While some people are overly invested in the trial of former BART transit cop Johannes Mehserle who was convicted Thursday of involuntary manslaughter for shooting Oscar Grant, life will go on. It seems much of the outrage stems from those who have focused primarily on the race of the cop in question, making Oscar Grant the poster child for racism conspiracy theories.
What most do not realize is there is little “new” about cases such as these. While historically there has been an established pattern of aggression where innocent men were …

If you only got your information about Taser from it’s several Facebook pages or blog, you would think that there was universal enthusiasm for this 50,000 volt forced compliance weapon. The glowing praise expressed in chatty accolades would be appropriate to discussions of the latest iphone iteration or Droid functionality.
Lingering on Taser Facebook pages, you’d think that it wasn’t very often that Taser related deaths related occur. And when they do happen? You could be persuaded that it’s always the fault of some drug addicted or genetically challenged skell whose …

Please join me and dozens of other concerned bloggers, passionate to stop the abuse of Tasers. Already this year, there have been 50 Taser related deaths.

One of my colleagues calls Taser deaths “extrajudicial execution”: judge, jury and executioner all rolled up into a handheld 50,000 volt electric apparatus that’s considered “non-lethal”.
There’s a lot of talk these days about the glory of our American democracy. And its ideals are glorious. But when the pillar of our justice system is cracked the whole damn dream is shaky.
I hope you’ll join us.

Maurice Clemmons, alleged assassin, child rapist and repeatedly convicted felon is still on the loose as of now. Clemmons ambush murder of four police officers starting the day at a coffee shop, is one of those street level crimes that tears at the thin fabric of human decency in which most of us seek comfort. Maurice Clemmons apparently went hunting for police officers to kill. And Clemmons is alleged to have told acquaintances as much. He reportedly said to them, “Watch the the news tomorrow. I’m going to kill some …

By Andrew Padula
I am certain that everyone who has heard of “Gates-gate” already has a fixed opinion of which parties are culpable in the matter. Undoubtedly, these opinions will be based on deeply ingrained personal attitudes and experiences. I am upset with the actions of all parties involved. I am convinced that under the circumstances, as an individual entrusted to protect the public, the officer acted inappropriately. As a wealthy, elitist, race baiting, snot headed, tenured Harvard professor from the school of “ I am smarter than …

I haven’t had anything poetic or particularly insightful to say about the disturbing arrest of esteemed scholar and leading intellectual, Harvard Professor Henry Louis ‘Skip’ Gates. Nothing surprises me anymore. From the moment I heard the story, all I could think of was Joe Horn, the Texas man who shot two burglary suspects in the back, as they ran away from his neighbor’s home with a bag full of their stuff. Mr. Horn told the operator he was going to go out and kill two people and lo and behold …

Following an earlier post about the problem of death-by-taser, some commented that extra-judicial execution was an insignificant issue because there should be more concern about black criminals killing black people than police officers killing black people. I argue that we should be concerned about both. And we need to sound alarms because those who stand on the thin blue line take an oath to protect and serve us; we the people. Officers of the law must be held to the highest standards of protocol and at the very least, officers …

Once again race and blood stained tragedy has visited Oakland, California. This time 4 white police officers were shot down by a convicted black man attempting to evade an arrest warrant issued for parole violation. Three of the police officers Mark Dunakin, 40; Ervin Romans, 43; Dan Saki, 35, are dead. Motorcycle officer John Hege, 41, was declared brain dead Sunday morning and remained on life support to preserve his organs for donation. Lovell Mixon, the killer, was killed in an exchange with SWAT team officers.
When police officers are …

Fellow State of the Black Union 2009 panelist, blogger and new friend Lenny McAllister is hosting a Live Web Chat on AOL Black Voices/Blackspin today and tomorrow.
I encourage – everyone – to hop on over, jump in and get your conversation on.
Live Web Chat on AOL Black Voices/Blackspin
Tavis Smiley’s State of the Black Union 2009 “Accountable – Making America as good as its promise” will be broadcast live on C-Span tomorrow. Our blogger’s panel, I will be one of the moderators, will be streamed Viewable ONLY online …

Political cartoonists inhabit sacred space in a free democracy. Political cartoonists must be free to express themselves without a filter or none of us are. But that carte blanche does not trump my rights, as a reader, to voice my opinion of the perspective that’s presented. I felt the now infamous New Yorker cover was misguided and I think Sean Delonas’ cartoon in today’s edition of the New York Post fails to do anything more than make light of a tragic incident, ignore the history of the NYPD’s involvement in …

According to the Associated Press:
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A white former transit police officer accused of killing an unarmed black man on an Oakland train platform has been arrested in Nevada on a warrant charging homicide, 12 days after the shooting that sparked violent street protests.
Johannes Mehserle, 27, was being held without bail Wednesday under a fugitive warrant issued from California, law enforcement officials said. Mehserle surrendered Tuesday without incident, according to a statement from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office in Nevada.
Messages left late Tuesday and early …

As you may know, Oscar Grant had a criminal record.
Grant also had a criminal record; according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Grant served several months in state prison in 2007 and 2008. The Department of Corrections didn’t disclose the offenses for which Grant was sentenced.
Records at the main Alameda County Courthouse in Oakland indicate that Grant had 12 separate cases between April 12, 2004, and May 8, 2008. But the records for all of those cases are at the Hayward Hall of Justice and weren’t immediately available. …

So, in the wake of the inexcusable killing of Oscar Grant, a small group of people decide to rage around Bay area streets destroying property in hopes of changing…what?
Authorities said 105 people had been arrested in the protest over the fatal New Years Day shooting of Oscar Grant III after a splitter group broke off from the peaceful march and began trashing store fronts, breaking windows, setting fires and damaging at least one patrol car and several other vehicles.
“We live a life of fear and we want them to feel …

Another young, unarmed black man has been shot and killed by a police officer. Early New Year’s Day in Oakland, Oscar Grant, a 22 year old father, held his hands up and pleaded with the arresting officers not to hurt him because he had a daughter. But once he had been wrestled down to the ground, with one officer’s knee in Grant’s neck area, a second officer stepped back, took out his gun and shot Oscar Grant the back. And then Oscar Grant was handcuffed. And then Oscar …

I have read and watched quite a number of stories which detailed how armed and race frightened white people turned on black people during the aftermath of Katrina. At a time when human beings should have been pulling together, some white and other privileged people who could have helped their neighbors instead decided that all black people were criminals, and anyone with black skin in close proximity would be greeted with guns and violence. The latest is the most disturbing. From The Nation – "Katrina’s Hidden Race War" by A.C. …