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Report Reveals Shooting Death of Joshua Pawlik by OPD Could Have Been Prevented

Before George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless others were killed by police this year, Joshua Pawlik was killed by the Oakland Police Department (OPD) on March 11, 2018.
Pawlik lost his life that night under circumstances that would eventually lead to the Oakland City Council agreeing to pay Pawlik’s family $1.4 million in April of this year.
More than two years after Pawlik’s death, a 54-page report on the shooting was released on August 17, 2020. A summary of the report and a timeline of follow-up events is below.
A passerby who was walking his dog on 40th Street in Oakland called 911 at 6:15 p.m. and reported that Pawlik was unresponsive, lying between two homes and possibly may have had a weapon.
Pawlik a 31-year-old white homeless man from San Francisco, was initially described as a “light-skinned male” by police dispatchers.
Officer Josef Phillips, first at the scene, arrived at 6:19 p.m. and reported to the OPD Communications Division that Pawlik had a semiautomatic handgun in his right hand and was “. . . either sleeping or unconscious, or possibly intoxicated or under the influence of narcotics.”
Other officers and supervisors arrived at the scene and blocked traffic and a BearCat (specialized armored police vehicle) also arrived.
A camera was placed on the BearCat and captured Sgt. Francisco Negrete, officers William Berger, Brandon Hraiz and Craig Tanaka firing their AR-15 patrol rifles — 22 shots in 2.23 seconds — as Pawlik began to awaken and move.
Phillips fired a “less than lethal shot.”
Pawlik was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:13 and had been handcuffed.
The five police officers were not disciplined immediately at the time because Oakland Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick, the first woman to head the OPD, said they did not act improperly. They were eventually fired in 2019 but reinstated because the Oakland Police Commission violated the open meeting laws.
As reported by Zack Haber in a story published in The Post on March 15, 2019, the Coalition for Police Accountability (CPA) called for the firing of Kirkpatrick.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, who hired Kirkpatrick in January 2017, joined the seven-person OPD commission in voting unanimously to fire Kirkpatrick without cause on Feb. 20, 2020,
In May, Kirkpatrick filed a federal whistleblower suit against the City of Oakland, claiming her firing was retaliation for exposing the Oakland Police Commission’s corruption and abuse of power.
“The March 11, 2018, Shooting of Joshua Pawlik by Oakland Police Officers: A Report of the Monitor/Compliance Director,” was released. Retired Chief Robert S. Warshaw is listed as the author and monitor/compliance director.
The report recounted the killing of Pawlik by “. . . 22 bullets fired by four officers as he gained consciousness, with a handgun by his side, in a residential neighborhood of Oakland. One officer fired seven times; another six times; another five times; and another four times . . .”
“Deaths of the disenfranchised—be they people of color, those affected by mental illness, or those experiencing homelessness—at the hands of the police are a stain on our national character.”
(The Washington Post has created a national log of fatal shootings by on-duty police officers since 2015. To date, more than 5,000 shootings have been logged.)
The report concluded that Pawlik’s right hand was on the ground when the shooting began and concurs with OPD, which acknowledged “ . . . that the on-scene Commander was not sequestered at the scene, nor was he interviewed on the night of the incident.”
The report also found that former Chief Kirkpatrick “… failed to question and correct the numerous deficiencies and omissions in the investigation prior to finalizing and forwarding the report to the District Attorney’s Office.”
Based on that report, on March 6, 2020, the D.A. declined to prosecute the case against OPD.
Schaaf told Warshaw that Pawlik’s shooting was “awful but lawful”.
In conclusion, the report stated that “Joshua Pawlik’s death, as well as many others, mostly Black and Brown, who have died at the hands of the police, are to be counted among those that do. (Referring to Schaaf’s ‘lawful but lawful’ statement.) The brutality of Joshua Pawlik’s death; the incompetence and dishonesty in its aftermath; and the failure, thus far, for it to result in real change, debase us all.”
“ . . .[T]he burden for finding the path forward still rests principally with the City of Oakland and its Police Department. The death of Mr. Pawlik could have been avoided if the officers involved had responded differently. The officers had other options; the supervisors and commanders had authority to provide on-scene direction and oversight. They all failed.”
Finally, the report points out lessons to learn: “[t]he Oakland Police Department must prevent officer-involved shootings like the one that killed Joshua Pawlik. The Department must have the courage, commitment, and cadre of leaders with an unwavering willingness to hold to account those sworn to uphold the law. Most importantly, the City of Oakland and its Police Department must demonstrate that they can establish and maintain community trust in the absence of Court Supervision and monitoring.”
The report suggests using the resources of the Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA) to set the “ . . . conditions for Constitutional and effective policing, and provide direction toward best practices in the field.”
The NSA was established in 2003 in response to a lawsuit against OPD over misconduct.
The NSA requires police reforms in several areas, including internal affairs, supervision of officers, police use of force, training, personnel practices, and community policing.
The report also cites The Oakland Police Commission as, “ . . . an important voice for police reform at a time when it is clearer than ever that a police department cannot function without the support of, and oversight by the community it is presumed to serve.”
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Conversation with Al McFarlane and Coach Leah
May 29, 2023 – Welcome back to another episode of The Conversation with Al McFarlane! We bring you inspiring discussions …
The post Conversation with Al McFarlane and Coach Leah first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=6ydjQ14cOJM&autoplay=0&cc_lang_pref=en&cc_load_policy=0&color=0&controls=1&fs=1&h1=en&loop=0&rel=0
May 29, 2023 – Welcome back to another episode of The Conversation with Al McFarlane! We bring you inspiring discussions …
The post Conversation with Al McFarlane and Coach Leah first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
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No Labels Endorses Bipartisan Deal to Resolve US Debt Ceiling Debate
NNPA NEWSWIRE — “We have always emphasized that there should be common sense bipartisan solutions to our nation’s problems that are supported overwhelmingly by the majority of the American people,” No Labels National Co-Chairs Joe Lieberman, Larry Hogan, and Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., said in a joint statement issued on Sunday, May 28.
The post No Labels Endorses Bipartisan Deal to Resolve US Debt Ceiling Debate first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
No Labels, a growing national movement of what the organization calls “common sense Americans pushing leaders together to solve the country’s biggest problems,” announced its support of the bipartisan deal that President Joe Biden, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have agreed upon in principle to avoid the United States defaulting on its national debt before the June 5 deadline.
“We have always emphasized that there should be common sense bipartisan solutions to our nation’s problems that are supported overwhelmingly by the majority of the American people,” No Labels National Co-Chairs Joe Lieberman, Larry Hogan, and Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., said in a joint statement issued on Sunday, May 28.
Chavis also serves as president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, the trade association of the more than 230 African American owned newspapers and media companies in the United States.
After months of uncertainty and verbal sparring, an “agreement in principle” has been reached to spare the United States from its first-ever debt default.
But now comes the hard part: convincing both Democrats and Republicans in Congress to agree to pass the measure.
After President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced that they’d reached an accord to raise the nation’s debt ceiling and avoid a catastrophic default, Congress has just a few days to approve the deal.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said a deal needs ratification by June 5, or the United States would breach its $31.4 trillion debt ceiling.
If approved by Congress, the deal would raise the debt ceiling for two years, punting it to the next administration.
The GOP originally proposed a one-year deal but conceded to Democrats’ demand for two.
In the agreement, spending – except for the military – would remain at 2023 levels for next year, with funds being earmarked for other federal programs.
Biden also agreed to a $10 billion cut to the $80 billion he had earmarked for the IRS to crack down on individuals cheating on their taxes.
Instead, the funds will go to other programs that Republicans sought to cut.
Additionally, with billions remaining from pandemic relief funds unspent, both parties agreed to claw back those funds to the federal government.
“Avoiding America’s default in paying our national debt is vital to the future of our nation. We thank President Biden and Speaker McCarthy for their leadership to achieve the debt ceiling deal,” the No Labels leaders continued.
“We encourage Republican, Democratic and Independent members of both chambers of the US Congress to pass this agreement expeditiously because it is so important for every American.”
The post No Labels Endorses Bipartisan Deal to Resolve US Debt Ceiling Debate first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
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Three Years After #DefundThePolice, Schools Are Bringing Cops Back to Campus
SAN DIEGO VOICE & VIEWPOINT — As of January 2023, there were about 60 SROs remaining in D.C. schools, down from its peak of more than 100, according to the Washington Post. However, the progress made toward reducing law enforcement presence in D.C. schools appears to be in jeopardy. In what seems like a backtrack from the progressive momentum generated during “America’s racial reckoning,” four D.C. council members now support a proposal to retain officers in schools, citing an uptick in violence and crime in school vicinities.
The post Three Years After #DefundThePolice, Schools Are Bringing Cops Back to Campus first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

By
In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, calls to defund the police rang across the nation during the summer of 2020. While few cities took swift action, many school districts — integral community hubs where young minds are nurtured, and where kids spend the bulk of their time — began to reevaluate the presence of armed personnel patrolling the hallways.
In September 2019, eight months before Floyd’s murder, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported nearly 25,000 school resource officers were assigned to primarily K-12 schools.
Those numbers slowly started to change in districts around the country as a response to calls to defund the police.
In Washington, D.C., for example, the D.C. Council unanimously voted in 2021 to reduce the number of SROs in both public and charter schools beginning July 2022, with the plan to end the Metropolitan Police Department’s School Safety Division in 2025.
In September 2019, eight months before Floyd’s murder, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported nearly 25,000 school resource officers were assigned to primarily K-12 schools.
As of January 2023, there were about 60 SROs remaining in D.C. schools, down from its peak of more than 100, according to the Washington Post. However, the progress made toward reducing law enforcement presence in D.C. schools appears to be in jeopardy. In what seems like a backtrack from the progressive momentum generated during “America’s racial reckoning,” four D.C. council members now support a proposal to retain officers in schools, citing an uptick in violence and crime in school vicinities.
On the other side of the country, the Denver Public School District Board of Education unanimously voted to bring SROs back to schools through June 2023. Similar to D.C., the decision followed closely on the heels of a shooting at Denver’s East High School. And 18 SROs were brought back to 17 schools in the district.
Schools around the country are running into roadblocks trying to remove SROs.
The Roadblocks
The roadblocks don’t look the same in every situation.
In D.C., for example, ACLU DC policy associate Ahoefa Ananouko cites Mayor Muriel Bowser as the biggest barrier. Bowser has been vocal about keeping SROs in schools, going as far as to say that removing SROs is “the nuttiest thing.”
And, like in D.C. and Denver, politicians, policymakers, and some educators nationwide cite violence in the area as a reason for keeping SROs, but there is little evidence to support that SROs actually do make schools safer. In fact, in a 2020 report, the Justice Policy Institute said, “rates of youth violence were plummeting independent of law enforcement interventions, and the impact of SROs on school shootings has been dubious at best.”
Plus, it’s been proven that SROs exacerbate the school-to-prison pipeline, especially for Black students.
The Center for Public Integrity analyzed U.S. Department of Education data from all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico in 2021. The investigation found that school policing disproportionately affects students with disabilities and Black students. Nationwide, these two groups were referred to law enforcement at “nearly twice their share of the overall student population.”
What we often have seen is that the teachers or classified staff who feel that it’s not within their ability to handle certain situations automatically defer to the SROs.
ADONAI MACK, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION AT CHILDREN NOW
But it doesn’t stop many adults on the school campus from differing discipline to SROs, says Adonai Mack, the senior director of education at Children Now. This happens when there is either a fear around addressing disciplinary problems or concerns, or feeling they aren’t able to handle it.
“What we often have seen is that the teachers or classified staff who feel that it’s not within their ability to handle certain situations automatically defer to the SROs,” Mack says.
This is where the call for additional non-police safety officials comes in, like nurses, counselors, or psychologists, who “certainly do more help than harm,” Mack says.
But, like teachers and other educators, there’s a shortage of these professionals. But Ananouko says this shouldn’t be a barrier if policymakers decided it was more important to have mental health professionals or restorative justice interventionalists — people who are trained to handle trauma, behavior, and underlying issues.
“I believe they could and should shift those resources to incentivize those professionals being hired instead of investing more in police,” Ananouko says, “which have been shown to be harmful to students in a school environment, generally.”
A Detriment to Mental Wellness
Though it’s too early to have concrete data on students’ mental health without SROs, there are, anecdotally, reasons to believe it’s a positive change.
Aside from students leading police-free school groups, there are other historic factors that lend insight. For one, whenever there are fears around deportation, not only Black students, but Latino and AAPI students experience negative mental health impacts, Mack says.
The feelings, like with the Defund the Police movement, are split across racial lines. Black, Latino, and AAPI students don’t always feel safe with police around.
“With kids of color, what you often have is this alienation,” Mack says. “There are decreased feelings of safety. Now, I would say that’s different for white kids and white families. They often will feel that having police on campus makes the campus safer.”
Black and Brown students are more likely to attend a school patrolled by an SRO.
And, Black and Brown students are more likely to attend a school patrolled by an SRO. A 2023 Urban Institute study found that schools where the student population is at least 80% Black and Brown, students are more likely to have an SRO compared to schools with a high population of white students, regardless of income levels. And, 34%-37% of schools with high populations of Black and Brown students have an SRO, compared to 5%-11% of predominantly white schools.
But it’s clear that there’s “a detriment to kids of color” with police on campus, Mack says.
“From that perspective, with any decrease, what we see is that it automatically improves the mental wellness of students from those communities,” Mack says.
‘A Critical Point’
While the roadblocks might be tougher or the headlines have fizzled out, Ananouko says the police-free schools movement “isn’t slowing down at all.”
And now, D.C. is at a critical point. It’s budget oversight season, meaning it’s the time when funding for SROs could be restored. But, every year since the initial 2021 vote, students, school administrators, teachers, and advocates have continued to push for the phase-out, Ananouko says.
“Our messaging has not changed,” Ananouko says. “We’ve stayed consistent in saying that police don’t keep students safe. And none of that has changed in these past three years.”
The bottom line is that all kids deserve to feel safe and nurtured, Ananouko says.
“They should be able to feel like they can go to school with that fear,” she says, whether this fear comes from other students or armed officers in the building who can use their gun “at any point at the discretion of the law is on their side.”
“A lot of the issues that students are dealing with are not going to be addressed by somebody with a gun.”
This article originally appeared in San Diego Voice and Viewpoint.
The post Three Years After #DefundThePolice, Schools Are Bringing Cops Back to Campus first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
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