tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2546950008014232634.post5999822852469036303..comments2009-11-06T18:17:09.088-08:00Comments on Injustice In Seattle: Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 01-24-09Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2546950008014232634.post-30510296720962607662009-01-27T20:32:00.000-08:002009-01-27T20:32:00.000-08:00I think the Oakland Police Department chief just q...I think the Oakland Police Department chief just quit today. <BR/><BR/>Not difficult to get feds to investigate. Difficult to keep them investigating a case. <BR/><BR/>Tony West? Yeeesh. <BR/><BR/>He worked for the state AG then Morrison& Forrester. I read one of his bios and he claimed that he "worked with citizens and community organizations" to arrive at the state consent decree. Huh?<BR/><BR/>No one from the state AG's office even talked to anyone outside City Hall or the police department until then AG Bill Lockyer showed up at a city council meeting where the city council was going to vote to settle the consent decree. The U.S. Attorneys and federal DOJ Civil Rights Division did interview citizens for its own investigation which tanked when Bush became president. <BR/><BR/>I met West but during the time period the consent decree was coming to a vote and the team that worked on it from Sacramento and Los Angeles came to Riverside.Five Before Midnighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02177863459050384899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2546950008014232634.post-35510920562749871572009-01-27T19:59:00.000-08:002009-01-27T19:59:00.000-08:00Well, that is a valid point as many federal agenci...Well, that is a valid point as many federal agencies like the FBI have some questionable histories with local law enforcement agencies... another example would be federal authorities working with St.Paul police during the RNC where several reporters were assaulted and detained.<BR/><BR/>However, there is a "color of law abuses" section in the FBI including the FBI's Public Integrity Task Force that did attempt to uncover corruption in the SPD in the early to mid 2000s. They failed in that after an SPD officer discovered he was being watched by running the plates of one of the FBI vehicles and the FBI turned over it's investigation to the SPD, which didn't do much with it. (as shown in the first two "Misconduct News" items on the sidebar.<BR/><BR/>However, sometimes they do ok, such as the recent bust in Chicago where several officers were indicted for trying to help undercover agents smuggle drugs, they shut down a whole department widely known for corruption so bad that even neighboring departments refused to work with them.<BR/><BR/>It's a mixed record, as even the US DOJ Civil Rights Division has a mixed record with investigating and prosecuting cases of misconduct.<BR/><BR/>Like I always say, it's a long uphill battle for us who try to convince people that we need true accountability and transparency reforms... and while at times it feels like there's no progress, without people like you who try to change things, there never would be a chance for progress.<BR/><BR/>Thank you for the comment, and thanks for all the work you do, it's appreciated!NPMSRPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18052178969107494589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2546950008014232634.post-83039810913778947482009-01-27T06:58:00.000-08:002009-01-27T06:58:00.000-08:00The story about the Oakland IA captain is interest...The story about the Oakland IA captain is interesting. You say the FBI is investigating high profile police misconduct cases, do you have more articles about that? It's funny because historically the FBI has collaborated with local police departments (well, I guess it's the other way around really) to repress political agitators and to cover up assassinations. The biggest examples of this are during COINTELPRO against the Black Panthers and other Black Nationalist groups in the Bay Area and other parts of LA in the 70s.akahnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14502801001540923600noreply@blogger.com