Coalition for a Taser-Free Berkeley Mobilizes for

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Tasers from being used on Berkeley residents!
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Berkeley Copwatch Newsletter
Coalition for a Taser-Free
Berkeley Mobilizes for Taser
Ban
Berkeley police are going on the offensive in their effort to obtain tasers for their officers
and have managed to get the issue before the Berkeley City Council. At its May 9th
meeting, the council voted to have the City Manager create a report on whether tasers
would be a good idea for Berkeley. Although the City manager was supposed to report
back on September 9th, a Request For Proposals (RFP) has been sent out to companies
that do reports, research etc. Most likely, the vote on this recommendation won’t even
happen till late October. That is why some people are saying that yes, we can make this
be an election issue.
Despite the major public relations push by Berkeley Police Association, Berkeley
residents and organizations are starting to express their concerns about taser use by
police. These are some of the organizations that have endorsed the campaign:
ACLU Berkeley/NorthEastBay chapter
Alejandro Soto-Vigil, Berkeley City Council candidate
Berkeley Copwatch
Berkeley Gray Panthers
Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists
Coalition for Safe Berkeley
East Bay Community Law Center
East Bay Media Center
Green Party
Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute
NAACP (Berkeley)
Oakland Privacy Working Group
Prisoner's Literature Project
Revolutionary Poets Brigade
Street Spirit
Stop the Ban (on vehicle habitation)
The Coalition for Justice and Accountability
Veterans for Peace (East Bay Chapter 162)
In addition, the Berkeley Mental Health Commission and the Peace and Justice
Commission have gone on record opposing the use of tasers by police. All we need now
is YOU!
Please consider getting involved in the campaign.
* Have your organization sign the petition. Endorse it yourself.
* Write a letter to your city council person and let them know how you feel about giving
police tasers to use against the people of Berkeley
* Come to a meeting of the Coalition! Contact us at [email protected]
Check out the website:
coalitionforataserfreeberkeley.org or on facebook.com/taserfreeberkeley
PUBLIC FORUM:
SHOULD BERKELEY POLICE USE TASERS ON THE PEOPLE OF BERKELEY?
Thursday September 4th at 7pm
1939 Addison St, Berkeley, CA 94704 (two blocks from BART)
Berkeley Police are asking the City Council for tasers. The City Council wants a study. The
Coalition for a Taser Free Berkeley is convening a diverse panel to discuss their experiences
with tasers and to help Berkeley make an informed decision. We invite members of the
public, city employees and police officers who are genuinely concerned about how tasers
will affect the community. We will consider taser effects on various communities, mentally
ill people, previous cities' experience with tasers and how taser use would be monitored and
police officers be held accountable?
Panelists include:
Aram James, Activist and former Public Defender Palo Alto
Barbara Ann White, Berkeley NAACP representative and Berkeley Mental Health
James Chanin. Founding member of the Police Review Commission, Civil Rights
lawyer
Jeremy Miller, Program Director, Idriss Stelley Foundation, Co-organizer of the
successful campaign to stop San Francisco from getting tasers
More speakers to be announced! Public discussion to follow.
This event is free and open to the public. It is wheelchair accessible.
Contact: CoalitionforTaserFreeBerkeley.org or [email protected]
COPWATCH AT UC
BERKELEY
Berkeley Copwatch is working with UC students to
offer Copwatch for Credit this Fall. This class is free
and welcomes ALL members of the public. Fortunately,
through the DeCal class at UCB, students can get up
to 2 units of credit for reading, attending class and
going on actual Copwatch shifts in the community. The
Oh hey, we printed 2,000
of these stickers! Want
one? Come by and grab
first part of the class will focus on knowing your rights
during police encounters and from there we will study
community control, civilian review, specific cases
including Eric Garner, Andy Lopez, Kayla Moore and
more. Students will hear guest speakers on current
topics in policing and the struggle for police
accountability.
one (or a few, or maybe
more...)
Contact: [email protected]
VOLUNTEER AT COPWATCH
Copwatching is more than just roaming the street in search of police to record. We need
volunteers to help us with so much! Art, data entry, casework, answering phones, social
media, campaigns, outreach and trainings, research and solidarity work is all a part of
keeping Copwatch moving forward. If you have a few hours, come on by! We need your
help, your time and your thoughts.
Meetings are at 7pm Mondays
2022 Blake Street , Berkeley
Hey check out the new stickers we've been printing!
We're a little short on funds and we've spent most of our printing money on the Taser
Free Berkeley stickers and Copwatch Handbooks, but if you want to contribute a little $$
then we'd be happy to print more and send them your way!
We've been holding regular Know Your
Rights trainings. Keep up on our
facebook page to get updates and
notifications when we hold our next
training. The trainings are great for
anyone who wants to join copwatch and
learn what to do when you're watching
cops. It also helps if you are just a regular
person who wants to know what you can
and can't do when stopped by police.
Our trainings includes:
What to do when you are stopped
How to document police actions
Scanning/videotaping and
monitoring police
What to do if you see or
experience abuse
Everyone needs this training! And its
FREE!!!
STOP URBAN SHIELD IN OAKLAND!
Join us at our Community Education Forum where you can learn about Urban Shield,
how it impacts our communities and find out how you can plug into the Week of
Education & Action:
Sunday, August 17th 1-2:30pm
Eastside Cultural Center - 2277 International Blvd
Decrease violence in our communities by ending the militarization of the police.
From schools, the border, prisons, to the streets, our communities have become sites of
repression and violence at the hands of law enforcement. Ever increasing militarization
of our communities has created a culture of surveillance and repression targeting poor
communities of color. Community-led solutions addressing poverty and the violence of
policing are the best ways to ensure genuine safety, health, and wellbeing for people
most vulnerable to state violence.
o We demand the City of Oakland de-fund all activities related to Urban Shield
o We demand that all city agencies withdraw their participation in Urban Shield.
Our communities refuse to be testing grounds for tactics of global repression.
Local police departments collaborate with federal agencies to share information and
tactics through vehicles such as fusion centers to surveil and control targeted
communities. These same agencies are also exchanging policing and repression tactics
with international security officers including but not limited to the Apartheid State of Israel.
The import and export of technology and tactics includes purchasing weapons, training
local police forces, and sharing strategies through activities such as Urban Shield. Our
neighborhoods have become laboratories in which to test international and domestic
warfare.
o We demand an end to all City collaborations with the Apartheid State of Israel.
o We call on the City of Oakland to issue a report on all collaborations between
the Oakland Police Department and international law enforcement agencies.
o We call on the City of Oakland to reject all US wars and occupations here or abroad.
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Community Self-determination
Our communities know what is required to address the social, economic and political
problems we face. Bay Area residents should have decision-making power over how
and where resources are allocated in order to build stronger and sustainable
communities.
o We demand that Bay Area residents have decision-making power in the process
to determine priorities for public safety and emergency preparedness.
o We demand that the City of Oakland invest in community-based programs
proven to decrease violence and harm instead of in the increased militarization of
its police force and emergency services.
We ask our allies and partners to adopt these principles and take a stand against
the policing and repression of our communities.
Check out our new Coalition for a Taser Free Berkeley sites!
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Tabling at the Juneteenth Festival!
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