which is probably unconstitutional, and felony vandalism, which was then dropped for lack of evidence. Ronnie is a very gifted, creative individual who has struggled with many challenging issues, including poverty, homelessness, racism, hunger and injustice.

On July 22, 2018, on what would’ve been Mario Woods’ 29th birthday, Wealth and Disparities in the Black Community – Justice 4 Mario Woods hosted the Third Annual Mario Woods Remembrance Day. It is our biggest event of the year, as it is our statement to the community and to the world, and most especially to the City and County of San Francisco, that Mario will NEVER be forgotten, and we are so pleased and humbled by the outpouring of love on this past July 22. Our work to seek Justice for Mario and for all victims of police violence continues.

Today, Aug. 15, 2018, marks the four year anniversary of the terrible day 2-year-old Mi’Yana “MyMy” was taken away from her family. On this day, four years ago, a speeding driver hit her, drove over her tiny frame and left her defenseless body on the street. Today, her family still mourns her loss. Her twin brother has spent the last four years missing his twin sister. Her mother continues to mourn the loss of this beautiful angel, and the SFPD still has not found the person that hit and ran and murdered MyMy.

“The End of Policing,” a new book by Alex Vitale, examines the histories and failures of policing policies and provides examples of alternatives that successfully divest from dependence on police while strengthening the community. Vitale’s chapters on criminalizing homelessness and gang suppression in particular can be a useful tool in revealing ineffective policies in effect today in San Francisco. Join the San Francisco No Injunctions Coalition on July 12, City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s last planned court hearing to remove names from the city’s gang injunctions.

This June, San Francisco voters will make an important decision on whether to hand over a dangerous power to the San Francisco Police Officers Association (POA). Proposition H, a measure funded by the POA, is an attempt to loosen important use of force restrictions on Tasers that were pushed on the troubled SFPD by a team of experts from the Obama Justice Department. Police unions don’t get to decide their own use of force policies. Don’t be fooled. Vote No on Prop H!

On March 15, 2018, Wealth and Disparities in the Black Community – Justice 4 Mario Woods hosted a rare and historic event: a visit by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco to take part in a discussion about police violence and racist policing in the San Francisco Bay Area. The conversation with Attorney General Becerra is part of our ongoing efforts to outreach to elected representatives and bring them into the underserved, historically Black neighborhood.

In today’s climate, “No Child Left Behind” has greater implications than just test scores and poor individual outcomes. Dennis Lockett and Lillian Somarriba allege that San Francisco school teachers abused, bullied and neglected their special needs children and the San Francisco Unified School District, Child Protective Services and the SFPD made no significant efforts to safeguard their children from future harm or to protect the public by holding the perpetrators accountable.

Liberation News spoke with Bradley Angel, the executive director of Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, about the news that a U.S. Navy-sponsored review of the radioactive cleanup at the former shipyard in San Francisco’s Bayview Hunters Point revealed massive fraud by federal contractor Tetra Tech. According to the review, nearly half of the data produced by Tetra Tech has been manipulated, falsified or is otherwise suspect.

More than 100 people turned out for a community meeting on Tasers Tuesday night, first breaking into small groups of roughly 25 each and then convening in a fiery public comment session that at one point erupted into activists chanting, “No Tasers!” and drowning out Police Commissioner Sonia E. Melara’s calls for order. The Police Commission has voted against the use of Tasers three times in recent years – in 2004 and twice in 2010.

On April 13, the ​SF Sounds​ newspaper made the mistake of publishing an article written by Sarah Burchard, entitled ​“Bring on the Bayview​.” From what we’ve gathered, Sarah Burchard is a white person who is not from San Francisco. ​As people born and raised in San Francisco and Bayview residents, we find Sarah’s article overtly ignorant and flat-out offensive. The article blatantly disrespects residents and our experiences in the current social, economic and political climate.

When Chief William Scott had been on the job for just a few weeks, he came to the Joseph Lee Gym in Bayview Hunters Point for a townhall meeting with the community March 9. This first-ever community meeting with the new chief was presented by Wealth and Disparities in the Black Community – Justice 4 Mario Woods. Chief Scott said his goal is to “reduce deaths at the hands of police” and asked to be held accountable. Will Chief Scott be a better chief for San Francisco than his predecessor? We don’t know. But we do know that we will, as Scott said, hold him accountable.

A Mario Woods candlelight vigil in the Bayview commemorated his death a year ago at the hands of San Francisco police on Dec. 2, 2015. The community response made headlines all year. A group of community members supported by the Justice For Mario Woods Coalition and Mario’s mother, Gwen Woods, kicked off the ceremony at Martin Luther King Park in Bayview on Third Street between Armstrong and Carroll at 3:30 p.m.

We point fingers all we want, but we can’t do that unless we’re ready to look in the mirror at ourselves. The mirror doesn’t lie. We have to stop killing us for Black lives to matter. We have to do something about the drugs in the hood. We have to teach the kids that’s having kids how to be parents. I was 15 with a kid. My story is very epic in that I am the epitome of what the youth in the hood face every day. I just haven’t figured out how to use my story and voice to help change things.