Activism

OPD Detains Homeless Aid Volunteers, Violates Mask Policy

Published

6 years ago

May 21, 2020

Cassidy Taylor, a volunteer for the mutual aid and protest group, the United Front Against Displacement (UFAD), poses in front of a hand washing station before a protest against police activity on and near Wood Street in West Oakland, where a large community if unhoused Oakland residents live. Photo by Zack Haber.

Oakland Police Department (OPD) officers detained and handcuffed two volunteers last Saturday who were maintaining a freshwater supply for a large community of unhoused residents that live near Wood Street in West Oakland for possession of a stolen vehicle, but let them go after approximately five minutes when they determined the vehicle wasn’t stolen.

Cassidy Taylor, one of the volunteers OPD detained, says she feels at least one of the four officers present recognized her, and that their actions were in retaliation.

“He definitely recognized me. I feel like I was targeted. The police know that we’re trying to build links with the community and that we have a history of resisting attempts to evict homeless folks. I think they want to antagonize us because of that,” said Taylor.

A video of Taylor’s detainment shows one officer not wearing a mask while handcuffing her. In an email to The Oakland Post, OPD confirmed that officers not wearing a face covering while “engaged in essential government functions…where the public is present or likely to be” violates an Alameda County Health Official Order that, since April 17, the department has committed to upholding due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While OPD did not say whether or not the officer would face consequences for violating the order, they did say “The incident has been forwarded to our Internal Affairs Division.”

OPD has tested over 330 of its over 700 officers. In a press release published on May 19, OPD announced that “In the evening of May 18, the Oakland Police Department had their 4th reported case where a member tested positive for COVID-19.” A May 20 press release confirmed a 5th officer tested positive. Both officers are currently in quarantine.

Taylor is a member of the United Front Against Displacement (UFAD), a group that provides survival and life enrichment services for unhoused Wood Street residents while advocating and protesting for the city of Oakland to provide permanent housing for all its residents.

UFAD has constructed and maintained three water tanks and seven hand washing stations in the area. A separate volunteer organization, the Berkeley Free Clinic (BFC), has installed and maintained four handwashing stations and one water barrel near Wood Street.

Although the city of Oakland has arranged for a nonprofit, Lava Mae, to provide showers to unhoused residents in the area on Thursdays, daily use of water comes largely from UFAD’s and BFC’s resources, resources the city isn’t providing.

UFAD’s work means they’re at the site often. Dale Smith, who’s worked with UFAD for over a year and is on or near Wood Street at least three to four times a week says he sees police there every time he’s on-site, “a noticeable increase” from before shelter in place, when he says he’d only see them sometimes on Wood Street, as opposed to now, when he sees them just west of Wood Street, closer to where more people live.

“I see them driving kind of recklessly down [the site’s] dirt roads” said Smith.

Smith expressed concern about this way of driving because he says people live right next to the site’s dirt roads, and reckless driving puts residents in danger.

In a May 17 press release, OPD said “The Department has increased its presence in West Oakland as a result of challenges with crimes. Residents have continued to voice concerns about criminal activity in [the Wood Street] area including shootings, assaults, sale and use of narcotics. Within the last two months, eight stolen vehicles have been recovered from [the Wood Street] area.”

Jesse Parker, a long term unhoused resident of Wood Street and lifelong Oakland resident expressed concern about the increased police presence.

“[The increased police presence] doesn’t feel good at all. They’re taking the wrong people to jail. You got a couple [officers] wearing masks but the rest of them don’t,” said Parker.

OPD said they’ve arrested five people for possession of the stolen vehicle in the last two months. One of the five arrested told the Oakland Post they didn’t steal but only temporarily sought shelter inside the vehicle they were arrested for stealing. Since the vehicle wasn’t running they said they assumed it was abandoned.

On May 18, Taylor and over a dozen members of the UFAD as well as unhoused Wood Street residents, protested OPD’s increased presence at Wood Street.

“I think [police] were [at Wood Street] to intimidate us…because we’re not just building handwashing stations for our homeless, we’re building people power. We’re building a future for people where they can determine their own lives,” said Taylor at the protest outside of Oakland’s City Hall.

Zack Haber

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Activism

The Ladies of Delta Sigma Theta Hold Day of Advocacy at the Capitol in Sacramento

A member of the “Divine Nine,” Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., was founded on Jan. 13, 1913, at Howard University in Washington, D.C. The organization was established by 22 women who sought to shift the group’s focus from social activities to public service, academic excellence, and social activism.

Published

1 week ago

May 17, 2026

Oakland Post

Sen. Laura Richardson (D-San Pedro) presents a Senate resolution to the Delta Theta Sigma Sorority Farwest Region at the State Capitol on May 4. Photo courtesy of the Senate Rules Committee.

By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media

On May 4, members of the Farwest Region of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., convened at the California State Capitol for the organization’s 23rd annual Delta Days in Sacramento.

The two-day advocacy event brings together chapters from across California to engage directly in the legislative process, connect with lawmakers, and advocate for policies impacting Black communities.

Members of the sorority were honored on the Senate floor by Sen. Laura Richardson (D-San Pedro), who is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta.

Richardson welcomed the Farwest Region during the presentation of a Senate resolution recognizing outgoing Regional Director Kimberly Usher for her leadership and service.

“In addition to the Far West Region, we are led by a fearless leader, regional director Kimberly Usher. She has now served her full term of what’s allowed,” Richardson said. “We are going to be having our regional conference, but we wanted to give it to her here, officially recognizing her service.”

The resolution was co-authored by Richardson and fellow members of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) and Delta Sigma Theta, Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson (D-San Diego) and Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom (D-Stockton).

Usher has served in the leadership role since 2022.

“We are founded on sisterhood that is deeply rooted in scholarship, service, and social action,” said Weber Pierson, a member of the Gamma Alpha chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

“Today, we continue a legacy of empowering communities and upholding the high cultural, intellectual, and moral standards established by our founders over a century ago,” she added.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Rep. Kamlager-Dove Introduces Bill to Protect Women in Custody After Reports Detailing Miscarriages and Neglect

The Pregnant Women in Custody Act would expand safeguards beyond the federal prison system to include women detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The proposal follows reports of pregnant women being shackled, denied medical care and suffering miscarriages while in immigration detention.

Published

1 week ago

May 17, 2026

Oakland Post

iStock

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA-37) on May 7, reintroduced updated legislation aimed at strengthening protections and healthcare standards for pregnant and postpartum women held in federal custody, including in immigration detention facilities.

The Pregnant Women in Custody Act would expand safeguards beyond the federal prison system to include women detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The proposal follows reports of pregnant women being shackled, denied medical care and suffering miscarriages while in immigration detention.

The legislation builds on a bipartisan version previously passed by the House during the 117th Congress. The updated bill includes new standards for healthcare access, mental health and substance use treatment, high-risk pregnancy care, family unity protections and increased federal oversight.

“Proper pregnancy care is a human right, regardless of your immigration or incarceration status,” Kamlager-Dove said in a statement. “It’s unacceptable that there are virtually no legal safeguards for pregnant women in federal custody.”

The bill would also limit the use of restraints and restrictive housing for pregnant women, improve data collection on maternal health in custody and require additional staff training and enforcement measures.

Supporters of the measure said the legislation is intended to address long-standing concerns about maternal healthcare and safety in detention settings, particularly for Black women and low-income women who are disproportionately impacted by incarceration and health disparities.

“Pregnant women in custody should never be subjected to dangerous and inhumane treatment that threatens their health, dignity, or the well-being of their babies,” said Patrice Willoughby, chief of policy and legislative affairs for the NAACP and a longtime public policy and government affairs strategist, in a statement.

A 2021 report estimated there are about 58,000 admissions of pregnant women into U.S. jails and prisons each year. Kamlager’s statement also cited a recent investigation by NBC News and Bloomberg Law that identified allegations of severe mistreatment or medical neglect involving at least 54 pregnant women or families in county jails between 2017 and 2024.

Federal policy under the Department of Homeland Security restricts the detention of pregnant, postpartum and nursing immigrants except in extreme cases. However, the agency reported that ICE deported 363 pregnant, postpartum or nursing women between January 2025 and February 2026, including 16 recorded miscarriages during that period.

The bill is cosponsored by several House Democrats and backed by organizations including the NAACP and the Vera Institute of Justice.

Oakland Post

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Activism

OPINION: The Fire of Oakland’s Justin Jones

Jones made headlines three years ago when he was one of a pair of Justins. Along with fellow State Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), he fought their removal from the state house in Tennessee and won reinstatement. Now, Pearson is running for Congress and Jones is still fighting for all of us.

Published

1 week ago

May 17, 2026

Oakland Post

Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville). File photo.

By Emil Amok Guillermo

You may know Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville).

He grew up in Oakland and the East Bay. His mother is Filipino. You can tell by his full name Justin Shea Bautista Jones.

His father is African American.

He is fighting for all of us.

Now, Pearson is running for Congress and Jones is still fighting for all of us.

The recent 6-3 Supreme Court decision barring the use of race in drawing congressional districts marks a major turning point in U.S. history.

The decision took away the Voting Rights Act’s power to assure minority voices were both heard and represented.

“What we’re seeing now is this new Jim Crow system in which Black and Brown communities are without voice in our political process,” he told Fredricka Whitfield on CNN last weekend.

“That’s a canary in the coal mine for the rest of the nation. If they come for one of us, they’re coming for all of us, and some of my message to America is that the South is the front line of democracy,” Jones said. “They are dismantling multi-racial democracy here in the South, in states like Tennessee and Louisiana. But they aren’t going to stop here.”

That’s why Jones said we have to start paying attention to the South, and start helping them fight back there,” he said.

“I want to be clear that this terror, this type of system they’re enacting, are the same systems my grandparents told me about who grew up in Tennessee, a system where people like me couldn’t even be in political office. That’s the time they’re bringing us back to and I’m not sounding the alarm to be alarmist. But I am sounding it because we’ve seen this before in our history.”

Jones talked about Reconstruction and about what happened between the end of the 1800s and the beginning of the 1960s, when there was no Black political representation.

It’s a rebellion to keep our democracy going forward, he said.

“Stand with us and help us fight back against this extremist power grab — this racist power grab against our vision of a multi-racial democracy,” Jones added.

“While there is a litigation strategy, it’s important to maintain what he called a “movement strategy” that leads to the largest voter mobilization and registration that has ever been seen in the South,” he encouraged.

In 2026.

“Tennessee is an oppressed state,” Jones said. “It’s a state where one in five Black voters can’t vote because of felony disenfranchisement. It is where you can use a gun permit to vote, but you can’t use a student ID card to vote.

That’s the Asian American African American voice of Justin Jones.

Read his words for inspiration.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is a veteran journalist, commentator, and comic stage monologist. His new show “69, Emil Amok: Anchorman—The News Made Me Do It,” is at the San Diego Fringe at New Destiny/Lincoln Park, 4931 Logan Ave. Ste. 102. May 14-23, at various times. Get tickets here.