Police

Bay Area activists join in anger over Anaheim police shootings

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Last weekend in Anaheim, police shot and killed two young men. Every day since, protesters have taken to the streets. This weekend, a national day of protest following the killings helped spread the call for justice in Anaheim spread to the Bay Area. Read more »

Trust the police?

Relations between the cops and certain communities have been strained over the last year

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yael@sfbg.com

On July 16, 2011, Kenneth Harding Jr. lay bleeding on the ground. He was surrounded by San Francisco Police officers, who were in turn surrounded by neighbors and community members. The minutes ticked by and no ambulance arrived. After 28 minutes, Harding was dead at 19. The official story: after being stopped in a Muni fare check, Harding ran from police, drew a gun, and shot himself.Read more »

Stop 'stop and frisk'

Mayor Lee's new policy smacks of Arizona

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EDITORIAL If the San Francisco Police Department put up checkpoints and metal detectors all along lower Market Street and stopped and searched every person who walked by, they'd find some contraband. No question — a certain percentage of people on the city's main downtown artery are carrying drugs or weapons. Some have warrants out. There would be multiple arrests and criminals taken off the streets.

And it's hard to imagine that anyone would consider that a good idea.Read more »

Ed Lee gets frisky

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I knew Mayor Ed Lee was going to be more friendly to developers that I would have liked, and I knew he'd be a tough sell on new taxes, but I didn't expect to see him talking about a program that has racial profiling and civil liberties issues written all over it.Read more »

Fly Benzo sentenced to three years probation

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Debray Carpenter, aka Fly Benzo, was sentenced in court April 27. He received three years of probation with a long list of conditions.

Benzo, student at City College, was arrested at an Oct. 18 rally in Mendell Plaza. During that incident, police officers John Norment and Joshua Fry of the Bayview precinct apparently unplugged a boombox that they said was not authorized in a street outlet. Then, when officers began videotaping Benzo, he took out his camera phone and began videotaping them as well. He was convicted of misdemeanor assault of a police officer and misdemeanor resisting arrest by Judge Jerome Benson on Feb 22.

Read more »

Oakland police keep track of "anarchists"

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Oakland Police Department's internal communications about the Occupy Oakland movement, which the Guardian obtained through the California Public Records Act, reveal interesting patterns of what officers deem important to note about protesters.Read more »

OPD spies on and beats protesters

Public records show monitoring, use of force

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yael@sfbg.com

This article has been updated

Oakland Police Department's internal communications about the Occupy Oakland movement — which the Guardian obtained through the California Public Records Act — confirm what many protesters already know: plainclothes officers frequent meetings, police monitor Occupy Oakland's online communications, anarchists are feared, and police use of force that injures protesters, often brutally, is common practice.Read more »

Bayview man who filmed cops convicted

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In a case that has gained notoriety in San Francsico, Debray Carpenter, also known as Fly Benzo, was convicted Feb. 22 of two misdemeanors.

Benzo was filming the police with his cell phone camera at the time of his arrest. Videos of his arrest are available online.

Video evidenceRead more »

Hearing today on bizarre Occupy Oakland stay-away order case

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The first Occupy Oakland protester to allegedly be in violation of a stay-away order has a hearing today.

Joseph Briones, 30, was arrested along with 408 others at an Occupy Oakland protest Jan. 28. He is one of 12 who were apparently issued the restraining orders, and is therefore barred from being within 300 yards of Oakland City Hall, potentially for the next three years, according to Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Teresa Drenick. Read more »

Local control of cops

Legislation seeks to prevent SFPD from working with the FBI to spy on lawful citizens

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news@sfbg.com

Sup. Jane Kim has introduced legislation to the Board of Supervisors calling for a re-examination of the San Francisco Police Department's participation in some aspects of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, which was created by the Federal Bureau of Investigations to do domestic surveillance.Read more »