Civil Liberties

City of Oakland Provides Free “Revenge Mail” Service

City of Oakland Provides Free “Revenge Mail” Service Civil Liberties, Community, Police 1 Response »

Sep 202016

The City of Oakland has set up a service to help Bay Area citizens get back at anyone (or at least, any male) whom they feel has done them wrong. All they need to do is complete this form, entering the license plate number of their target’s car and make up a story as to how they were seen soliciting prostitution in some neighborhood known for such. In response, “the Oakland Police Department will send a letter to the registered owner stating that the vehicle has been observed in an area known to have high incidences of sexual exploitation and [Continue Reading]

Photos of San Leandro Undercover Police Officers

Photos of San Leandro Undercover Police Officers Civil Liberties, Police, Schools No Responses »

Dec 222015

These are three of the four undercover officers which a parent recognized at the last San Leandro School Board meetings. Parents and children rallied against a program that will put police officers in the classroom to try to gain the trust of students so that they will snitch on one another. There were about forty parents and children protesting and speaking out against this program, and at least nine San Leandro Police officers, both in uniform and out, assigned to monitor them. As the undercover police officers were not recognized until after the rally, it’s possible that some of them [Continue Reading]

Sad Lessons on Racism, Surveillance and Police Intimidation at School Board Committee Meeting.

Sad Lessons on Racism, Surveillance and Police Intimidation at School Board Committee Meeting. Civil Liberties, Police, Schools No Responses »

Dec 042015

A couple of weeks ago, I got a lesson on how the school-to-prison pipeline works, explained by the two School Resource Officers (SROs) that are assigned to San Leandro schools. Just this week, I had another big lesson on how institutionalized racism and even sexism by School Board members combine with the surveillance state not only to make sure the school to prison pipeline runs as smoothly as possible, but to disempower anyone that would question it. Sounds boring so far? Bear with me, we’ll get to the drama quickly enough. Last Tuesday night the San Leandro School Board curriculum [Continue Reading]

San Leandro Mayor Considers Anti-Tank Protesters to be a Threat

San Leandro Mayor Considers Anti-Tank Protesters to be a Threat City Hall, Civil Liberties, Police, Transparency No Responses »

Feb 022015

Fear is a stone throw away from political repression, literally. Update: The closed session meeting was finally cancelled on the day of the vote, but the City Council chambers were filled with police officers in uniform, in order to intimidate public speakers. Two dozen citizens still spoke out against the tank. Only one San Leandro citizen without business ties to the police department spoke in favor of it. Mayor Pauline Cutter has called for a special closed session meeting of the San Leandro City Council tonight, to take place before the Council votes to acquire a BearCat (Ballistic Engineered Armored [Continue Reading]

Chief Spagnoli’s Attempt to Buy Bearcat is a Slap in the Face of the Memory of Martin Luther King

Chief Spagnoli’s Attempt to Buy Bearcat is a Slap in the Face of the Memory of Martin Luther King Civil Liberties, Police 1 Response »

Jan 242015

The following essay is by San Leandro citizen Tim Holmes San Leandro Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli marched with our San Leandro High School students in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. To claim to honor Dr. King while simultaneously propagandizing the purchase of a Bearcat for local police use (a tank with the lipstick of “medical” slapped on it) is a slap in the face of the memory of a man for whom that tank would represent the very boot of the oppressor. To claim to walk in Dr. King’s honor while sitting at the helm of a rapidly [Continue Reading]

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