Opinion

Real Change Requires Real Change

Published

6 years ago

August 24, 2019

Police Use of Force actions questioned

In his 1999 book, “Blue vs. Black,” attorney John Burris wrote, “In the past, our ideals about what type of personality was best suited for police work tended to favor boldness, physical condition, skill with weapons, and the willingness to be proactive in crime control. These criteria are certainly necessary, but their emphasis, to the exclusion of all other qualities, has left most cities with police forces that excel in force and are ill-equipped for mental combat.” Burris opined that, “Deescalation … must supplant the macho police reaction to any perceived challenge to authority.”

Burris’ book was published only a few years before he represented Delphine Allen in his lawsuit against the Oakland Police Department (OPD).

This litigation led to the creation of the Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA), a framework of federal oversight that began in 2003 and continues to the present.

Among other topics, the NSA has specific “tasks” that address investigations of police misconduct, which routinely involve claims about police use of force.

The 63rd Report of the Federal Monitor was published on Aug.19, 2019, and it appears that Mr. Burris’ 20-year-old critiques are as persuasive today as they were when they were published.

The City of Oakland recently advertised an apparent decrease in the use of force by members of the OPD.

According to City reports, use of force dropped 75 percent from 2012 to 2017. City officials claimed that this change was due to a variety of factors, such as better training, new policies, and the broad implementation of body-worn cameras (BWCs) within the department.

However, the Federal Monitor (and the OPD’s internal auditor) took a closer look at the underlying reporting, and their efforts to confirm the cause of the celebrated drop in police use of force led to the disturbing conclusion that the OPD was under-reporting the force it had actually been using.

The Monitor’s conclusion was challenged by the City, which argued that confusion about the “low ready” position (a position where an officer draws their firearm and points it at a downward angle without specifically targeting a subject) was largely responsible for unreported uses of force.

Further investigation by the Monitor did not support this argument, as more than half of the BWC recordings reviewed by the Monitor did not involve the pointing of firearms.

An OPD internal investigation found that officers also failed to report “weaponless” uses of force such as bent-wrist and arm-bar control holds, and strikes, kicks, leg-sweeps, and takedowns.

More alarming, the internal investigation found that an unusually high percentage of unreported uses of force involved African American subjects, that four specific OPD squads had repeatedly failed to report uses of force, and that many officers who were members of these squads were under “supervisory monitoring” for past disciplinary issues.

The City has asserted that the reviewed sample size is too small to draw statistical conclusions. This point is well taken, but it should also be noted that the police department’s internal auditor found that police officers have been failing to activate their BWCs, or prematurely deactivating their cameras.

This is a troubling finding for a tool that is supposed to ensure police accountability.

History appears to be repeating itself, and we cannot afford to ignore the lessons of the past.

We have a tool now that did not exist in 1999. We have a voter-created Police Commission, and we need to ensure that this Commission is empowered to make painful, necessary, and long-overdue changes in police procedure and culture. The Oakland Police Commission is our city’s best chance at establishing true community oversight over a troubled police department. They deserve our full support, and a true chance to create a culture of accountability.

Henry Gage III, Esq.

Posts by Henry Gage III, Esq.

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of February 11 = 17, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 11 – 17, 2026

Published

2 days ago

February 16, 2026

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post

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#NNPA BlackPress

COMMENTARY: The National Protest Must Be Accompanied with Our Votes

Just as Trump is gathering election data like having the FBI take all the election data in Georgia from the 2020 election, so must we organize in preparation for the coming primary season to have the right people on ballots in each Republican district, so that we can regain control of the House of Representatives and by doing so, restore the separation of powers and balance that our democracy is being deprived of.

Published

1 week ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper. File photo..

By Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper

As thousands of Americans march every week in cities across this great nation, it must be remembered that the protest without the vote is of no concern to Donald Trump and his administration.

In every city, there is a personal connection to the U.S. Congress. In too many cases, the member of Congress representing the people of that city and the congressional district in which it sits, is a Republican. It is the Republicans who are giving silent support to the destructive actions of those persons like the U.S. Attorney General, the Director of Homeland Security, and the National Intelligence Director, who are carrying out the revenge campaign of the President rather than upholding the oath of office each of them took “to Defend The Constitution of the United States.”

In California, the primary comes in June 2026. The congressional races must be a priority just as much as the local election of people has been so important in keeping ICE from acquiring facilities to build more prisons around the country.

“We the People” are winning this battle, even though it might not look like it. Each of us must get involved now, right where we are.

In this Black History month, it is important to remember that all we have accomplished in this nation has been “in spite of” and not “because of.” Frederick Douglas said, “Power concedes nothing without a struggle.”

Today, the struggle is to maintain our very institutions and history. Our strength in this struggle rests in our “collectiveness.” Our newspapers and journalists are at the greatest risk. We must not personally add to the attack by ignoring those who have been our very foundation, our Black press.

Are you spending your dollars this Black History Month with those who salute and honor contributions by supporting those who tell our stories? Remember that silence is the same as consent and support for the opposition. Where do you stand and where will your dollars go?

Oakland Post

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Activism

Post Newspaper Invites NNPA to Join Nationwide Probate Reform Initiative

The Post’s Probate Reform Group meets the first Thursday of every month via Zoom and invites the public to attend. The Post is making the initiative national and will submit information from its monthly meeting to the NNPA to educate, advocate, and inform its readers.

Published

1 week ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Tanya Dennis

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) represents the Black press with over 200 newspapers nationwide.

Last night the Post announced that it is actively recruiting the Black press to inform the public that there is a probate “five-alarm fire” occurring in Black communities and invited every Black newspaper starting from the Birmingham Times in Alabama to the Milwaukee Times Weekly in Wisconsin, to join the Post in our “Year of Action” for probate reform.

Reporter Tanya Dennis says, “The adage that ‘When America catches a cold, Black folks catch the flu” is too true in practice; that’s why we’re engaging the Black Press to not only warn, but educate the Black community regarding the criminal actions we see in probate court: Thousands are losing generational wealth to strangers. It’s a travesty that happens daily.”

Venus Gist, a co-host of the reform group, states, “ Unfortunately, people are their own worst enemy when it comes to speaking with loved ones regarding their demise. It’s an uncomfortable subject that most avoid, but they do so at their peril. The courts rely on dissention between family members, so I encourage not only a will and trust [be created] but also videotape the reading of your documents so you can show you’re of sound mind.”

In better times, drafting a will was enough; then a trust was an added requirement to ‘iron-clad’ documents and to assure easy transference of wealth.

No longer.

As the courts became underfunded in the last 20 years, predatory behavior emerged to the extent that criminality is now occurring at alarming rates with no oversight, with courts isolating the conserved, and, I’ve heard, many times killing conservatees for profit. Plundering the assets of estates until beneficiaries are penniless is also common.”

Post Newspaper Publisher Paul Cobb says, “The simple solution is to avoid probate at all costs. If beneficiaries can’t agree, hire a private mediator and attorney to work things out. The moment you walk into court, you are vulnerable to the whims of the court. Your will and trust mean nothing.”

Zakiya Jendayi, a co-host of the Probate Reform Group and a victim herself, says, “In my case, the will and trust were clear that I am the beneficiary of the estate, but the opposing attorney said I used undue influence to make myself beneficiary. He said that without proof, and the judge upheld the attorney’s baseless assertion. In court, the will and trust is easily discounted.”

The Black press reaches out to 47 million Black Americans with one voice. The power of the press has never been so important as it is now in this national movement to save Black generational wealth from predatory attorneys, guardians and judges.

The next probate reform meeting is on March 5, from 7 – 9 p.m. PST. Zoom Details:
Meeting ID: 825 0367 1750
Passcode: 475480

All are welcome.