Beloved Community,
Tomorrow Oakland City Council will vote on a resolution Honoring the Life of Alan Dwayne Blueford, who was murdered by Oakland Police Department 12 years ago today on May 6, 2012 at the age of only 18-years-old. His mother, and our sister in struggle, Jeralynn Blueford, is calling on us to show up in support.
We are asking you to show up tomorrow, Tuesday, May 7 at city hall to help this family, forever-impacted by OPD’s terror, continue to fight for Alan and his legacy.
WHAT: Support Oakland Resolution Honoring the Life of Alan Dwayne Blueford
WHERE: In person at City Hall (1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, 3rd Floor, Oakland, CA 94612) or online on Zoom
- All public speakers must submit a speaker card before the meeting. Members of the public must (1) Visit the City Of Oakland meeting calendar webpage (2) Click the hyperlink labeled ‘eComment’ in the far right column of the meeting you wish to participate, (You will be redirected to the specific meeting webpage); and (3) Register to ‘Sign In To Speak’ for agenda item 5.8
- For more instructions, please refer to the meeting agenda
On May 6, 2012, then Oakland Police Department Officer Miguel Masso — a transplant from New York with a history of violence � rollled up in the nighttime hours, in an unmarked car with his lights off, on three young African-American men in deep East Oakland. Alan Blueford, a high school student with a 3.0 GPA, and two friends were walking to the corner store to grab a few snacks while they waited for their ride home. Officer Miguel Masso jumped out of the car, never asking for names or identification. He immediately threw one of the boys down on the curb.
Terrified, the teenagers asked, “What did we do?* Masso grabbed a second youth by the shoulder, pushing him forcefully against the fence and twisted his arm behind his back. Masso kept shouting and roughing them up. None of the children were placed under arrest or read their rights.
Alan started to walk away. Masso vigorously ran toward him. Alan ran, Masso gave chase. According to witness statements, Alan was yelling at the top of his lungs, “I didn’t do anything!” At this point, Masso turned off his lapel camera, chased Alan for five blocks, and shot him in the chest three times, as he lay on his back in the driveway of a residential home.
Masso would later claim to both the police and the press that Alan had shot him in the foot to explain the wound he was discovered to have. This claim proved to be false. A police investigation revealed that Masso had in fact shot himself. However, that initial lie interrupted what would have been swift and immediate outrage from the Oakland community. As a result, Jeralynn and her husband (Alan Sr.), would spend the next few years not only demanding justice for their son, but also trying to clear his soiled name. Meanwhile OPD and its association did everything it could to defend MAsso and cover up the evidence of his vile transgression.
Despite this litany of egregious behavior and attempts at cover up – the Blueford family was awarded one of the smallest settlements in the history of Oakland for the murder and slander of their son. But they have never stopped fighting.
Fighting for Alan and for any family that finds themselves in this exclusive club no one wants to join.
We are asking you to show up tomorrow and help them continue to fight for Alan, his legacy and all those impacted by the violence of the Oakland Police Department and the State. Fight for those who have not yet been impacted but one day may consider it luck to be a “survivor”, like myself. Fight so that this never happens again. Fight for all of our sakes and in the many names of too many ancestors slain by law enforcement in America.
Join us tomorrow to scream “Justice for Alan Blueford”! Let’s get this day passed for Alan, his family and all of us.
In service and solidarity,
Cat Brooks
Anti Police-Terror Project
77811
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