Crime

OP-ED: Ferguson and Michael Brown

Published

11 years ago

September 5, 2014

It was with a heavy heart that I watched the events unfold in Ferguson, Missouri.

You hear it in the news – another young African American shot – but usually his name is left out of the headlines or the story completely – another statistic, a fact but not a face.

But not this time.

In Ferguson, a predominantly black city of 21,000 residents where two out of the 55 police officers are African American, the people rose up in protest after an unarmed Michael Brown, just 18 years old, was shot and killed.

Peaceful protests became violent protests, and the SWAT teams and armored guards added fuel to the sorrow, grief, anger and outrage.

Ferguson became a war-zone.

It’s through anger and pain that cities around the country are crying out – it doesn’t have to be this way.

From Oscar Grant to Trayvon Martin to Michael Brown, we need this to end. But we need to do more than talk to each other. We need more than tears, even more than outrage. We need concrete action and we need it every day.

So what can we do?

First, we need to support those who stand up for equal rights for all people. If you are not a member of the ACLU, PowerPAC, the NAACP, the National Council of La Raza, the Asian Law Caucus or other organizations fighting for civil rights and equal justice, please consider joining and supporting.

Second, we need to make sure that every police department reflects the communities they serve. The immediate de-escalation of violence after the state police took control of the situation was not an accident.

The officer put in charge was a neighbor – born and raised in Ferguson – and knew the community and came not to occupy, but to protect. We need to look beyond Ferguson, and look at ourselves.

Even in our own towns, we have a long way to go to make sure our police departments reflect our communities. That’s why creating special training, support and incentives for diversity within law enforcement will be one of my priorities in the State Assembly.

And most of all, we need to understand that the way to stop violence is with peace, justice, jobs and support for all of those caught in its grip.

An officer shooting an unarmed young man is a terrible tragedy. But so is a young man shot by another young man. And that’s the kind of tragedy that is not distant news from Ferguson, as compelling as that news may be.

That tragedy plays out on our streets nearly every night.

I’ve dedicated my career and my life to working with struggling youth and their families – as a city council member, school board member, lifelong youth mentor, nonprofit leader and social worker.

And I know there is hope for every child.

I have seen firsthand – through programs I’ve helped create, like CEO Youth, which is creating entrepreneurial opportunities for teens who are truant or on the path to dropping out of school, and various mentorship programs – that when you give kids a chance with a great education, job training, guidance and engagement, you can change their course from likely to fail to likely to succeed.

Our country cannot bear to see another black youth gunned down in the street, and as a community, we must do everything we can to create a pipeline of opportunities so more children have a greater chance at a successful, healthy life. And I will fight every single day to get it right for kids and families.

Tony Thurmond

Tony Thurmond is a candidate for the California Assembly, District 15.

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

Published

5 days ago

December 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

1 week ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.