The Advocate

(Photos of SLPD in 2013, courtesy of Urban Shield.) Cops are not supposed to be soldiers. City streets are not a battlefield. Police are not meant to be military occupation. Law enforcement has become increasingly militarized over the years to the point that it is often hard to tell the difference between them. Here in San Leandro, our police department is finally moving to comply with Assembly Bill 481, an act to help change this trend. Accordingly, the city has publicized a list of all the military equipment that SLPD possesses and uses , including chemical agents like tear gas, grenades like flashbangs, and heavily modified AR-15-style assault rifles. The latter are especially troubling because they are owned by individual officers, not the department itself. Indeed, the use of personal non-standard equipment of this nature is troubling, to say the least, given the lack of extensive rationale to justify their use. Notably, command staff asserted that SLPD, purportedly, did not ...

(Credit:  Boise Regional Realtors® ) California’s AB-1466 finally provides a systemic solution to remove racist covenants, conditions, and restrictions from property deeds and it is on Governor Newsom’s desk! Even though these CC&Rs were found to be unconstitutional and unenforceable since 1948, the offensive language persists. Seeing such blatant bigotry in escrow documents is painful, particularly for people of color. While we cannot and should not forget the history of racial exclusion in housing, there is no purpose in keeping this language in people’s property deeds other than causing further harm. It is past time they were removed for good. If you’re wondering about whether all of this is necessary, there are many examples of such covenants on social media local news that highlight exactly why. Here is just one example : "We hear a lot about racially restrictive [covenants] and systemic racism, but have you ever seen an example of it? Well, here’s a snapshot of propert...

A project of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of California. What is a DA?  "District attorneys (DAs) are more than just prosecutors. The district attorney’s job is to seek justice in criminal cases, work to prevent crime, and serve as a leader in the diverse communities they represent. The DA is also an elected official. In California, we have 58 elected DAs each representing one of our 58 counties." What makes a DA so powerful?  "District attorneys in California have tremendous power to impact the lives of millions of people, their families, and entire communities. If someone is accused of committing a crime, it is not the police but the DA who has the sole power to decide if criminal charges are filed and the severity of those charges. They alone decide who is deserving of a jail or prison sentence and who will instead be routed into a diversion program to help rebuild their life, or have charges dismissed." How do DAs serve their community? "DAs a...

As many of you may know, juries are a major part of my current career. So, in honor of this year's Juror Appreciation Week mandated by the California Legislature to celebrate those who serve as jurors, I thought I would share some interesting information about juries here and abroad. The first jury trial in America was held in 1630 in Plymouth. The case was that of John Billington who was accused of murdering fellow Mayflower colonist John Newcomin. The jury found the defendant guilty of "willful murder by plain and notorious evidence," and he was executed by hanging. Governor John Bradford later wrote that the jury had taken "all possible pains in the trial." Eliza Stewart Boyd was the first woman in America ever selected to serve on a jury. In March 1870, her name was drawn from the voters’ roll to serve on the grand jury to be convened later that month. Soon after the grand jury was convened, five other Laramie women made history becoming the first women in t...

In 2005, our city council approved the implementation of a red light camera program over the concerns of residents and local leaders. The rationale seemed beneficial on its face – automated cameras to help catch people running red lights, improve traffic safety, and cut costs related to traffic enforcement. The program has been repeatedly extended, with frequent praise on its effectiveness from SLPD Chief Tudor, Mayor Cutter, and other city officials. The reality has been far different from what we were promised. To start with, San Leandro's red light cameras were installed at intersections with enough vehicle traffic to generate sufficient revenue to pay for their annual cost. They were *not* installed at the intersections that were the most dangerous. In fact, when one red light camera location was found not to generate enough citations, it was removed! This is a common problem with red light camera programs, not just in San Leandro, but across the country. You can watch a short ...