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More Rioting in Oakland
Jul. 9th, 2010 07:58 pmSo, after the verdict of the BART shooting case yesterday, there was more rioting in Oakland last night.
This was really no shock, because we all knew that there were assholes who were just looking to riot in Oakland no matter *WHAT* the verdict was. We would have had rioting if there was a murder verdict, because that's what people were planning to do.
And, as is often the case, one of the first stores looted was the Athlete's Foot. It never seems to fail. The last two riots in Oakland, an Athlete's Foot was knocked over, and the last riot down here in Berkeley: Athlete's Foot. Don't buy an Athlete's Foot franchise is what that tells me.
What I do find shocking, however, is the piss-poor job the Oakland police did.
Just like everyone else, they *knew* there would be rioting. They were on full alert, and even had a few hours' notice of the verdict. Nonetheless, they largely watched while a mere 100-200 people smashed windows of the businesses that these police were supposed to be protecting and looted their merchandise.
I can certainly understand that a police force had to be careful about how it dealt with civilians in the wake of a police-shooting case. But, to just stand by and watch a crowd that was allegedly largely made-up of white anarchists destroy their city is unacceptable. They had tear gas and other means that they could have used to break up the crowd that were less likely to result in casualties. The crowd was surely lawless, as I've heard reports of not just looting but also assault.
But they did nothing but throw out a bit of smoke which didn't do crap.
Shamefully PC in the worst-possible meaning of the way. Crappy style over substance, and shopkeepers who are trying to help revitalize historic downtown Oakland are the ones who paid the price.
I think this photo of a police car fleeing before the "protesters" says it all:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2010/07/09/BAH61EBUBF.DTL&object=%2Fc%2Fpictures%2F2010%2F07%2F08%2Fba-mehserle_092__0501945842.jpg
In other news, Oakland is planning to layoff 80 police officers as early as Monday.
This was really no shock, because we all knew that there were assholes who were just looking to riot in Oakland no matter *WHAT* the verdict was. We would have had rioting if there was a murder verdict, because that's what people were planning to do.
And, as is often the case, one of the first stores looted was the Athlete's Foot. It never seems to fail. The last two riots in Oakland, an Athlete's Foot was knocked over, and the last riot down here in Berkeley: Athlete's Foot. Don't buy an Athlete's Foot franchise is what that tells me.
What I do find shocking, however, is the piss-poor job the Oakland police did.
Just like everyone else, they *knew* there would be rioting. They were on full alert, and even had a few hours' notice of the verdict. Nonetheless, they largely watched while a mere 100-200 people smashed windows of the businesses that these police were supposed to be protecting and looted their merchandise.
I can certainly understand that a police force had to be careful about how it dealt with civilians in the wake of a police-shooting case. But, to just stand by and watch a crowd that was allegedly largely made-up of white anarchists destroy their city is unacceptable. They had tear gas and other means that they could have used to break up the crowd that were less likely to result in casualties. The crowd was surely lawless, as I've heard reports of not just looting but also assault.
But they did nothing but throw out a bit of smoke which didn't do crap.
Shamefully PC in the worst-possible meaning of the way. Crappy style over substance, and shopkeepers who are trying to help revitalize historic downtown Oakland are the ones who paid the price.
I think this photo of a police car fleeing before the "protesters" says it all:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2010/07/09/BAH61EBUBF.DTL&object=%2Fc%2Fpictures%2F2010%2F07%2F08%2Fba-mehserle_092__0501945842.jpg
In other news, Oakland is planning to layoff 80 police officers as early as Monday.