Criminal law, Politics, Society

Video: Oakland Police Officer Shoots Photographer With Rubber Bullet Without Any Apparent Provocation

As fellow law professor sent me this video of Oakland police shooting a photographer. The video raises serious questions of the unjustified use of force.

In the video, the police appear to be standing without challenge when, around the 33 second mark, an officer suddenly shoot a photographer who is a good distance from the police line.

I cannot imagine the claim of justification in this case when the use of rubber bullets present significant potential harm to citizens, as shown below.

Kudos: Professor Alberto Bernabe (John Marshall Law School)

Source: Lowering Bar

397 thoughts on “Video: Oakland Police Officer Shoots Photographer With Rubber Bullet Without Any Apparent Provocation”

  1. I have a question for no one in particular. Do you think that the police would have directed homeless people to a teabagger rally? Which brings is to a more important question: how would they have been treated at a teabagger rally?

    Never mind. We already know the answer. The best predictor of future behavior is to look at past behavior.

    Maine Republican Party chairman Charlie Webster sez: “If you can’t make a living in 40 hours a week, work 80, or go without.”

    Source: http://mainecampus.com/2011/11/10/webster-defends-gop-agenda/

  2. Of course the Tea Party rallies would have never accepted the homeless, the poor and the downtrodden. You have to pay to play with that group.

    Good Christianists that they are.

  3. None at tea party events because they were way smaller, people stood around and went home. There was only a tiny fraction of the number of people at tea party events and they did not camp out in the weather while being beaten, tear gassed and shot at with “non-lethal” shotgun rounds.

    Then maybe they should go back to where they came from and organize in their own cities. If they are from their own cities go home at night, get something to eat, shower by all means and comeback tomorrow. no tiky no laundry.

  5. Bdaman: look at the film again. You will see the guy in the grey suit and white shirt w/ no tie, is the one who pushed her. Same woman.

  6. shano, great point. The police in come locations have been directing homeless people to the OWS sites where they are fed, treated medically where possible and taken care of. This of course includes some who have drug, alcohol and psychiatric problems. The amazing thing is that there have been so few deaths so far.

  8. Bdaman : The man in Burlington is thought to be a suicide.

    Look, if you have a ‘camp’ where people are being fed and being treated, for the most part, like human beings- many homeless and powerless people are going to show up. The Occupy camps do not force these people out until they create problems.

    They feed them and give them warm clothes because they are the victims of our horrible economic system. When the NYC cops are directing these people to Zuccotti Square, they are tolerated as long as they do not create any problems. They are part of the 99% after all.

    All your links prove how this system of income inequality has caused incredible problems in America and are finally bringing them to light. How many people in America are dying in the streets of untreated TB because of our corporate health care system?

    I lived in NYC when Reagan kicked all the people out of the Mental Health Hospitals and the city changed overnight. Those people are still out on the streets.

    These are exactly the problems the Occupy Movement is bringing to light.

  9. None at tea party events because they were way smaller, people stood around and went home. There was only a tiny fraction of the number of people at tea party events and they did not camp out in the weather while being beaten, tear gassed and shot at with “non-lethal” shotgun rounds.

  10. Regarding the deaths. When you get that many people together, you are bound to have incidents. Also that many young people are likely to have some with drug and/or alcohol problems.

    No deaths reported at any Tea Party Events

  12. Regarding the deaths. When you get that many people together, you are bound to have incidents. Also that many young people are likely to have some with drug and/or alcohol problems. I think if we just look at statistics, the numbers are sad but not alarming. We have had more injuries, and serious injuries at that, caused by police than each other.

    The GA policy meetings have been trying to address the problems of violence prone individuals infiltrating the camps. The stated policy of the OWS movement is peaceful resistance. That was demonstrated admirably in the horrific video I posted yesterday. For those who missed it, re-posted below. Latest reports are that several victims have serious injuries, including lacerated spleen and kidney injuries.

    One blogger who actually talked with a Sergeant Nelson at the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department writes that the Sergeant denies that it was Alameda County deputies. Others who are familiar with the department says it was indeed AC deputies. Somebody is not telling the truth.

  16. Fourth Protester Found Dead In Tent

    On Wednesday November 9, 2011, Portland Police officers working the Occupy Portland encampments at Chapman and Lownsdale Square Parks, responded to the report of a man suffering from a drug overdose in a tent at Chapman Square. Officers found the man in a tent and he was blue and not breathing. Officers immediately began performing CPR and called for medical to respond. Medical personnel responded and were able to revive the man then transported him to an area hospital. Officers learned that the man used heroin purchased within the encampments.

    During this police and medical response, nearly 100 people were gathered around the tent and not following police direction to allow medical personnel room to work on the patient. Officers worked with the Occupy Portland Peace & Safety Team to assist in moving people away from the patient.

    This is the second overdose in as many days in the encampments.

    http://www.flashalert.net/news.html?id=3056#news49177

  17. SQ: What is Obama’s role in all this?

    CW: I think he’s caught between a rock and a hard place. I think he’s got the entrenchment on behalf of the Republicans, who tend to be highly unified, and he’s got a divided Democratic party between centrists and liberals, and few progressives. And he doesn’t have a lot of space to maneuver.

    It was clear he [Obama] was leaning toward Wall Street. And he can’t deny it. That’s when he needed to talk about jobs, that’s when he needed to talk about investments, that’s when he needed to talk seriously about poverty. They [the economists] were talking about it, but in the [New York Times] or in the American Prospect, but not in the White House.

    SQ: They say Obama is also anti-Wall Street.

    CW: Well that’s at the level of gesture. They know that he’s already delivered for them, they just want more. As you know, most of the money he receives up ’till now is still from Wall Street. Wall Street’s going to play it both ways because they want to be on one side, and they figure if he wins they’re gonna shift back over to him anyway. But he’s in no way an anti-Wall Street candidate. And when he makes his gesture, people say, ‘oh my God, he sounds like Eugene Debs.’ No, you know from the Ron Suskind book, Confidence Men. We know our man in Washington is Geithner. Don’t worry about the populist speeches; Geithner is in control of policy. They’re absolutely right.

    SQ: Would you vote for Obama again?

    CW: Well, if I was backed into a corner, and if it looked as if there was going to be a right-wing take-over, then I would be forced to. But it would not be with enthusiasm, because he has not only disappointed but he’s betrayed so many of his progressive principles that he talked about. But yes, within a circumstance where it looked like it was so close and the future of the republic on the choice between a mean-spirited reactionary Republican candidate versus Barack Obama, I’d go with brother Barack. But we’re not at that point now; we don’t know what’s going to happen. Just like with the occupy movement. We don’t know what’s going to happen, we’re still in the early stages. We don’t know how it’s going to unfold. We really don’t.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/post/cornel-west-keeps-the-faith-for-occupy-wall-street/2011/11/10/gIQAZxhk8M_blog.html

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