Crime

Public Forum: “To Protect and Serve, How to Fix America’s Police”

Published

9 years ago

July 28, 2017

Author Norm Stamper, Measure LL organizer Rashidah Grinage, police expert Deacon Reginald Lyles and host Lakeshore Baptist Church Pastor Jim Hopkins at July 26 public forum: “To Protect and Serve, How to Fix America’s Police.” Photo by Sue Taylor.

Norm Stamper, author and former police chief of Seattle, Wash., spoke to an audience in Oakland in a public forum Thursday night about police reform.

“It will not happen from within the department; keep up the pressure from the citizens,” was his main message of the night.

“Police belong to the people, not the other way around,” he said during a short opening presentation, followed by a question-and-answer session.

The moderator was Reginald Lyles, former deputy for public safety and liaison to Oakland Police Department (OPD) for former Mayor Jean Quan. The event was held at Lakeshore Baptist Church in Oakland and was a Who’s Who of political activists, who gave a standing ovation to independent police commission Measure LL activist Rashidah Grinage.

Grinage’s long-time commitment to police reform precedes the negotiated settlement agreement – still not completed by OPD – and she’s currently on the selection panel for the new Police Commission. There were 125 applicants for seven commissioners and two alternates. The selection panel has narrowed the field to just over 20 candidates.

In opening remarks, Reginald Lyles said: “We are suffering from issues of police culture – often mean-spirited and deadly. This is low-grade terrorism.”

“There is a callousness of leadership in this town…actually an absence of leadership,” said Lyles.

There were no police or city representatives in attendance.

The purpose of the event was not only to present Stamper’s book but to give those attending a chance to ask questions, and hear ideas for changing police conduct in the United States. The rash of police murders in the U.S. were mentioned often, and Stamper’s general reply about police law-breaking was, “They should be fired.”

“There are police who believe, ‘We’re the cops and you’re not’,” said Stamper. “This cries out for partnerships between people and the police.”

When asked why he was attending, playwright and police officer Jinho “The Piper” Ferreira said, “I want to keep learning.” His play, “Cops and Robbers” was originally written for high school students and has had tremendous success at the Marsh Theater in San Francisco.

“We know ‘what’ is happening, but not ‘why’,” said Stamper. He explained that policing in the U.S. dates back to slave patrols and lynchings, and until the culture is changed, the current problems will continue. Stamper also made clear that change cannot come from within police departments.

“We need to end the ‘drug war,’ set national standards for policing, and make a commitment to authentic community policing,” he said.

Watch the Post newspapers for continuing articles on police reform. Norm Stamper’s book: “To Protect and Serve, How to Fix America’s Police,” is available online and at Walden Pond Books, 3316 Grand

CORRECTION: The article in the July 26 Oakland Post, “To Protect and Serve, How to Fix America’s Police, said that Rashidah Grinage is a member of the selection panel for the new police commission. That is incorrect. Also, there were 150 applicants for commission positions, now narrowed down to 28 finalists. The name of the church where the event was held omits the word “Avenue” – It is Lakeshore
Avenue Baptist Church.

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AG Bonta Announces Action on Cryptocurrency, Sextortion Fraud – Increasingly Targeting Gen-Z

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is warning residents about a surge in cryptocurrency fraud and online sextortion schemes that increasingly target Gen Z through social media platforms. With internet-based scams costing Americans nearly $21 billion in 2023, Bonta highlighted how artificial intelligence and deepfakes allow criminals to impersonate loved ones and promote fraudulent investment groups. The Attorney General’s Office has already shut down over 100 fraudulent websites and is now utilizing new legislative tools to recover assets for victims. Read more.

Published

2 weeks ago

November 3, 2026

Post News Group

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned residents about rising cryptocurrency fraud and online sextortion scams, urging Californians to recognize warning signs and protect themselves as scammers increasingly target younger people through social media.

Speaking at a news conference on Oct. 19, Bonta said Americans lost $20.9 billion to internet-based scams in 2025, including $11.4 billion to cryptocurrency scams. He said artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and malicious smart contracts have made fraud easier to carry out and more difficult to detect and prevent.

While older Californians remain targets, Bonta said his office has seen a sharp rise in reports of Gen Z consumers being targeted on platforms such as Twitch, TikTok, and Instagram.

One growing scheme involves so-called rug-pull scams, in which fraudsters promote low-priced stocks or volatile cryptocurrencies through online investment groups and streaming communities. After generating interest and driving up prices, scammers sell their holdings, causing values to collapse and leaving investors with losses.

Bonta also warned about sextortion, in which scammers trick or coerce victims into sharing explicit images before threatening to distribute them to friends and family unless they pay. He advised victims not to give in to demands, saying scammers often do not release the images when victims refuse to pay. Instead, he recommended ignoring and blocking the perpetrators.

Another scheme, known as recovery fraud, targets people who have already lost money to cryptocurrency scams. Fraudsters impersonate blockchain recovery specialists or law enforcement officials and demand additional payments while promising to recover stolen assets.

Bonta urged Californians to be skeptical of promises of large returns on small investments, fake cryptocurrencies resembling established ones, and celebrity endorsements that may have been generated using artificial intelligence. He also warned that scammers can use AI to impersonate loved ones through manipulated video and audio.

“Never use a crypto ATM,” Bonta said, emphasizing that transactions can be difficult to trace and reverse and that the machines lack adequate consumer protections.

His office has shut down more than 100 fraudulent websites over the past two years that collectively scammed victims out of at least $8.3 million, he said.

Bonta also highlighted Senate Bill 1208, which he said was recently signed into law. The measure allows law enforcement to petition a court to return seized cryptocurrency to victims, including when alleged perpetrators are outside U.S. jurisdiction.

Residents who have fallen victim to scams can report them to the California Department of Justice at oag.ca.gov/report.

Bonta also urged victims not to feel embarrassed, stressing that scammers are responsible for the harm they cause.