The Advocate

Credit to the Bay Area News Group and The San Francisco Chronicle . "San Leandro to pay $3.9 million settlement amid claims officers beat, tased mentally disabled man in 2019. The settlement marks at least the sixth time either officer has been sued over their actions as police officers in the East Bay San Leandro is expected to pay $3.9 million to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit claiming the city’s police officers brutally beat a mentally disabled man in 2019, causing his brain to bleed so badly that he suffered repeated strokes. The city’s payout comes nearly five years after Sorrell Shiflett, 37, was tased and bludgeoned by two San Leandro police officers while walking with his cousin through a neighborhood in search of a friend’s house, according to the federal lawsuit. The case marks at least the sixth time that either officer — Ismael Navarro or Anthony Pantoja — has been named in a lawsuit claiming they acted violently while working for multiple police departments ac...

Last month, San Leandro's City Council voted to establish a Community Police Review Board (CPRB) as part of citywide efforts to reimagine public safety in our city. This was a huge win for the people of San Leandro and we think a party is in order! Please join us to celebrate what we achieved together at Drake's Barrelhouse on 1933 Davis beginning at 3 PM on May 29. Drake's is family-friendly, so Feel free to bring your under-21's small, medium, and/or large. Donations are welcome and encouraged (but not required). All proceeds go towards a scholarship for a San Leandro resident to attend the  National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) Conference this September. This is our chance to thank you all in person for your support over these past two years—and to talk about the next steps for a successful rollout of the CPRB. ​What we need   is  a strong, diverse pool of applicants from the community to serve on the Board. The  deadlin...

 *CONTENT NOTICE/TRIGGER WARNING: this post discussed racist police violence and contains links to images/videos of that content.* (“Stop Police Brutality” by Icy and Sot) On November 21, at around 11:10 AM, an unnamed SLPD officer tased an innocent and mentally ill member of our city's unsheltered community in another act of police brutality in our city. This happened within less than 30 seconds from when the officer first made contact with the victim. The officer was ostensibly responding to a complaint from a local business, the Downtown McDonald's, about an allegation of someone "acting crazy" and "throwing punches." However, no one was hurt. No property was destroyed. No one was armed. There was no reason or basis to assume the victim posed a danger to themselves or others. Even worse, despite assertions to the contrary by SLPD, the officer did not engage in deescalation or crisis intervention tactics. There is no evidence that the CATT program was call...

A recent article from Shaila Dewan at the NY Times lays out some compelling complexities of nuance around policing, reimagining public safety, and the true costs of both. Rather than summarize, I have embedded the poignant points below. For the TL;DR version, the basic finding is that sometimes police can potentially help a little bit, but the costs are far more than the cheaper and greater gains from funding communities instead of more cops, and it's better from a moral and ethical standpoint. "With shootings and homicides surging in many cities, calls to redirect money to policing are rising. But evidence that hiring more officers is the best way to reduce crime is mixed: Beefing up a police force can help, but the effects are modest and far from certain. Those who study the question say any declines in crime have to be weighed against the downsides of adding more police officers, including negative interactions with the public, police violence and further erosion of public...

From the folks at SLATE , San Leandro for Accountability, Transparency, and Equity: "On October 16 and 21, the city of San Leandro will be giving the public a chance to share their feedback and ask any questions about community police oversight in San Leandro. Please attend one of the meetings and remind the city that we need a police oversight board that: 1. Is completely independent from the police department and fairly represents the community. 2. Has the power to review police policy. We hope to remind the city the importance of fair and transparent investigations of police misconduct.  Hop on one of the meetings to learn more about what the city is recommending and ensure that your voice is heard!" Learn more about these forums here. The virtual community forums will cover the following topics: background on police oversight; possible structures and elements of a police oversight model for San Leandro; as well as opportunities for public feedback and questions. The foru...

If you live in San Leandro and don't listen to The Marinade with Lee Thomas, I highly recommend you add it to your list and start digging in with gusto! You can listen to them at Apple Podcasts . Thomas offers a unique blend of delicious BBQ and political discourse. In fact, he might be the only media outlet offering anything remotely resembling real talk about politics in San Leandro. So far his guest have included entertaining and informative appearances from Mayor Cutter, Surlene Grant, Peter Oshinski, and the latest with San Leandro Police Officers' Association President, Mike Olivera. *** Unfortunately, instead of hitting a savory-sweet spot, Olivera comes off as bland as if he was reading from a poorly prepared press release. As usual from the police union, we get the classic copaganda of lies and scare tactics coupled with a complete lack of self-reflection or self-awareness. But this isn't surprising. This is the same Mike Olivera who helped cover up the murder of A...

(Credit Amber Hughson, @conflicttransformation) What does it mean? I'm one of many community advocates and organizers here in San Leandro and I put his post together to help address a lot of questions, confusion, and even frustration, fear, or anger that people may have regarding the recent push to reimagine public safety and defund the SLPD. To start with, let's be clear: SLPD hasn't been defunded. They still have the same $42 million budget, a 60% increase over the last ten years. They still receive 50%+ of the city’s payroll. They still cost approximately 1/3rd of our entire budget. They still account for upwards of 2/3rds of our overtime costs. They still receive the newest equipment, the highest starting salaries, and the most deference from elected officials. But what's been the return on our investment? Source: SLPD Crime Stats Crime rates, YTD 2020 to 2021: violent crime down 9%, property crime down 25%, overall crime down 23%. Crime rates, YOY 2019-20 to 2020-2...

( I mage Credit: Ohio State University ) Yes, you read that right. In the case of Ricardo Fortenberry v. City of San Leandro , the city council voted 7-0 during closed session to settle this case for the sum of $150,000 dollars. Now, if you're a frugal, ethical, and socially responsible citizen like myself, you're probably asking yourself: What in the Mother of Moses, Song of Solomon, Jumping Jesus P. Cryst is going on? Well, let me tell you! On October 18, 2018, at approximately 6:20 AM at 1035 International Blvd., a car sideswiped a Mr. Ricardo Fortenberry, resulting in a minor traffic accident with no physical injuries. Shortly thereafter, SLPD Officers Christopher Barris, Anthony Pantoja , Richard Van Dyke (or, Dick, if you're feeling silly), and  Dennis Mally  showed up and violated Mr. Fortenberry's civil rights. How, do you ask? Let me count the ways! 1. Three officers initiated a car chase of Mr. Fortenberry despite orders from their supervising sergeant not to ...

Recent reporting from The Mercury News shows SLPD as a participant in a disturbing trend of contracting with a glorified propaganda firm known as Critical Incident Videos, LLC. Run by former TV news reporters, this company is contracted with over 100 local law enforcement agencies to help them sway public opinion in order to justify excessive use of force, especially lethal instances of police brutality. The hallmark of their work is “a 3-D map of the scene, 911 dispatch tapes and text set up a narrative before viewers see selected bodycam footage … a police chief or sheriff opens the video explaining why the shooting was justified. Often, the chief is reading from a script written by an outside consultant. The edited camera footage may not even show the actual use of force – an effect far different from a raw cellphone or body cam video of a confrontation that leaves watchers wondering, “Why did they have to shoot?” But here’s the truly shocking and shameful part: “Less than three ho...