Re: My son was racially profiled in Sebastopol on Main St.
The man making the call heard noises which prompted him to go looking around 2 hours after the original incident.
It is also likely that he did not know about the concert. Wouldn't it be helpful to get his side of the story! Just sayin'... most folks in this person's situation would have thought something similar. It was hardly an outrageous conclusion -- especially if there were no other people around.
Re: the hoody, since the comparisons to the Florida shooting have been made and a hoody seems to be a significant factor in that case, just thought it would be an interesting variable in the experiment.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by daynurse:
There were no hoodies in the Sebastopol recording. And, the vandalism took place about 9 pm. The man went looking at 11 pm. I've had a lot of car mirrors destroyed and never thought to go on the 'prowl.'
If I saw a young man playing an instrument just after a concert got out in downtown, I'd think he had a good time and go about my way. No matter what his demographic.
Peggy
Re: My son was racially profiled in Sebastopol on Main St.
Glia, actually it does not matter whether any one new where my son was walking to or from...its the fact that the dispatcher rushed a cop out to check on a random person walking down main st. at the command of the caller. She did not let the officer know that the caller had called about an incident that occurred two hours prior in which there had been no person seen nearby his home. The man randomly went out searching for someone who to him looked suspicious. He then stalked and followed my son w dispatcher on the line helping cop to locate my boy. Luckily the cop was not trigger happy, as some have been, when my son reached out and touched the officers shoulder to ask if he was ok. We cannot recall now if my son had a hoody on or not at this point; he may have, as he wears them often. Glia, the whole idea here is to bring awareness to those who are blind to it, especially in their safe little communities, and especially in a very unconscious way, that racism does exist, and that we want to prevent any future unnecessary deaths to any one like Trayvon Martin. Did you actually follow and listen to the Trayvon story/tapes, and listen to the tapes from my sons incident? Thanks for participating in this thread.
Re: My son was racially profiled in Sebastopol on Main St.
Clarifications: A "concert" was not "letting out". It was around midnight. Most shows let out around 12:30-1:00 a.m on weekend nights.
Olembe was not, "making his way home". He had gotten disinterested in the scene at Aubergine. He went for a walk. He was walking, sometimes skipping (according to him) on Main Street and Gravenstein Highway. The Main Drag in Sebasto. He was making his way back to Aubergine to ride home to Santa Rosa, with his parents, who he had come to Sebastopol with.
So far as I know, he was not wearing a "hoodie".
The Kalimba he was playing, is a Thumb Piano. It does not make a loud noise, It is not anything like a flute or a pan pipe. It is held in the hands, not up in front of the face. No concealing aspect to its use.
There were other people out and about. It was a Saturday (Friday night?). There are two clubs and at least two bars in the area.
Where the complainant spotted Olembe, was nowhere near his house. And two to three hours after his vehicle was vandalized. He had to leave his block, go driving up and down the main drag. He saw a young Black man walking, skipping along. He called 911 (again) requested that they specifically stop and question that young Black man.
The dispatcher did not indicate any of the relevant details to the patrol officers. (The two to three hour time gap from the vandalism to the "loud noise", the fact that he had not seen Olembe, or anyone else, on his block or anywhere near his house).
Given where the complainant lives, there was no way that any noise from either Hopmonk, let alone Aubergine, could be heard inside his house. At least no, "loud noise", of a single percussive nature. Low end repetitive beats, maybe, see the recent discussion about noise pollution from Hopmonk.
Olembe was stopped, "Walking While Black". It's obvious.
The meeting with Chief Weaver, was inconclusive.
The murder of Trayvon Martin, has revived this. The parallels are obvious.
Police Dispatchers should give all relevant information to Patrol Officers It did not happen in the case of Olembe's roust. An admittedly easy going one, where the consequences were better than what might have happened. Still, it was an unnecessary stop. And a problematic one. Because of the lack of clear information, known to the dispatcher, and not given to the officer.
Why was that not done? What has been done to insure that in the future it will be done? Those two questions have not yet been clearly answered by Chief Weaver or the City of Sebastopol.
Please, before speculating, try and get the known facts clear.
As to the complainants side of the story? Sincere efforts have been made to protect his privacy. (For variety of complex reasons. Possible legal liability being the foremost.)
If he wishes to come forward to explain himself. That is his prerogative. Otherwise, he has a right to privacy which the Nguebari/Krauss's and their friends and supporters, have scrupulously upheld. We're not going to "out" him.
Our focus is on the city's policing policies with regard to Racial Profiling, and the danger from self-appointed enforcers of the law. Our goal is to protect civil liberties, clarify probable cause (in this case there was none, save the claims of a civilian who went out looking for a perp) and to prevent tragedies like Trayvon's murder, Jeremiah Chaas's tragic killing, and other police killings due to lack of training and sensitivity.
We still want answers. Why was it not made clear to the officers, what is clear on the tape. Olembe was nowhere near the vandalized truck, the house, or the complainant, until the complainant went looking for someone, and fixed his attention on the young Black man bopping down the main street minding his own business.
Next time, the outcome might not be as nonviolent. Often enough it isn't. We want to insure that it is, to the extent, it is at all possible.
Tuesday night. City Council public comment period. Trayvon Martin, Shaima Alawadi, many others in this area in the last decade and a half (just counting recent history).
Racial profiling goes on in Sebastopol, Sonoma County, Santa Rosa and other local cities and towns. If you don't think so. Talk to your neighbors. Especially those with darker skin.
Olembe was lucky. We want to make sure future Olembe's stay lucky. He shouldn't have to be lucky, he should have the right to go about unmolested when he's minding his own business, has done nothing wrong, and there's no evidence against him other than the color of his skin.
I'd love to hear the complainants side of things. I think the chance of that ever happening, are well nigh nil.
Re: My son was racially profiled in Sebastopol on Main St.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Glia:
The man making the call heard noises which prompted him to go looking around 2 hours after the original incident.
It is also likely that he did not know about the concert. Wouldn't it be helpful to get his side of the story! Just sayin'... most folks in this person's situation would have thought something similar. It was hardly an outrageous conclusion -- especially if there were no other people around.
Re: the hoody, since the comparisons to the Florida shooting have been made and a hoody seems to be a significant factor in that case, just thought it would be an interesting variable in the experiment.
Well then I think of this following case: 911 caller arrested in deadly police shooting
Associated Press
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — A California 911 caller told emergency dispatchers he'd just been robbed at gunpoint by two men who fled with his computer and backpack.
Pasadena Police Chief Philip Sanchez said that call set off a deadly chain of events that led officers to shoot and kill a 19-year-old college student, later identified as Kendrec McDade, late on Saturday night.
McDade was spotted in an alley about two blocks from the spot where Oscar Carrillo told police he'd been robbed, Sanchez said Wednesday.
[Related: 911 dispatchers may suffer from PTSD]
"The actions of the 911 caller set the minds of the officers," Sanchez said.
McDade ran from officers until an officer used the police cruiser to block McDade's path in an alley and rolled down his window, Lt. Phlunte Riddle said.
McDade allegedly made a motion at his waistband and the officer opened fire. A second officer who was chasing McDade on foot also opened fire, Riddle said.
McDade, who was less than 10 feet away from the patrol car when the officer opened fire, died of his injuries at Huntington Hospital. The Citrus College student was a football standout at Azusa High School.
In an interview Monday with detectives, Sanchez said Carrillo admitted that he made up the story about the gun to speed up the officers' response. Detectives now believe McDade and the other person, a juvenile, were unarmed, Riddle said.
Carrillo was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the officer-involved shooting, Sanchez said.
[Related: Video shows no blood, bruises on Trayvon Martin shooter]
Sanchez said video from a security camera shows the two young men were involved in the theft of a backpack from Carrillo's car, according to the Los Angeles Times. Sanchez alleged that McDade was a lookout in the theft.
The juvenile co-suspect was charged with two counts of commercial burglary, one count of grand theft and one count of failure to register as a gang member as a condition of his probation, Sanchez said. He remains in custody.
Re: My son was racially profiled in Sebastopol on Main St.
Dear City of Sebastopol Residents,
If you live in Sebastopol proper, i.e. can vote in City Council elections, please consider forwarding this thread to each City Council member. Soon. So they have time to read it before Tuesday's meeting.
It was suggested to me that I send them my previous post (# 124 in this discussion thread).
I am an activist and organizer. One thing I learned long ago is that elected officials pay far more attention to communications from their constituents, or their donors, than they do to those who are neither. I am neither.
I hope that some of you who are, will let them know about this discussion and the salient points about the details of what happened last June, when Olembe was stopped for questioning.
Thank You!
Here is a link to their email addresses:
If you are a City Council Member, and have been reading all along. Thank You!!!
Re: My son was racially profiled in Sebastopol on Main St.
Of course racism exists. So, unfortunately, do various other thought and behaviorial memes such as misogyny and misandry. Blaming your son's melodramatic, excessively-discussed incident and the senseless killing of the young man in Florida on racism alone is ignoring 90% of the story.
Your son got stopped for questioning because he was a young male in the area of an incident and acting oddly. He was demographically profiled, not racially profiled. He should have known better than to touch the officer or make a move that could be perceived as threatening when being stopped. Yes, that could easily have escalated and thank goodness it did not. Maybe the "how to be arrested" protocol should be taught in high-school civics class.
There's another meme involved with this scenario, one that has cropped up before: martyrdom. (Y'all can connect the dots for yourselves.)
In the Florida case, the ultimate cause of the tragedy is a kook with a gun who had no business having a gun -- a gun he legally possessed and carried in public thanks to Florida's reckless concealed weapon and self-defense laws.
Currently there is legislation introduced at the federal level to force all states to honor other states concealed carry laws, even if they are much more lax. For example, the man who shot Treyvon Martin could take his permitted gun to another state and could carry it loaded and concealed in that other state thanks to his Florida permit. There is an organization called Mayors Against Illegal Guns that is opposing this bill and others like it. As they point out the real problem here is the gun lobby writing the gun control legislation -- something we should be aware of and take action to stop.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Sabrina:
Glia, actually it does not matter whether any one new where my son was walking to or from...its the fact that the dispatcher rushed a cop out to check on a random person walking down main st. at the command of the caller. She did not let the officer know that the caller had called about an incident that occurred two hours prior in which there had been no person seen nearby his home. The man randomly went out searching for someone who to him looked suspicious. He then stalked and followed my son w dispatcher on the line helping cop to locate my boy. Luckily the cop was not trigger happy, as some have been, when my son reached out and touched the officers shoulder to ask if he was ok. We cannot recall now if my son had a hoody on or not at this point; he may have, as he wears them often. Glia, the whole idea here is to bring awareness to those who are blind to it, especially in their safe little communities, and especially in a very unconscious way, that racism does exist, and that we want to prevent any future unnecessary deaths to any one like Trayvon Martin. Did you actually follow and listen to the Trayvon story/tapes, and listen to the tapes from my sons incident? Thanks for participating in this thread.
Re: My son was racially profiled in Sebastopol on Main St.
Quote:
Dear City of Sebastopol Residents,
If you live in Sebastopol proper, i.e. can vote in City Council elections, please consider forwarding this thread to each City Council member. Soon. So they have time to read it before Tuesday's meeting.
It was suggested to me that I send them my previous post (# 124 in this discussion thread).
I am an activist and organizer. One thing I learned long ago is that elected officials pay far more attention to communications from their constituents, or their donors, than they do to those who are neither. I am neither.
I hope that some of you who are, will let them know about this discussion and the salient points about the details of what happened last June, when Olembe was stopped for questioning.
Thank You!
Here is a link to their email addresses:
If you are a City Council Member, and have been reading all along. Thank You!!!
Thanks for encouraging the above, Miles. Tell all your friends in Sebastopol who care to be a part of this. My thought is that if there is a step taken to address the way dispatchers are trained, that is a step closer to working on the county, other cities, a roll model for the state, the country, the world?? World peace begins at home, I say. Also take another look at what Joe Hogan said, who is spot on!
Quote:
There’s new evidence in the “My son was racially profiled” thread, and what better time to address it?
The transcript of the (police, dispatcher, reporting person) communications is online and sheds more light on the incident.
The RP (reporting person) told the DISPATCHER “I heard a noise”, went outside and found his vehicle mirror broken, and “jumped in the car to drive around and see who was walking around the neighborhood and I just encountered this guy walking around the neighborhood.” It seems the RP noticed a young, black male near the bagel shop and jumped to a conclusion even though the young, black male was a good way from the RP’s home and offered no evidence of suspicious behavior.
The Dispatcher was told by the RP that he hadn’t seen anyone near his house. The RP did not tell the Dispatcher that he had any evidence to believe that the young , black male was the culprit. The RP just wanted the YBM checked out. Out of all the people on the Main Street of the city, in any direction, he chose the young, black male.
The Dispatcher contacted a patrol officer and reported that, “the RP heard a loud noise, went out to see and observed a black male wearing dark clothing.”
This is a very different statement from the statement given to the dispatcher by the RP. The RP said he went outside, didn’t see anybody, jumped in his vehicle and drove around. Down on Main Street (which is probably the busiest street in Sebastopol, with the most foot traffic) he saw a young , black male and called the police again.
The Dispatcher is at fault here. She misreported the situation and caused an incident of illegal harassment. The policeman was given the incorrect information (that the YBM was seen at the scene of the crime) when he was actually seen for the first time at least several blocks away on the busiest street in Sebastopol. There was no reason to stop the YBM. This was harassment caused by the faulty reporting of the dispatcher.
FYI, in addition to our going to the Sebastopol City council on April 3, , 6 PM, there is another event planned basically a shout out about racial profiling in which there will be several local families who've been victimized by this invited to attend and share there stories / place to seek support. It will be April 28, (the 2nd month anniversary of Trayvon's death) Noon at courthouse square - more info soon, but for now you can contact either Mary Moore (707-874 2248) or Morris Turner (707-795-2625) to see how to be more involved, etc.
Re: My son was racially profiled in Sebastopol on Main St.
Glia,
You're being obtuse. And presumptuous. And jumping to conclusions without any evidence for those conclusions.
Olembe was not, "demographically profiled", for, "being in the area of an incident".
He was stopped because a man, upset that his truck was vandalized some two to three hours before, went out looking for someone. That man chose Olembe, who was three or four blocks away from the incident. Many minutes later from when the "investigator" heard the "loud noise".
Olembe was on the main drag. Whether he was the only one out at that time, remains to be seen. Given that it was downtown, with nightspots all around, it's highly unlikely that Olembe was the only one on the streets in central Sebastopol. At this point, we'll probably never know for sure. But, do you go out on weekends in "town"? I do, occasionally. At that time, there are always five, ten, twenty others going to and fro, from their cars to the bars, clubs and back.
He tailed and surveilled Olembe while he asked the 911 dispatcher to have patrol officers investigate and question Olembe.
The patrol officers were not told by the 911 dispatcher that Olembe was not seen on the man's block, not near his house, not near his truck. Without that information, at the man's insistence, they stopped Olembe. They did not stop anyone else that night on information related to the man's report. (So far as we know.)
The "demographic" that Olembe fit, was who he is as an individual, a young Black man.
As for, "acting oddly", skipping, singing and playing a Kalimba, on 116, on a weekend late evening, in Sebastopol? You live there, right? Crunchy, woo, central "Town"? I call that normal observable behavior, not "odd". The only thing "odd" about him is who he is and looks like.
Reread this whole thread. There are plenty of other stories about racial profiling by the SPD here. Opinions differ. Several competing schools. But nobody has refuted the fact that it happens. Just matters of interpretation as to what it means and what motivates it and if it's justified or not.
Yes, other forms of oppression exist and should be fought as well. In many instances the two you mention overlap with race.
Telling concerned people that they're exaggerating and playing the "Martyr" card? Just what are you trying to accomplish with that insult?
Nothing you've written in your last two or three posts here, indicate that you're paying attention to the relevant details. At least it looks that way. So, other than raining on our parade against Racial Profiling by police and civilians in Sebastopol, and our concerns about a lack of proper follow-up from the Chief. What is your purpose? To tell us to just shut up and go away?
I doubt that would work on you. Why do you think (if that is your intent) it would work on us?
Seriously, I know you don't like me. We established that long ago. Even though we've never met in Meat World. But, I don't see you contributing any light to this discussion, just heat and dismissal. Maybe I'm misreading you. Maybe you have good intentions. Based on some of the stuff you share here, you clearly care about the suffering of others. So why the attacks on those of us re-raising this particular issue? I'm genuinely interested. Because based on your other expressed concerns, it puzzles me.
I agree Olembe should not have placed his hand on the officer's shoulder. He knew better. He was being "cute". But that act of adolescent bravado, does not in any way justify his being picked out from every other pedestrian on the streets that night, and stopped on the insistence of a frustrated and angry man.
A man who went out looking for a perp, found someone young and Black, but nowhere near his place, and insisted he be stopped. While the cops didn't know the salient, essential details that the dispatcher knew but didn't convey to them.
Did you listen to the tape?
Re: My son was racially profiled in Sebastopol on Main St.
Thanks Miles. I was just in the midst of sending her a private note addressing just bout everything you addressed - I was sending it private so as not to detract from the point of this blog - which is to educate people about racism and to try to help improve protocol / training of the dispatcher, etc. But you said it all very eloquently.
Re: My son was racially profiled in Sebastopol on Main St.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Glia:
Of course racism exists. So, unfortunately, do various other thought and behaviorial memes such as misogyny and misandry. Blaming your son's melodramatic, excessively-discussed incident and the senseless killing of the young man in Florida on racism alone is ignoring 90% of the story.
I disagree; on the percentage of 90%. But at least you seem to acknowledge there at least is some possibility that racism could be a factor (10%?) in the Sebastopol case.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Glia:
Your son got stopped for questioning because he was a young male in the area of an incident and acting oddly.
"oddly"; as you put it is a good description, but was he (the young man) actually acting suspiciously to the police?... ...Or did, the info the Sebastopol police on the beat that night were given lack important, pertinent information and cause the situation to become (a) pejorative at the young man's behavior that night?
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Glia:
He was demographically profiled, not racially profiled.
:2cents:Like it, or not, as a matter of course, demographics (studies, redistricting, and funding, etc.) in America do oftentimes consider race a mitigating factor (one amongst many).... ...Just sayin'.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Glia:
He should have known better than to touch the officer or make a move that could be perceived as threatening when being stopped.
I wholeheartedly agree with that 100%.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Glia:
Yes, that could easily have escalated and thank goodness it did not. Maybe the "how to be arrested" protocol should be taught in high-school civics class.
That is a good idea:thumbsup:.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Glia:
There's another meme involved with this scenario, one that has cropped up before: martyrdom. (Y'all can connect the dots for yourselves.)
(...:hmmm:...:hmmm:)
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Glia:
In the Florida case, the ultimate cause of the tragedy is a kook with a gun who had no business having a gun -- a gun he legally possessed and carried in public thanks to Florida's reckless concealed weapon and self-defense laws.
A kook, or a vigilante, either one; take your pick.
It seems to me that the Florida law lacks the insight to have had a (no) stocking someone or at least a keep your distance while keeping an eye on the "suspect" when in the open public or community property except when making a 'legitimate' citizen's arrest until the police arrive when armed with a firearm clause in it so long as the so-called "suspect" doesn't seriously attempt a felonious attack on a helpless person or you or something that in some way could be reasonably considered as an action that is imminent which will cause deadly or serious bodily harm.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Glia:
Currently there is legislation introduced at the federal level to force all states to honor other states concealed carry laws, even if they are much more lax.
Isn't it odd that the bullheaded "States Rights" politicians and such ilk cry fowl when it comes to keeping racial stats of police stops, welfare, medicare, and all that etc. etc, yadda yadda.... ...as a States Right to either do or not... ...and yet they, with the financial backing of organizations like the NRA try to jam a thing so counter to what they say (for the most part) States Rights is supposedly all about?
That just shows the glaring, outright contempt and hypocrisy of them.:fie:
Re: My son was racially profiled in Sebastopol on Main St.
when i asked olimbe if there were other folks walking about when he was stopped he said yes. the sebastopol cop (probably an unpaid reserve officer working toward a job), let him go quickly, even though he was touched, it must have been done with love.
is it a problem if the sebastopol pd respond to the racial profiling of worried citizens? i know they do this regularly because of fellow workers experience. chief weaver says its no problem if no harm done. i know from my own experience as a construction worker, parent, and riding with for four hours on a friday nite that the sebastopol police pride themselves on stopping anybody unusual; racial, demographic, economic, and behavioral profiling.
maybe you think this is ok, that any wacco riding or walking on the street should be checked out. i notice nobody speaks for the man shot dead by the sebastopol police. they say he had a gun, and didn't respond to orders. we know he wasn't a career criminal, or particularly violent, just had a series of interactions with local law enforcement where his illegal status limited his rights to nothing. i guess its ok to kill his kind.
Re: My son was racially profiled in Sebastopol on Main St.
This is what went out to many News Papers so we left our significant "names" off of it just because it felt safer. Hope you can make it out to support. We aren't exactly "on the agenda" but we will be utilizing public speaking time and hope to get it on the agenda for the future. My goal is to address things like what happened to Trayvon Martin, Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., Jeremiah Chass, the man Ross is speaking about above, who was shot, and many many more, by finding a way to prevent them in the first place. To me, that's through cultural / racial sensitivity training, training, training first off as a requirement for police AND the dispatchers. The best way to prevent these things is to start right in our own communities. This is for all our children in the future. If Sebastopol takes a stand and makes a change, that's one step closer to the rest of the county, the state, the world and so on.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Peggy Day [email protected] 415-608-2044, Sabrina Krauss 707-843-9236.
Date: April 3rd, 6:00 pm Sebastopol Youth Annex, 425 Morris Street in Sebastopol.
Local citizens and parents plan to ask Sebastopol City Council to take a new look an incident last June in which a local man followed a young African-American male while calling 911.
During public comment at the April 3rd Sebastopol City Council Meeting, a young man who was followed by a local citizen as he called 911, his parents and local supporters plan to address the council. The incident, they believe, has several similarities with the recent “neighborhood watch” tragedy in Sanford, Florida.
In the Sebastopol incident, a man called the Sebastopol Police Department saying his car had been vandalized earlier in the evening and he had just heard a ‘loud noise’ outside his bedroom. He then got in his car and drove a few blocks to downtown Sebastopol where, witnesses say, there were more than a few people walking around on a Friday night near music venues. He told the dispatcher “so I jumped in the car to drive around and see who was like walking around the neighborhood and I just encountered this guy who’s walking around the neighborhood. He’s on Main Street” (four blocks from the caller’s home). He then described the “guy” as a “young black male”. The caller continued following the youth, offering updates to the dispatcher every minute or so as the youth made his way down Main Street.
The group is approaching City Council with concerns that the person the caller chose to report was black and that the dispatcher did not convey to the responding officer that the caller had not see the youth near the car or witness the youth vandalizing the car. They are concerned that the dispatcher seemed to respond without reservations to the caller who was following the youth and did not ask why the man assumed that the youth’s walking presence in downtown Sebastopol was enough to merit a stop by the police. One critic uses the phrase “walking while black”. Fortunately, the responding officer spent less than 6 minutes with the young man before clearing the call and the group finds the officer’s actions beyond reproach.
“Hidden and institutionalized racism in this society definitely exists and its too easy for many who are not affected by it, to deny it.” one supporter says.
Speakers will ask the council to provide public education about what, if any, measures the city has taken to provide cultural sensitivity training to its police and fire departments. Many Bay Area districts have provided training about the police and mental health interface involving people of color.
Re: My son was racially profiled in Sebastopol on Main St.
If your planning to go tomorrow night (or even if not), I wanted to also share this well written Solon piece on the significance of Trayvon, by the award winning educator Ulli K. Ryder, Ph.D below:
This is a blog: Ulli K. Ryder, Ph.D. is an award-winning educator, consultant, writer, editor and thinker. She facilitates discussions of gender, race, ethnicity, identity formation and media to foster diversity and create open dialogue.
I am a college professor who often teaches about race and ethnicity. Last week one of my classes reached the point in our syllabus where we were to discuss Civil Rights and Black Power. Having taught this before I know it can be tricky. One of the great things is that my students – most of whom are under 21 years old – have so benefitted from the struggles of the 1960s that their lives rarely contain the racial violence of those whom we study. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult to demonstrate the ways racism and racial violence are still prevalent in our society. Trayvon Martin’s murder made this reality horrifyingly clear and made the 1960s seem less distant for my students.
Just a few minutes into my lecture on the Black Panther Party and their fight against police brutality, one student raised her hand and asked, “Why isn’t the man who killed Trayvon in jail?”
The class, made up of students from a variety of ethnic, racial and national backgrounds – but without a single black male – was, as many of us are, horrified by the facts of the case as we know them thus far. Here are the three main points of discussion and what we learned:
1)The comparison with Emmett Till is troubling. While both Till and Martin were young black men killed in southern towns, there are important differences. Till was murdered in 1955 – before the civil rights movement, in a state long-famous for its extreme violence against black people, by white men who assumed he had said or done something to a white woman. Martin was murdered in 2012 – in a nation that claims to be post-racial, by a Hispanic man, while walking home after buying Skittles and a can of iced tea. Emmett Till was murdered during a time and in a place where violence against black males was well-known and expected. Trayvon Martin was murdered in a time and place where many Americans believe that violence against black males has been greatly reduced. Martin’s murder exposes what black parents have known for centuries: young black men are at risk every time they leave the safety of their homes.
Emmett Till is important largely because of his mother’s actions after his murder. Mamie Till Mobley held an open casket funeral so that the world could see what had happened to her child. Her strength helped catalyze the Civil Rights Movement and garnered world-wide attention to the extreme violence of the segregated US south. We can only hope that the murder of Trayvon Martin will inspire such activism and change. On Weekends with Alex Witt, the host asked Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter (D-PA) what the outcome would be if George Zimmerman is not convicted of murder. Mayor Nutter side-stepped the question by pointing out that there are a number of factors, including how the trial is conducted, which may influence the public’s reaction. But the subtext of the question and the answer was clear: if Zimmerman is not convicted of murder, public outrage may explode and we may have a revisiting of the civil unrest (or riots) of 1965 and 1992.
2)So far, the biggest thing to come out of Trayvon Martin’s murder is The Million Hoodie March and pictures of celebrities in hoodie sweatshirts. The sight of so many people in hoodies makes good copy and gives all of us a way to express our horror and sadness. But for many people, wearing a hoodie is synonymous with political activism. It is not. As my classes learn in our discussions of famous activists and political movements, real activism requires real commitment over time. Wearing a hoodie and marching through the streets is a good way to bring attention to the Martin case but we might also feel liberated from the responsibility to pursue further action because we can post pictures of ourselves in hoodies on Facebook and Twitter and feel like we’ve engaged in something lasting and important. This makes activism a personal act which is as dangerous as believing that racism is a personal act. The kind of activism that leads to lasting change requires mass action – over time – by many people and institutions just like racism, in order to survive and thrive, requires the support – over time – of many people and institutions.
Most importantly, Trayvon Martin was not killed because he was wearing a hoodie. He waskilled because he was a young black male and George Zimmerman believed all young black males were dangerous and should be stopped by any means necessary. I understand all the black parents who are confiscating the hoodies from their teenage sons. I understand wanting to believe that if we control what young black males wear they will be safe. But – and this is the most horrible realization – they will not.
3)Which brings me to George Zimmerman. Much has been made about the race and ethnicity of Zimmerman. Two things are readily apparent: 1) most Americans have no idea that Hispanics/Latin@s are an ethnicity and not a race and 2) racism infects all of us – not just white people. As people debate whether Zimmerman is “white” or “Hispanic” we have to remember that Hispanics/Latin@s are an ethnicity, which means they can be of any race. Therefore, Zimmerman can be both white and Hispanic. But this misses the point. Racism, bigotry and discrimination are not illnesses that only infect white people. Anyone has the potential to hate and fear black males enough to kill them. Nearly 400 years of anti-black stereotyping and violence has permeated our society and created the conditions which led to Trayvon Martin’s slaying. As one of my students said “It doesn’t matter if Zimmerman is white. You don’t have to be white to hate black people.”
As I looked out on my students at the end of the class I was struck by the looks on their faces. I am used to my students appearing horrified – this is the usual reaction to discussions of slavery or early 20th century lynching. But on this day my students did not look horrified. They sat, silently, looking full of despair. Trayvon Martin was only a year or two younger than they are. He looked like their friends, relatives, boyfriends. He – like they – grew up in a post-civil rights world where we are told people are judged on the content of their character not the color of their skin. Trayvon’s murder showed them the brutal, deadly falseness of this assertion.
Update on City Council Meeting and recording of 911 calls.
The Sebastopol City Council Meeting was a week and a half ago. I've busy since then doing video work but wanted to make a few comments about the meeting, the follow-up, and post a new link to a newly edited version of the police recording. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDwzxZzJawY.
At City Council on April 3rd, many police and fire department career-long personnel were honored for their work, including Dennis Colthurst, for receiving the Sonoma County Officer of the Year award. It was an opportunity to take a moment to think about the dedication and hard work of public servants.
Almost as in a counter-punch, during public comment, about a dozen or so folks concerned with how the June 17th incident turned out gave 3 minute speaches. These comments can be seen for about a month at: https://ci.sebastopol.ca.us/page/mee...inutes-reports by going to the right of the April 3rd meeting and looking at the end of Video 1 and all of Video 2. (A bit of Sabrina's mother's comments are not there because the camera person had to change the tapes).
Knowing that the council was not free to respond to the comments because of public meeting laws, Sabrina, Akili and supporters asked for a future meeting at which the topic "A Recommendion for Sensitivity Training for Police and Fire Departments in the Areas of Racial and Mental Health Responses" would be on the agenda.
Sabrina has been trying to contact various city council members in order to receive an answer to her question about putting this item on the agenda for a future meeting. So far she has not received a single response. She did, however, receive a response from the local ACLU which indicates an interest in following the situation.
I am not sure what Ernie Carpenter thought he was doing when he got up to speak at public comment. Sabrina and supporters believed he had stepped up to help them make the city aware that they believe that Olembe was racially profiled and followed in an inappropriate manner. Ernie's comments were a regurgitation of complaints (forwarded in writing to me) made by the person (RP) who did the following -- mostly false statements, and appeared very sympathetic to the man (RP) who had chosen Olembe from the downtown pedestrians and followed him. (more about that below).
Personally, I was stunned that Ernie seemed to have lost his prospective. And, further stunned when he sat down and looked at the group of supporters and asked why he didn't receive an applause after his comments as the previous speakers had. I was not amused when Ernie joined the group of supporters in the hallway afterward as they reviewed the meeting and didn't apologize for not supporting them. He actually told Sabrina that it didn't matter that he had incorrectly told the city council that there was a photograph published on WACCO with a map and arrow pointing toward the caller's (RP) house. The photograph was actually in a video which had a Google Map with that pesty icon pointing into the street nearby. The link has been removed by WACCO.
If you would like to help Sabrina, especially if you live in Sebastopol, please contact your city council members and ask them to put this item on the agenda. Ask them to return calls to Sabrina.
Now, about the RP (reporting party). The behavior of this man, after finding out that his police recording was public was a bit bullyish. (IMO) I'm not sure he is aware that what you say to a police dispatcher is public information and any one of us could go to the police station with a FOIA request and receive his personal information. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he did not know this. However, he made allegations that WACCO postings contained hate language against him and that I had intentionally pointed people to his house in order to endanger him and his family.
There is no apology from RP for having disrupted an innocent man's peace and quiet last June. Having a police car drive up and an officer stop you for questions is disconcerting, as I'm certain the RP knows. It's not an event you easily forget. And, I reviewed the tapes of the Trayvon Martin case, I question the legality of a man following a young male for any reason.
The RP's focus has been about his own fears, which seem inflated to me, given the circumstances. But, his language appears to have impressed Barry (who removed my link to the video) and Ernie (who plead his case to city council) and to the internet host I use for my television shows, VIMEO, which removed my video based on RP's word's alone. I've asked them to review it for hate language or arrows pointing to his house and am still waiting for VIMEO to respond.
The RP's tactics against my use of the video to explain the story were bullying tactics and confirm my suspicions about his actions the night of June 17th.
I've created a new video. This one has my commentary. It doesn't identify RP but puts into prospective the denials of the city manager, Griffin, about whether following and racial profiling occurred. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDwzxZzJawY.
I believe we must advocate locally to stop racial profiling and this is one opportunity for Waccoons to participate.
Peggy Day
Re: Update on City Council Meeting and recording of 911 calls.
Thanks for the update and the YouTube link.
It seems to me from the audio; to say for certain, beyond a shadow of doubt, that "racial profiling" ‘harassment’ the African-American youth experienced was solely due to "racial profiling" solely by itself is not determinable.
:2cents:IMHO, probably not totally "racial profiling" but in part, I think: Yes, is probable there was some level of "racial profiling" involved. Also, insensitivity on the part of Police Dispatcher to that issue.
However, the likelihood of "racial profiling" being by the CP (Calling Party) should have been noticed by the Sebastopol police dispatcher; at least if the dispatcher had received and passed a reasonably done sensitivity, racial, and mental health awareness training.
In this case, I think, because there was no imminent threat to life, health, or property that the Sebastopol police dispatcher (one possible exception being: if there was another more urgent call the dispatcher had to deal with at the time) should have asked the CP more questions so the responding police officer would have more information to go on because at that point it was obvious that the CP’s side of the story was being told from a prejudicial standpoint (not necessarily racially prejudiced; but there is probable cause to believe that the possibility of racial prejudice existed, but, I stress only the possibility).
:dunno:I don't know how many police cruisers Sebastopol PD had in service at that time of night or how many were immediately available on that particular night for that specific location, but my experience in other counties has been that two police cruisers (sometimes officers on foot or bicycles too) would usually come; at least one would meet with the CP in person and the other one or more would check out the person/s of interest.
My understanding is that the reason for doing it that way is because sometimes the CP is actually a perpetrator of mischief themselves because they actually want somebody to be harassed, pay the "price" for whatever, or to divert police to somewhere else (other than where they are at a particular time) in the first place.
:2cents:In my humble opinion, I believe that the caller was in a state of hyper-vigilance :littlemarch: and that in itself, (hyper-vigilance) could be considered a mental health issue, which with the proper sensitivity training of officers and the dispatcher/s, as well; so... ...if available; dispatching two patrol cars in the manner I mentioned above would in cases like this be prudent and should be more routine because there is the potential of the so-called CP (for example, in cases like this) to go too far towards taking the law into their hands and becoming unnecessarily violent and endanger themselves, the so-called POI and the public at large.
Was the CP armed with a fire arm when in 'pursuit' of the POI?... ...Did the Sebastopol Police check for that?... ...Should have they?:hmmm:
As far as I can tell; the Sebastopol police officer/s did not overreact when they questioned the person of interest; however; I think that the Sebastopol police policy in matters like what we are referring to here; specifically, when the CP has obviously taken action to go beyond the bounds of their own domicile and actually number one: seek, and then, number two: follow somebody in public.
The CP in this case at that point did to some extent (albeit not 100% but still, to some extent) took the law into their (his) own hands even though at that point as far as I can tell after he for reason I can only assume is that a person of interest happened to be the closest person CP was able to spot from where he claims the incident occurred.
Police officers are all too aware of the likelihood of mistaken identity in cases like this. That is why I believe that, if not a second patrol car, that at least one of the police officers probably should have personally questioned the CP simultaneously as the person of interest so they can have a clearer picture of exactly what was going on; (or at least immediately after determining the POI was no danger to police, self, or public at large.).
That being said, I don't think that the Sebastopol Police on patrol that night could have not checked-out the POI without the dispatcher's being more assertive with the CP regarding the exact reasoning for the CP following the so-called "POI" in the first place.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by daynurse:
I believe we must advocate locally to stop racial profiling and this is one opportunity for Waccoons to participate.
Peggy Day
As far as the advocacy of preventing, stopping, ending, " racial profiling" goes, I think a good start would be requiring all police personnel to go through and pass special psychology courses that are fine-tuned for police that have separate sections (which all of must be passed) like understanding Mental health and also racial issues that will be encountered in the course of their professional police career so they are better prepared to cope with them when they occur.
Re: Update on City Council Meeting and recording of 911 calls.
the sebastopol pd have more resources than one would think for a small town. there could have been four cars active at the time this young dark skinned man was stopped because of a citizen call. the responding officer was probably a reserve officer, an unpaid volunteer who, after going through training, was looking to gain experience and contacts by rolling for the spd.
the point is the spd is a place where the future culture of law enforcement is trained. will chief weaver choose the opportunity created by his hard work, this incedent, and sebastopol itself to evolve the culture of law enforcement in the us? will he choose to listen to the citizens who come to him to question the actions of his department, or continue to put up a wall of blue words (with the aid of local politicians eager to stay on his good side :.()?
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Hotspring 44:
Thanks for the update and the YouTube link.
It seems to me from the audio; to say for certain, beyond a shadow of doubt, that "racial profiling" ‘harassment’ the African-American youth experienced was solely due to "racial profiling" solely by itself is not determinable.
:2cents:IMHO, probably not totally "racial profiling" but in part, I think: Yes, is probable there was some level of "racial profiling" involved. Also, insensitivity on the part of Police Dispatcher to that issue.
However, the likelihood of "racial profiling" being by the CP (Calling Party) should have been noticed by the Sebastopol police dispatcher; at least if the dispatcher had received and passed a reasonably done sensitivity, racial, and mental health awareness training.
In this case, I think, because there was no imminent threat to life, health, or property that the Sebastopol police dispatcher (one possible exception being: if there was another more urgent call the dispatcher had to deal with at the time) should have asked the CP more questions so the responding police officer would have more information to go on because at that point it was obvious that the CP’s side of the story was being told from a prejudicial standpoint (not necessarily racially prejudiced; but there is probable cause to believe that the possibility of racial prejudice existed, but, I stress only the possibility).
:dunno:I don't know how many police cruisers Sebastopol PD had in service at that time of night or how many were immediately available on that particular night for that specific location, but my experience in other counties has been that two police cruisers (sometimes officers on foot or bicycles too) would usually come; at least one would meet with the CP in person and the other one or more would check out the person/s of interest.
My understanding is that the reason for doing it that way is because sometimes the CP is actually a perpetrator of mischief themselves because they actually want somebody to be harassed, pay the "price" for whatever, or to divert police to somewhere else (other than where they are at a particular time) in the first place.
:2cents:In my humble opinion, I believe that the caller was in a state of hyper-vigilance :littlemarch: and that in itself, (hyper-vigilance) could be considered a mental health issue, which with the proper sensitivity training of officers and the dispatcher/s, as well; so... ...if available; dispatching two patrol cars in the manner I mentioned above would in cases like this be prudent and should be more routine because there is the potential of the so-called CP (for example, in cases like this) to go too far towards taking the law into their hands and becoming unnecessarily violent and endanger themselves, the so-called POI and the public at large.
Was the CP armed with a fire arm when in 'pursuit' of the POI?... ...Did the Sebastopol Police check for that?... ...Should have they?:hmmm:
As far as I can tell; the Sebastopol police officer/s did not overreact when they questioned the person of interest; however; I think that the Sebastopol police policy in matters like what we are referring to here; specifically, when the CP has obviously taken action to go beyond the bounds of their own domicile and actually number one: seek, and then, number two: follow somebody in public.
The CP in this case at that point did to some extent (albeit not 100% but still, to some extent) took the law into their (his) own hands even though at that point as far as I can tell after he for reason I can only assume is that a person of interest happened to be the closest person CP was able to spot from where he claims the incident occurred.
Police officers are all too aware of the likelihood of mistaken identity in cases like this. That is why I believe that, if not a second patrol car, that at least one of the police officers probably should have personally questioned the CP simultaneously as the person of interest so they can have a clearer picture of exactly what was going on; (or at least immediately after determining the POI was no danger to police, self, or public at large.).
That being said, I don't think that the Sebastopol Police on patrol that night could have not checked-out the POI without the dispatcher's being more assertive with the CP regarding the exact reasoning for the CP following the so-called "POI" in the first place.
As far as the advocacy of preventing, stopping, ending, " racial profiling" goes, I think a good start would be requiring all police personnel to go through and pass special psychology courses that are fine-tuned for police that have separate sections (which all of must be passed) like understanding Mental health and also racial issues that will be encountered in the course of their professional police career so they are better prepared to cope with them when they occur.
Re: My son was racially profiled in Sebastopol on Main St.
Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000105 EndHTML:0000003957 StartFragment:0000002140 EndFragment:0000003921 The Calling Party and the Dispatcher are the ones at fault. The Calling Party made it clear that he had seen no person near his house. The Calling Party made it clear that he randomly selected a suspect by simply noticing them on the street some distance from his home and hours after his property had been vandalized. Any dispatcher with the brains of an ice cube should have realized this was a situation where the Calling Party should be questioned and that there was no reason to bother an apparently innocent civilian going about his own business on Main Street. Although the responding officer is obviously not responsible for this mistake, the Sebastopol Police Department is at fault. Their Dispatcher caused the harassment of a private citizen. American law has a way to deal with this sort of situation. Maybe a Small Claims suit could be filed against the Calling Party. This wouldn’t be a common way to go about it, but it would be cheap. Or legal action could be take against the Sebastopol Police Department, hopefully with the aid of the ACLU. Or, all interested parties could chip in funds to initiate a lawsuit. Defend your rights and the rights of others in your country!
Re: My son was racially profiled in Sebastopol on Main St.
Peggy, thank you so much for re-creating posting the video again from the Sebastopol Police Dept. https://www.youtube.com/?v=tDwzxZzJawY If anyone would like to see the video of the presentations / requests we made to City council on April 3, please go here, it's on the end of video 1 and the beginning of video 2. I was very pleased w/ the number of people who came forward to speak to the council; it's been a week since I emailed each of the city council members, and have still not heard a word back from any of them, however I have heard from the local branch of the ACLU who wants to stay apprised of my communications and developments here, and agree that training should take place.
There is a Bill before Congress, H.R. 3618: End Racial Profiling Act of 2011, which we should all get behind, then the training would be mandated across the country, if passed.
I am a little disappointed with the lack of interest here on wacco, compared with when I first posted this last summer, and it kind of got hacked down at that time by some skeptics as to whether racial profiling existed, etc. Now, after there has been so much publicity around the country regarding the problems w/ fowl play callers getting someone killed by cops (Kendrec McDade), and also the mental health of "callers" who have killed ( such as Trayvon Martin) , other people of color coming forward with their stories (here's a recent story in Ukiah Daily Journal), and many other stories of recent racial prejudice and killings by cops (the old man, Kenneth Chamberlain Sr, who's medical devise went off, and the young woman, Rekia Boyd killed for no reason) I would hope that there would be more concern for preventing racial profiling in Sebastopol.
There really should be racial / cultural and mental health sensitivity training for the Police AND dispatchers. This would be the starting point for other towns in the state, spreading through the country as a roll model. Why not?
I would like to share my 3 min. speech to the council (that I wrote and timed). I resent this via email to each of the council members, getting no response. If you agree, contact them as well. Here goes:
Is there actual racial, cultural sensitivity training for law enforcement in Sebastopol? The training should be a requirement for all officers AND dispatchers.
I am the mother of the young black man who was followed by a reporting caller to police dispatch last June 17, after he found him walking on Main St. You all should have received copies of dispatch transcripts by now.
The dispatcher makes it sound like my son was seen right outside the man’s home, vs. being found blocks away on a busy Friday night on Main St. (Clearly not the only person on the street with both Hopmonk and Aubergine in the same vicinity)
I believe that when she heard the words “young black male” she unconsciously stereotyped and assumed that the caller was correct in targeting my son, sending an officer quickly.
According to the ACLU, Racial profiling is the practice of using a person's race, color, ethnicity or national origin to determine whether to stop, search or investigate him or her for alleged criminal activity.
Studies show that unconscious racial profiling goes on every day across institutions in the US. We don’t want it here in Sebastopol.
Though the officer was respectful, it terrified me to have my son stopped for no reason at night on Main St. I posted my concern to the waccobb.net bulletin board where it received over 6000 views. Eventually I had a meeting with chief weaver; the meeting included family & friends, and members of NAACP and Police Accountability Clinic.
I feel we were met with a denial that is common with police depts. across the US when addressed w/ racial profiling. We were not happy with this outcome, but gave it a rest due to other obligations, and the fact that our boy had not been harmed.
But last month, after reviewing the Trayvon Martin dispatch tape, it was so chillingly similar to ours, with a man on a call seemingly stalking my boy, that I realized I must act NOW, and why I’m here tonight! Thankfully we DID NOT have the same FATAL result as Trayvon Martin.
What was missing that night, AND in our meeting with the chief, was accountability for the PROTOCOL on the part of the dispatcher and the department that reflects racial / cultural sensitivity / awareness. Had there been training, I believe the dispatcher would have asked the man to return to the site of the sound outside his home since he had not actually seen anyone nearby, and an officer would have been sent there to investigate.
The way to stop unnecessary deaths like Trayvon Martins, Jeremiah Chass, and others, is through prevention, such as cultural sensitivity training. We could be a leading example that spreads through the county, the state, the country, and beyond.
When H.R. 3618, the End Racial Profiling Act of 2011 passes, racial profiling training would be mandated, so lets support it. This should be a priority alongside mental health and domestic violence sensitivity.
There is no peace without justice. World peace begins at home. Let’s get this on a future council agenda, please!
Re: My son was racially profiled in Sebastopol on Main St.
i for one have had a long history of unpleasant, uncalled for run-ins with the sebastopol law enforcement and their interpretation of their duties.
my name is andy and i'm 27 years old.
in particular, i have had bad experiences with one member specifically- officer david ginn. i've been a sonoma county native for longer than ginn has been a member of sebastopol PD, and i remember quite clearly the first time he felt the need to introduce himself.
i was walking into safeway one friday evening to pick up some snacks and beer before heading out to the river area for the night when i noticed a cruiser driving on main street. i payed it no mind and proceeded to go about my business, although i noted that the car had doubled back and pulled into the parking lot. i was in line at the checkout by the time officer ginn caught up to me- he called out to me, but was addressing me with a name i didn't recognize, so i didn't realize at first. i was paying for my groceries when he tapped me on the shoulder and repeated himself again. this time i knew he was referring to me even if he had the name 100% inaccurate...
i looked over my shoulder and said, "i'm sorry, can i help you?"
he replied by repeating the name i didn't recognize... "that's your name, isn't it?"
"no" i answered simply.
"oh," he said. "....so, what's your name?"
"not that." i answered with a smile and turned back to the cashier.
"oh," he said, in a tone i believe to be sarcasm. "well then, let me just see your ID."
...at this point i might like to interject that i had just recently bleached my hair and cut a mohawk. i was wearing a silver hoodie and an orange t-shirt. sebastopol always struck me as a place where one was free to express one's self.
feeling no need to be deceptive, i sighed and produced my identification, although i was within my legal right to walk away. since then i've run across officer david more times than i care to count.
i was curious to hear about similar experiences from the wakko community regarding unacceptable police behavior in sebastopol, and especially about officer david. i have a few more to share later, including the latest drama between he and i which has unfolded in the last few months.
on a last note for now i would like to invite the viewers of this post to link over to the official sebastopol police department's website HERE https://www.sebpd.com/
in case you're under the illusion that the local law enforcement are polished professionals, just go on a quick site tour. believe me, it'll be quick.
Re: My son was racially profiled in Sebastopol on Main St.
I have it upon close and personal authority, that the SPD have referred to themselves as, "May Berry RFD", because basically, they have nothing to do. This happened during one of their, Ride-Along's.
Thanks for your testimony.
Re: My son was racially profiled in Sebastopol on Main St.
when i rode along with the sebastopol pd, the mayberry rfd reference was about how other law enforcement agencies view the spd. they probably get teased this way because the amount and intensity of crime is low in west county and sebastopol in particular, mostly because of economic segregation. police officers, who place a lot of value on competency, are proud of dealing with "bad" people.
the spd take the teasing and are proud to police a little differently than other agencies. i think it is worthwhile to ask for even more difference toward community justice. there is a lot of possibility here.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by "Mad" Miles:
I have it upon close and personal authority, that the SPD have referred to themselves as, "May Berry RFD", because basically, they have nothing to do. This happened during one of their, Ride-Along's.
Thanks for your testimony.
Re: My son was racially profiled in Sebastopol on Main St.
I had been wanting to add something to this thread for days but have been super busy w/ work etc., but I don't want this to be left to the way side, like so many would probably love to see it just swept under the carpet and forgotten. First off I wanted to let people know that as of this day I've STILL not heard back from any of the Sebastopol City Council member's (I'd emailed each, and left a voice message for one) regarding a discussion about the police and Dispatch receiving racial / cultural sensitivity training, or to at least get it on the agenda. My feeling is that they truly believe that their police Dept. can do no wrong and that racism / racial profiling does not, could not possibly exist in the town of Sebastopol. Listen to dispatch tape at this link: They are also clearly in denial that the "caller" was following my son, based on the statement that City manager Jack Griffin made to Peggy Day, even though it is clear from the dispatch tape that the man was following my son.
Last week I went to a meeting in Santa Rosa that I was invited to by a group called CORE. CORE stands for Community Outreach for Racial Equality. It is a diverse group made up of people from different cities around Sonoma Co and of diverse Cultural / ethnic backgrounds. They are dedicated to creating opportunities for conversations about race and culture in our community. They host monthly discussions on race and culture with different topics, speakers, and films and pick different discussion topics such as addressing racial bullying in schools, microaggression, white privilege awareness, etc. The subject of my son being racially profiled in sebastopol had come to their attention and they too feel there is a need for the training of law enforcement. For anyone who may be interested in attending one of their meetings you can email Kristy Boblitt at [email protected].
I wish I had more money at my finger tips, with plenty of time on my hands so that I could take a bigger leadership roll in all of this - and it's a sad state for everyone; as folks are obviously so busy that this stuff is just not that important to them. I know the feeling, we cannot take on every cause; I guess this one just stands out to me as I've got children and now a grandchild who are brown skinned. There was supposed to be a Trayvon Martin memorial gathering this weekend that was cancelled due to the person organizing it not wanting to rock the boat w/ Santa Rosa City officials that had reservations about it. I certainly did not have time to step in and take over the organizing.
I'll end on another awareness making note; in case you've not heard, George Zimmerman, Trayvon's murderer, has been let out of Jail on a $150,000 bail, most likely funds raised from his now closed down fundraising website. He is expected to remain in hiding in an undisclosed location until the trial begins sometime next year.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by rossmen:
when i rode along with the sebastopol pd, the mayberry rfd reference was about how other law enforcement agencies view the spd. they probably get teased this way because the amount and intensity of crime is low in west county and sebastopol in particular, mostly because of economic segregation. police officers, who place a lot of value on competency, are proud of dealing with "bad" people.
the spd take the teasing and are proud to police a little differently than other agencies. i think it is worthwhile to ask for even more difference toward community justice. there is a lot of possibility here.
