Mike Katz Lacabe

Dec 172014
 
Mike Katz-Lacabe speaking with students and community members at his Free Speech Day.

Mike Katz-Lacabe speaking with students and community members at his Free Speech Day.

Update

For an event organized in 3 days, the Free Speech Day was very successful.

The day started with Mike speaking about his work as a human rights activist and then as a privacy rights researcher/activist.

Then SLHS students spoke about their concerns and experiences. One girl asked question of whether Martin Luther King’s dream had come true (it has not), others mentioned their disappointment at how City and School authorities are not transparent about issues that concern students, such as the COPS grant.  One student brought up the fact that they see many more military recruiters than college recruiters at school, which sets out rather low expectations for students.

Throughout the day, there were speeches and one-to-one discussions.  One speaker addressed the issue of neoliberalism, another spoke about pesticides.   A man spoke about his religious experience, another one performed a beautiful, spiritual poem. A Jewish rebbe  spoke about the freedom of speech aspect of the Hannukkah story.

Some speakers spoke about issues related to San Leandro.  Some mentioned their concerns about the growing police power.  Rob Rich spoke about Joey, the young man who was found murdered in front of his home last week, and whom the police groundlessly accused of being a criminal.

Their words were powerful and I look forward to posting the videos.

It was wonderful despite the cold, and we are planning to hold another such Free Speech Day in the spring during a weekend day, to make it more accessible to everyone.

The City of San Leandro has declared December 18th, 2014 to be “Mike Katz-Lacabe day“.  We agree that Mike Katz-Lacabe – not only an outgoing School Board member, but a champion of civil liberties in San Leandro – deserves to be honored.  And what better way to do it than with a Free Speech Fest!

Please join us for an afternoon/evening of, well, speech.  All speech. Any speech.  Your speech. (Can’t come? See below)

Come and tell us:

  • what you think
  • what you want
  • what you hope
  • what you are thankful for
  • what you are fearful
  • a story
  • a poem
  • a song
  • a haiku
  • an anecdote
  • an experience
  • an opinion
  • an idea
  • a recipe
  • a helpful hint
  • your analysis of the current political situation and what can we do to reach the liberty, equality and justice we all deserve.

Tell us with words, with music, with signs.

Tell me, tell a new found friend, tell the police (you know they’ll come by) and/or tell our camera so others can see it later.

But speak. Speak here, in San Leandro, while we still have that right.  They have taken so many other rights away from us, let’s exercise those we have left while we still have them.

This last-minute Free Speech Fest will take place on Thursday, Dec. 18th – Mike Katz-Lacabe’s day – between 3:30 PM and 8:30 PM.  Stop by whenever you can, we can’t promise there will be more than one person there, but that’s all you need to have a conversation.  We know you are busy – yes, there are lots of protests, rallies and meetings to attend, but we really hope to see you here.

As a location, we have decided in the area around the beautiful Holiday tree in the patio between City Hall and the Police Department here in San Leandro.  You can’t miss it, it’s really tall.

Bring your friends, your children, your parents, your neighbors, your students.  Grab your coats and scarfs and Guy Fawkes masks.  Come!


Mike Katz-Lacabe Day Free Speech Fest

Thursday, Dec. 18th, 2014
3:30 – 8:30 PM
Around the Holiday Tree outside San Leandro City Hall

Can’t come? Don’t worry. Just e-mail me a video, or something you want me to read and we’ll make sure to share it during the event.

Dec 112014
 
Officer Luis Torres

Officer Luis Torres answering questions

On Thursday, Dec. 11, the San Leandro Police Department had an hour-long community meeting to address the shooting that took place on Broadmoor Ave.  Mike Katz-Lacabe attended, filmed and tweeted from the meeting.  The SLPD did not call on him, so he was unable to ask any questions.  The following are his tweets, in chronological order followed by the video of the meeting.

The meeting concerns the December 4 shooting in San Leandro’s Broadmoor neighborhood.

In response to a question from the audience, SLPD Officer Robert McManus says Oct. 5 Woodland Ave. officer-involved shooting is not related.

San Leandro police officer had no chance to get out of way of fleeing vehicle. His leg is why there wasn’t more damage to police car.

Injured San Leandro police officer underwent third surgery today. SLPD says that the officer’s prognosis is unknown.

In response to questions, McManus says they will not share where bullets were found nor how many shots were fired because there are ongoing investigations by the Oakland PD and Alameda Co. DA.

McManus says that both officers fired at the suspect, in response to an audience question.

Reports from local residents described multiple shots (at least 5-6) fired during the San Leandro officer-involved shooting.

McManus says that there is no evidence of a bullet crossing Bancroft Avenue and striking a car in 500 block of Broadmoor.

No weapons were found on the suspect arrested at the scene of the San Leandro officer-involved shooting nor the stolen car.

San Leandro Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli says purpose of meeting was to dispel rumors and answer questions, even though they can’t answer some questions.

Chief says this child was making adult decisions and operated the vehicle as a deadly weapon.

One audience member: “I don’t care how many shots were fired at that car…I hoped that she would end up like that other gentleman.”

Speaker  wants police to “work with public works to make that [Oakland] border crossing more difficult.”

Chief says that surveillance & license plate cameras will be used to solve crime in response to speaker about border crossing.

Chief says of suspects: “We feel that they were there for some sort of criminal activity.”

Meeting Video, Part 1

This is a drawing of the scene before the suspect's car moved.  The suspect's car is the one on the street closest to Kensworth.  Two private cars are parked in front of it.  The two cars in the middle of the street are the police cars. The injured officer was standing by the car closest to Bancroft, which was blocking the street at an angle.

This is a drawing of the scene before the suspect’s car moved. The suspect’s car is the one on the street closest to Kensworth. Two private cars are parked in front of it. The two cars in the middle of the street are the police cars. The injured officer was standing by the car closest to Bancroft, which was blocking the street at an angle.

Note: I removed a note I’d made on how the officer was injured, after Tim’s comment which provides more accurate information. I urge you to read Christine and Tim’s comments below for more information on the meeting.

Dec 052014
 

ednotincStudents And Families for Education (SAFE), a newly-formed coalition of San Leandro parents, students and community members, will hold a rally on Tuesday, December 9th at 6pm, outside San Leandro City Hall. The rally will take place before the San Leandro School Board meeting at which the Board will vote on whether to divert hundreds of thousands of dollars from school classrooms towards paying police officers’ salaries. SAFE opposes the use of any school funds to pay for law enforcement. “San Leandro schools have been underfunded for years, class sizes have gone from 20 students to 28, and school counselors have been practically eliminated. The idea that we should be using limited resources to pay for police is simply outrageous” said Cynthia Chandler, a parent and co-founder of SAFE.

Earlier this year, the San Leandro Police Department applied for a $500,000 federal COPS grant to fund four police officers to be placed at San Leandro schools for four years. To the surprise of the community, the San Leandro police department asked the San Leandro Unified School District (SLUSD) to divert $1.7 million from its educational budget to “match” the funds from the grant. After negotiations with the City of San Leandro, the Superintendent brought to the Board a proposal that the City and School District split the cost of the grant, diverting $600,000 per year from the classroom.

“I am outraged that the school district is being asked to help fund police, and outraged that they would even consider providing this funding rather than funding the education of our children.” said Mitch Huitema, co-founder of a San Leandro volunteer-led math and science after school program and member of SAFE. “Members of our community have worked extremely hard to help our school district manage the incredible funding cuts that have occurred in recent years, from holding paper and pencil drives, to using Donors Choose to raise money for things like rugs and overhead projectors, to creating programs to help bolster projects. The school district is still not up to the funding levels it was at 10 years ago and we’re asking much more from our schools than we did then. There are so many ways this money could be used to prevent kids from the risk of getting into trouble in the first place – bringing back reasonable staffing of school counselors and restoring after school programs to the high school are just a few of the more obvious options.”

“I have yet to hear any factual justification for putting more police officers in our schools, much less for paying for more. The School District has no data on the effectiveness of the current school resource officers and research shows that having school officers in schools does not make schools safer,” said Mike Katz-Lacabe, an outgoing School Board trustee and member of SAFE, citing a 2011 study entitled “Police Officers in Schools.”

San Leandro High School currently has two school resource officers paid for by the City. According to Cathy Pickard, a recently-retired resource officer, most of her time was spent counseling students. “There is general agreement in our community that San Leandro students need as much access to qualified counselors, nurses, social workers, and other district staff who can help them with academic problems, the effects of poverty and homelessness, family violence, social pressures, and many other obstacles to their potential for success in school and in life. Despite their good intentions, most police officers do not have the specialized training necessary to properly attend to these needs. School counselors and other staff, moreover, receive much lower pay than sworn officers. Approximately two counselors can be hired, trained, and compensated for the cost of one school resource officer,” said Mark Hamilton, a counselor at Bancroft Middle School and SAFE member.

Washington Elementary student Oscar Ivy asked the San Leandro School Boards to fund school supplies, not cops.

Washington Elementary student Oscar Ivy asked the San Leandro School Boards to fund school supplies, not cops.

“We invite parents, students and community members to join us on Tuesday to let the School Board know that we need to put education ahead of incarceration. We should be striving to educate, not criminalize our youth,” said Chandler.

Anyone opposed to the COPS grant is also encouraged to speak at the School Board meeting, which starts at 7 PM, and/or to e-mail the School Board.

The rally will take place in front of San Leandro City Hall, on Tuesday, December 9th at 6pm.

Note:  Students, Parents and Community Members are welcome to join SAFE. To subscribe to the googlegroup, please send an e-mail to:  sl-safe+subscribe@googlegroups.com

For more information, press inquiries, please contact Cynthia Chandler at  (510) 325-4127 or Mike Katz-Lacabe at 510-207-7165.

 

Oct 312014
 

policestate

 

The positions below are based on candidates’ answers to questionnaires and to questions asked at candidate fora and on other public statements from the candidates.

* While the candidate currently holds that position, s/he might consider voting differently.

? The candidate has not indicated their position on this issue.

 

Mayoral Candidates

 Is in Favor of:  Diana Souza   Pauline Cutter   Dan Dillman   Gregg Daly
(write in) 
 Red Light Cameras   Y  N  N  N
 Surveillance Cameras  Y  Y  N  N
 Long Term Retention & Sharing
of License Plate Reader Data
 Y  Y*  N  N
 SLPD Armored Personnel Carrier  Y  Y*  N  N
 SLPD searching private property
without a warrant
 Y  Y*  N  N
 Ban on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries  Y  N  N  N
 Making School District Pay
for SLPD resource officers
 Y  N  N  N
 Flying the People’s Republic of China’s
Flag Over City Hall
 Y  N  N  N

City Council District 1 Candidates

 In Favor of:  Deborah Cox   David Anderson   Ken Pon   Mike Katz-Lacabe 
 Red Light Cameras   ?  ?  ?  N
 Surveillance Cameras  Y  Y  Y  N
 Long Term Retention & Sharing
of License Plate Reader Data
 ?  ?  ?  N
 SLPD Armored Personnel Carrier  Y  N*  N*  N
 SLPD searching private property
without a warrant
 ?  ?  ?  N
 Ban on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries  Y  N  N  N
 Making School District Pay
for SLPD resource officers
 ?  Y  ?  N
 Flying the People’s Republic of China’s
Flag Over City Hall
 N  N  N*  N
Attends City Council Meetings
& Speaks Out on Issues
 N  N  N  Y/Y

 

City Council District 3 Candidates

 In Favor of:  Lee Thomas   Allen Schoenfeld   Victor Aguilar 
 Red Light Cameras   N  N  N
 Surveillance Cameras  ?  N  N
 Long Term Retention & Sharing
of License Plate Reader Dataa
 ?  N  N
 SLPD Armored Personnel Carrier  Y*  N  N
 SLPD searching private property
without a warrant
 N  ?  N
 Ban on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries  Y  N  N
 Making School District Pay
for SLPD resource officers
 Y  N  N
 Flying the People’s Republic of China’s
Flag Over City Hall
 N  N  N
Attends City Council Meetings
& Speaks Out on Issues
 Y/N  Y/N  N

City Council District 5 Candidates

 In Favor of:  Leah Hall   Corina Lopez   Mia Ousley  
 Red Light Cameras   ?  ?  N
 Surveillance Cameras  ?  N  N
 Long Term Retention & Sharing
of License Plate Reader Data
 ?  ?  N
 SLPD Armored Personnel Carrier  N  Y  N
 SLPD searching private property
without a warrant
 ?  ?  N
 Ban on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries  Y  N  N
 Making School District Pay
for SLPD resource officers
 ?  N  N
 Flying the People’s Republic of China’s
Flag Over City Hall
 N  N  N
Attends City Council Meetings
& Speaks Out on Issues
 N  N  Y/Y
Oct 302014
 

sroThe San Leandro Police Department applied for a $500,000 COPS grant to fund a total of four school resource officers (SRO’s). The SLPD, however, neglected to let the City Council and the School Board know that they would be on the hook for $1.69 million in matching funds. Any money spent on the SROs would have to be diverted from other uses. In the case of the school district, it might mean further cutting educational programs and not being able to restore counselors and nurses.

I contacted candidates for Mayor, City Council and School Board to ascertain how they would vote on this grant.

SCHOOL BOARD

At-Large Seat

Candidates Jeanne Kinkella and Peter Oshinski are both in favor of accepting the COPS grant and having the school district pay the whole $1.69 million.

Candidate Evelyn Gonzalez believes that the the City should continue to pay for the two current SROs, and that the District should not spend money on the officers.

Candidate Monique Tate did not respond to my request for her position on this issue.

Area 4 Seat

Candidate Leo Sheridan said he did not support the District paying the full $1.69 million but he did not specify how it should be split. He does support keeping just two SROs at the district.

Candidates Chike Udemezue and Latrina Dumas did not respond to my request for their positions on this issue.

 MAYOR

Diana Souza favors accepting the grant and splitting he $1.69 million costs between the City and the school district. She did not specify on what ratio. She is endorsed by the Police union.

Dan Dillman opposes the school district accepting the grant, but believes that if it does, it should pay the full amount.

Pauline Cutter supports maintaining the status quo, with the City funding two SROs.  If the School District wants more than two, Cutter believes the District should pay for the additional officers.

Gregg Daly opposes accepting the grant.

CITY COUNCIL

District 1

David Anderson favors accepting the grant and splitting the costs between the City Council and the School District.

Mike Katz-Lacabe opposes accepting the grant and notes that research has found SROs do not make schools safer

Deborah Cox and Ken Pon would not take a public stance on this issue. Cox is endorsed by the Police union.

District 3

Lee Thomas favors accepting the grant and splitting the costs between the City Council and the School District. He is endorsed by the Police union.

Allen Schoenfeld and Victor Aguilar favor maintaining the status quo, with the City continuing to pay for the two existing SROs.

District 5

Corina Lopez believes it’s the responsibility of the City, not the school district, to pay for law enforcement. She did not specify whether the City should continue paying for the two existing SROs or accept the grant and pay the whole $1.69 million to bring them up to four.

Mia Ousley opposes accepting the grant.

Leah Hall would not take a public stance on this issue.