Curfews, Undercovers, and Chest Cams, OH MY!

Originally Posted in We Copwatch

Written by Jabar

On June 5, 2015, Mayor Libby Schaaf’s ” protest curfew” on night time demonstrations was tested again as 100 people marched through First Friday celebrations yelling “Fuck The Curfew”.

Oakland Police cut the march off on the north and south side of the First Friday corridor, but police remained fairly hands off. The general sentiment around town is that OPD took a hands off approach because the protesters and the First Friday revelers were indistinguishable from each other and any crackdown would have made for bad press and a possible backlash from Oakland’s new coveted affluent class: the gentry.

The treatment of “Say Her Name” protesters a couple weeks back was very different. Police responded to a predominately black, woman led march by blasting “LRAD” (Long Range Acoustic Device) and throwing flash bang grenades at marchers, eventually detaining and arresting many from the demonstration.

Video Produced by WeCopwatch

Both events had heavy police presence with a zero tolerance approach to people being in the streets, but there is no question that there was a discrepancy of treatment to the different groups– largely because of who they were comprised of, and who was there to witness.

“Pigs are Haram!” – Undercover Police Confronted on May Day

Oakland, Co-produced by WeCopwatch and Bay Area Intifada

This past May Day, autonomous/anarchist people of color held a contingent of about 75 people within the Sin Fronteras’ Immigrant Solidarity march. Although the contingent had a clear non-reformist and unapologetic stance about immigration, they spent the day in solidarity with those struggling against unjust labor and immigration policies.

Officer Crum

The mood of the march was joyous and celebratory. During the march, two Muslim anarchists spotted large men who seemed out of place and were paying too much attention to the group. One cop was snapping photos of the Muslims within the contingent.

Officer Borocio

The Muslim anarchists confronted the men who were clearly undercover police, stopped them from taking photos, and with the support of the rest of the autonomous/anarchist contingent sent them on their way with chants of “Pigs Out!” and “Pigs are Haraam!” Embarrassed and exposed, the two undercover officers slipped away through the crowds watching the spectacle.

From Oakland to Istanbul, pigs are haram!

 

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