On March 5th, 2013, the Justice 4 Alan Blueford Coalition (JAB) rallied at the Alameda County Courthouse, calling on California Attorney General Kamala Harris to do Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley’s work for her and indict and prosecute Miguel Masso, the OPD officer who killed Alan Blueford.
On March 28th, 2013, JAB was reliably informed that Miguel Masso was once again working for the Oakland Police out of the Eastmont Mall Station.
On April 3rd, 2013, Frenswa Raynor, 16 years old, was shot by an OPD officer. It was only luck that he was not killed.
Nicole Deane, a J4AB Coalition member, produced this video of the March 5th rally, speaking to these issues.
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How Do You Hold a Police Officer Accountable? from Nicole Deane on Vimeo
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On April 10th, 2013, the J4AB Coalition released this statement:
Family and Supporters of Alan Blueford to Discuss Reinstatement of Miguel Masso and Recent Police Shootings at Community BBQ.
Frenswa Raynor, a 16 year old Oaklander, came within millimeters of losing his life on April 3rd, 2013, as an Oakland Police Officer fired a shot at his head, grazing his jaw.
The Justice 4 Alan Blueford (J4AB) Coalition denounces this latest example of OPD’s violence.
Almost a year ago another young man was shot – and killed – by the Oakland Police. His name is Alan Blueford. We have from reliable sources that the officer who did this, Miguel Masso, is now back on the streets of East Oakland, working out of the Eastmont Mall station. This, and the attack on Mr. Raynor, are both an outrage and a slap in the face to the community.
The near-murder of Frenswa Raynor is confirmation that J4AB’s struggle is the community’s struggle. We will not stop until the police stop terrorizing and killing young men of color in our community and around the country.
Raynor and two companions had been stopped by OPD for questioning related to a robbery some minutes earlier. However the youths had nothing to do with the incident and had nothing in common with the alleged perpetrators of the robbery except the color of their skin (the alleged robbers were said to be 22-26 years old, Fresnwa’s companions, 15 & 16). None of the young men had weapons, and it is still not clear why the OPD officers who approached them thought it appropriate to pull out their weapons and fire.
It is almost impossible to believe that had OPD officers approached three young white teenagers in similar circumstances, one of those teens would have ended up nearly losing his life to a police bullet.
This can only be viewed as yet another example of OPD’s inability to control its officers’ use-of-force and OPD’s inability to prevent racial profiling, two of the very things that led ten years ago to the Negotiated Settlement Agreement. Just months ago, AFTER TEN YEARS OF NON-COMPLIANCE, Judge Henderson imposed a “Compliance Director” on Oakland’s police force in a last-ditch attempt to ensure that events like this would no longer happen – but the newly appointed Director has done nothing so far to curb OPD’s illegal practices and trigger-happy officers.
The Justice 4 Alan Blueford Coalition is holding a free Community BBQ, with speakers, art, music and rage against the shooting of Frenswa Raynor and the reinstatement of Miguel Masso. It will be held April 13th at 1:00 PM at Arroyo Park in East Oakland. Please join us!
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Also check out this essay/interview about what went down at the March 16th rally: Am I Being Arrested? Please Stop Hurting Me! A Story of Civil Disobedience..
@Alan Kurtz.
Not currently. There was this petition:
https://www.change.org/petitions/justice4alanblueford
but it’s closed.
We do have printed petitions sometimes at our events, though I don’t think they have been
updated to incorporate the Kamala Harris demand.
Thanks to the Labor Solidarity Committee for correcting me. My understanding was indeed mistaken. Under the circumstances, then, it would be a good thing for the AG to look into the Blueford case. As a California resident, I’d sign a petition to that effect. Is there one online?
@Alan Kurtz
Whenever in the opinion of the
Attorney General any law of the State is not being adequately
enforced in any county, it shall be the duty of the Attorney General
to prosecute any violations of law of which the superior court shall
have jurisdiction, and in such cases the Attorney General shall have
all the powers of a district attorney.
— California Constitution
In the first paragraph, this post reports that the Justice 4 Alan Blueford Coalition has called on California Attorney General Kamala Harris “to do Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley’s work for her and indict and prosecute Miguel Masso.”
However, as I understand it, the Attorney General has no legal authority under the state constitution to indict and prosecute anyone. That is simply not what the AG does.
Please, can you clarify what JAB is calling for AG Kamala Harris to do in this case?