Riot prep in Oakland...

[maillotpois]

Why did I come to work today? There are helicopters all over. Below my office window there are rows of Oakland PD cars in the street, lines of cops in riot gear. The streets outside my office are clearly closed.

Holy cr@p.

[Smilie]

What is happening that there needs to be riot control?

[maillotpois]

Continuation of last night's riots regarding the BART police shooting:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/us...land.html?_r=1

[Veronica]

Is it a pretend riot so they can practice?

Nevermind... I ignore news.

Veronica

[spokewench]

There was a protest last night in the streets of Oakland and at the BART stations because a young black man was killed by a BART policeman (I think it was New Years). The story is that the black man was laying on the ground when the officer shot him.

Part of the crowd got rowdy and lit a dumpster on fire and tried to overturn a police car. I'm not sure what is going on this morning.

spoke

[maillotpois]

Oh now I get it - my office is across the street from BART headquarters - and there's a BART board meeting today. I did not know that.

[Zen]

I saw that video, that was outrageous.

[PamNY]

Good luck and stay safe. I wandered into an urban riot some years ago and it was not fun.

Pam

[OakLeaf]

Be safe MP.

[Smilie]

That is scary. I too, do not watch the news. Please be safe. I am glad I live in the middle of nowhere.

[smilingcat]

Oh this is so awful. To shoot a young man in his back.

Sounds like there was a second officer at the time of shooting and the young man was already on the ground face down. Seems so senseless, and so senseless with the rioting.

Whatever happened to non-violent civil disobedience. Like holding a massive candle lit vigil.

So chicken ^&% of the officer who is not willing to coorperate with the investigation. grrr... No wonder we don't have much faith in some of the officers.

Don't they have psychological screening to see if a candidate is suitable to be a cop? The ones I know are so flat lined that you can't get them rilled up by screaming or saying nasty things to them. They just laugh it off. They tell me that if you can't shrug it off, you shouldn't be a cop. They have my highest regards for the self control and for their discipline.

Sarah, please please be careful.

smilingcat

[Biciclista]

Don't they have psychological screening to see if a candidate is suitable to be a cop? The ones I know are so flat lined that you can't get them rilled up by screaming or saying nasty things to them. They just laugh it off. They tell me that if you can't shrug it off, you shouldn't be a cop. They have my highest regards for the self control and for their discipline.


smilingcat

yes, they do. a cousin of mine (who later committed suicide) wanted to be a cop in the worst way. he applied to several police departments who all turned him down after probation. Apparently he LOVED the power and transformed into a #$#$%^%&# when he was in uniform.

[Grog]

We just watched Crash last weekend. Anyone who hasn't seen that movie should see it fast.

I can understand how angry and frustrated people would somehow feel that sitting and holding a candle does not quite express the anger and frustration they feel... It doesn't excuse anything, but the big picture doesn't look pretty...

[kermit]

There's a process to become a cop, tests, medical and psychological, but once your on the road we call it being "badge heavy". Three months of FTO(field training officer) then you are on your own. I've worked with guys/girls on the road that make a bad situation worse. Noone is happy to see cops show up in the first place, but when you get out screaming at people it just makes the sh** hit the fan. From what I see of the video, uuhhh, I think the officers got a problem. I went to college to go to vet school, oops.

[crazycanuck]

Yikes! Sarah, take care of yourself & ensure you arrive home safely.