Vallejo Police cover-up squad

message from C.M.: 
There's a whole lotta covering up going on in Solano County...  
VALLEJO POLICE DEPARTMENTS CODE BLUE PLEDGE " protect and hide any evidence from the scene of the crime... murder em... kill em and bag them up... then proceed with the cover up.  
Protect the badge holder at all times.  
Always bring guns and drugs to plant at the crime... this is the pledge that The Vallejo Police Department officers took on September 2, 2012 the night that they murdered Mario Romero.  
Squad car 136 is the cleanup man... telling evidence from the scene of the murder.  
How do you sleep at night mister clean up man? do you sleep?  
GOD said whats done in the dark will come to the light... these skeletons just keep falling out of the closet...  
hmm I wonder whats next?   



"VALLEJO POLICE OFFICER HELPS HIS BUDDY, STEALS EVIDENCE FROM MARIO ROMERO" video upload 2012-09-22 to "youtube.com" by "lexthin56" 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZapQYCHeBg]:
Vallejo Police Murder Mario Romero MURDERED IN HIS CAR THEN CUT OUT OF THE CAR IN A PANIC AND PLACED ON THE GROUND BEFORE BACKUP OR AMBULANCE CALLED. WHAT?   THE EVIDENCE TAGS HAVE NOT BEEN PLACED, NO PICTURES TAKEN, AT THE TIME OF THE OFFICER INVOLVED THEFT   



"MURDER OF MARIO ROMERO SOLANO COUNTY CORONER COVER UP. AGAIN!!!!" video upload 2012-09-19 to "youtube.com" by "lexthin56" 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnpPUtIL57U]:

Vallejo Police and Mayor are killing and abusing families of victims of Police violence and murder

2012-101-18 analysis by La Mesha Irizarry of the "Idriss-Stelley Foundation", a non-profit advocating against systematic police violence and extra-judicial executions of innocent people:
In the early morning hours of September 2, 2012 Mario Romero was brutally killed by the Vallejo Police Department as he and his brother-in-law sat in front of their home on their way to return to their wives and children however before they were able to leave their car they were sprayed with bullets by blood thirsty police officers on a mission to seek and destroy.
The Vallejo Police Officers admit they Never identified themselves, Never asked for Driver's License, Insurance or registration. Instead they were told to raise their hands at the same time they were fired upon with brutal force that mirrored the actions of the Nazi's.
Round after round was reloaded into the clip as witness screamed for the officers to spare the lives of these two innocent men who police continued to spray their car with bullets living out a scene from a video game , Jumping upon the hood of the car of the men who they were supposedly threatened by two innocent unarmed men that they intended to kill not hurt but kill.
The community of Vallejo is outraged by the excessive force that has been used on the citizens of Vallejo California and all of the coincidences in the stories.
They have attempted to paint this man as a drug dealing gangster with ties to a neighborhood that he had just moved into in an attempt to smoke screen a murder that they committed.
They stole his body from the scene of the crime and have held it hostage from his loved ones.
They have intimidated the San Francisco Bay Area media by telling them not to cover the rallies on the front porch of the Vallejo Police Department filled with hundreds of saddened citizens in fear of their safety.
they have not allowed the mother of Mario Romero to see the body of her brutally murdered child.
The retiring head of the sheriff's department has considered this murder as minimal and has left this tragedy on the list of to do's for his unavailable assistant while this mother has been deprived of identifying the body of her son.
The Police chief has been unavailable to answer questions from the family and community but has been conveniently available for the media while the family was disallowed. As they cried out for justice for two days straight on the porch of the Vallejo Police Department, Police Public Relations Officer Mr. Basset eased out of the back door of the Police department and into his car to be with his family.
The Mayor of the city has been unavailable to speak to the family but has been available to speak to the media . The mother of this slain man was shooed away as she broke down and cried inside of Mayor Osby Davis' Office... Mr. Davis has taken an extended Vacation and will not be returning until the end of next week and no assistant is available.
Mr. Bassett has justified the actions of his subordinates but has failed to provide the video footage that supports his officers actions.
Meanwhile in a city not far away a CHP officer was gunned down and the tape to the patrol car was made immediately available and all involved parties were named. This has not been the case in Vallejo California where there have been 5 police killings so far this year.
The computers and internet of all parties standing up for justice for Mario Romero have been hacked denying access to media outlets, The family home where the slain man lived has been revisited by the Vallejo Police Department but not to offer condolences.
It has been revisited by officers shinning the same bright lights minus the guns that they shinned into the windows that very night that Mario Romero was Brutally murdered, windows dow,n laughing taunts about him deserving to die.
In an attempt to intimidate and silence the family from seeking justice for injustice. We are all human and deserve to be treated the same. Somehow the Vallejo California Police Department does not agree.
They believe that it is okay to profile, Bully and intimidate the citizens of Vallejo California because they don't believe that anyone cares.
this is plea for everyone to take notice of the continued tragedy that is going on in Vallejo California. We want justice for Mario Romero and all of the citizens of Vallejo California who have been murdered and harassed by the Vallejo Police Department. "something has to be done immediately!
this could be you or your loved one.
It is imperative that the word gets out about the the corrupt actions that have been accepted by the officials.
Please repost and share with you family friends and community

Voices of the Movement for Justice

Rev. Harris, Uncle Bobby & Minister Keith Muhammad Speaks At Vallejo Town Hall Meeting After Mario who was shoot at 30 times by Vallejo Police. Mothers and fathers who kids were killed by Cops came together and spoke out!![http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5skFGh0GYI]
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frmlFEGYNoU]
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJhy4y4TMYY]
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xnN1dbPlNk]

Police cover their abuse in hand with a national network

2011-10-04 "The Blue Wall Of Silence"
[http://policedeviance.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/the-blue-wall-of-silence/]:
What is “The Blue Wall of Silence”?
The term “Blue Wall of Silence” also known as the “Blue Shield” first triggered in New York, United States [http://www.wisegeek.com/contest/what-is-meant-by-the-blue-wall-of-silence.htm]. This unwritten code can generally be defined as: “A rule among police officers not to report on another officer’s errors, misconducts, and or crimes when questioned about an incident of misconduct involving another colleague, during a course of an inquiry”.
Every country has a police force to enforce its laws and ensure that public peace is maintained overall. In a democratic system of government, the police are expected to maintain public order without violating a citizen’s civil or human rights. The idea that in a democratic country the police do uphold civil liberties and do not violate human rights is not necessarily accurate. The Blue Wall of Silence can be one of many contributing factors that help police officers uphold the deviance involved in their department.
The Blue Wall of Silence symbolizes the loyalty among police officers within the force [http://www.washburnlaw.edu/wlj/39-2/articles/koepke-jennifer.pdf]. To maintain this loyalty an officer may be forced to neglect the presence of police brutality which can hurt the victims by preventing them from getting justice. Moreover, the Blue Wall of Silence and police brutality have been and continue to be, protected and facilitated by the police culture.  A mutual link then can be made between police culture and police corruption, which makes this topic significantly interesting.
According to Maurice Punch (2009), corruption in policing generally refers to: an officer perceptively doing or not doing something that is contrary to his/her duty for some form of financial or material gain. In most cases, it is geared largely in the direction of bribery and individual gain in return for favors.
Research has been collected through previous cases involving police misconduct that caught the media’s attention and went global, for example the New York Police Department [http://www.nytimes.com/keyword/blue-wall]. In New York City, some police officers have been associated with the Blue Wall of Silence that led to the Mollen Commission in 1994 [http://www.parc.info/client_files/Special%20Reports/4%20-%20Mollen%20Commission%20-%20NYPD.pdf]. Mollen’s mandate was to examine and investigate “the nature and extent of corruption in the Department; evaluate the departments procedures for preventing and detecting that corruption; and recommend changes and improvements to those procedures”.  The Commission found that officers falsified documents such as arrest reports, warrants and evidence for an illegal arrest or search and they justified themselves by believing that this was not corruption but yet another way to “get the job done”. The Mollen Commission concluded by saying “The pervasiveness of the code of silence is itself alarming”.
During the course of my web audit, using the Google search engine, I entered the term “Blue Wall of Silence” and received approximately 3,950,000 hits with content extending from dated to more recent incidents. The first page consisted of information from the Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Code_of_Silence], News Media Articles [http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_36/b3697036.htm], Multimedia [http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2009/06/21/the_blue_wall_of_silence/], and from former NYPD Police Officers that went against the code [http://www.nondomesticatedthinker.com/2010/07/walk-behind-the-blue-wall-of-silence/].  I found the Wikipedia – the free encyclopaedia provided a good definition on the term and provided a direct link to the Mollen Commission, which made it easier to understand the whole phenomenon that took place in New York City.
Additionally, I found the first page is restricted by a lack of academic articles. However, found it interesting how there are a range of perspectives with respect to this topic. For example, the first page consisted of a link where a police officer spoke out regarding the issues associated with the unwritten code, within his department. Furthermore, this topic can be controversial towards the public’s eye and we can start to ask questions, Can this Unwritten Code The Blue Wall of Silence be broken?

References:
Punch, Maurice. (2009). Police Corruption Deviance, accountability and reform in policing. Willan Publishing. Devon, UK.



What is meant by the Blue Wall of Silence?
[http://www.wisegeek.com/contest/what-is-meant-by-the-blue-wall-of-silence.htm]:
The Blue Wall of Silence is the name used to describe the unity exhibited by Police officers in an aim to limit their co-operation when the accused is a police official. It is neither a morally justifiable act nor is it a legal act.
Experts say that the Blue Wall of Silence symbolizes the fierce loyalty among police officers. According to NPR’s Eric Westervelt, the idea of the impenetrable ‘code’ came into existence when a Haitian immigrant was tortured in custody at a Brooklyn precinct. In reality, the Blue Wall of Silence was built by Jerome H. Skolnick who reported the case in April 2000.The trial that began on May 4 of four New York policemen in connection with the August 1997 brutalization of Haitian immigrant Abner Louima took two surprising turns. In the second week of the trial, three NYPD policemen took the stand to support the prosecution's charges that one of the defendants, Officer Justin A. Volpe, had sodomized Louima with a wooden stick in the restroom of the 70th Precinct station house in Brooklyn. The three cops, breaking through the notorious "blue wall of silence," testified that Volpe had boasted of the crime, and they offered accounts supporting aspects of the charges. The fact that three cops had testified against another cop in a police brutality case took the media by storm. Then, the second surprising turn was that, Volpe decided to plead guilty to the charges. This confession shocked the community at large who felt that these killers in blue uniforms cannot be reformed but must be removed from our communities. Media reports said that the three cops who testified against Volpe were emboldened to cross the "blue line of silence" by the mass protests against police brutality that followed the murder of Amadou Diallo. Thus the Blue Wall of Silence came into existence.
The Blue Wall of Silence, does not have an official existence. This is not a written code. John Diedrich in the Milwaukee Sentinel article titled “Wall of Silence Not Breaking” calls it the ‘unwritten code of silence’. By common reasoning, it is easy to connect the existence of police brutality with the Blue Wall of Silence. Where there is police brutality, the issue of the Blue Wall of Silence coexists. Hence it can be concluded using deductive reasoning that the Blue Wall of Silence exists at all levels of the police. The existence of the Blue Wall of Silence affects the prisoners who face police brutality, as well as the righteous police officers who try to tear down the Blue Wall of Silence.
The case of Frank Jude Jr. merits special attention in this context. Frank Jude Jr., was savagely beaten Oct. 24 by a dozen men who, witnesses said identified themselves as off-duty police officers. This was a case in which the officers’ testimony became crucial. This is a case when the Blue Wall of Silence affects the life of Frank Jude Jr., a victim of police brutality. According to New York Daily News, Barry, a 16-year veteran of the force, contends she was demoted and brought up on disciplinary charges after whistle-blowing on the truancy unit of the Queens South Task Force in 1998. Barry was demoted, assigned to midnight tours and accused of failing to supervise her unit. She was further labeled by other cops as a ‘rat’."Cops will tolerate psychos, alcoholics, wife-beaters, dweebs and geeks, but they will not tolerate rats. Period," said Tony Bouza, chief of the Minneapolis Police Department from 1980 to 1988. In this particular case, the Blue Wall of Silence has affected the life of a righteous police officer, Barry.
The above instances show that the Blue Wall of Silence hurts the victims of police brutality by preventing them from getting justice and the righteous police officers who are punished for choosing to cross the Blue Wall of Silence. It protects the police officers who perpetuate the crime of brutality.
The Blue Wall of Silence is thus a barrier to the course of justice. It does more harm than good because it destroys the image of the police officers in the public eye. Supporters of the Blue Wall of Silence argue that police officers have friendships and allegiances among colleagues, much like workers in any office and these officers depend on each other with their lives. It can be reasoned that a police officer honoring the Blue Wall of Silence is merely following the instructions of his seniors. As such there can be nothing morally wrong in it from the viewpoint of the police officers.
Another police officer justifies the ‘code’ saying that it is the result of changing role of the police officer. The police of today are trained to look out for drugs and terrorists. They are trained differently in recent times. By heavily arming them, they are expected to be more aggressive in their jobs thereby promoting police brutality.
By indulging in police brutality, such officers commit crimes. When, in respect of the Blue Wall of Silence, colleagues maintain silence in this context, they are actually acting on the side of the criminals and hence will be considered as supporters of the crime. Thus, in the eyes of the public and the prisoners, it would be unethical for a police officer to protect his colleagues on the pretext of the Blue Wall of Silence. The Blue Wall of Silence, created by the media to define the unwritten code of police officers to protect offenders of crimes amongst their colleagues has become a hotly debated issue in the light of deaths due to police brutality. While protecting culprits within the police force, this Wall has been a barrier to obtaining justice for the victims of police brutality. It can be predicted that there is every chance that this Blue Wall of Silence can be finally broken by the powerful roar of the media in the voice of a communicative and aware public.


2009-06-21 "The blue wall of silence: Officer Mike Cox believed in the system. Until he was brutally beaten by fellow cops in an arrest gone wrong, and the Boston police covered it up" by Dick Lehr from "Boston Globe"
[http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2009/06/21/the_blue_wall_of_silence/?page=full]:
This excerpt is from the new book The Fence: A Police Cover-Up Along Boston's Racial Divide, by Dick Lehr. Available this month from HarperCollins Publishers. Copyright©2009 by Dick Lehr. Now a journalism professor at Boston University, Dick Lehr was a Boston Globe reporter for nearly two decades. Send comments to magazine@globe.com.
---
During the immediate aftermath of his beating at the hands of fellow officers, Mike Cox's first instincts were true-blue. The severity of the thrashing notwithstanding, Mike got that it had been a terrible mistake. His family was angry, but he couldn't see making a federal case out of it. Friends from the department's gang unit came by the house the first week to check on him. He wasn't up for talking much, but he listened. He heard gossip that the brass was giving those responsible some time -- a grace period of sorts -- to come forward before any kind of intense internal probe was begun. The tidbits gave Mike the idea this was going to get settled in a way he preferred both personally and as part of the fraternity himself -- quietly and within the organization. "I felt this loyalty to police in general," he said. He was optimistic, knowing full well police officers tended to protect another suspected of misconduct. But he also believed this went beyond any unspoken code of silence. When the victim was one of your own, it was a different ballgame.
Mike was figuring that within days he'd hear from the cops who'd beaten him. He was counting on an apology. "I expected the individuals to come forward and say what they had done." They'd get disciplined in some fashion. Then they'd all move on.
Mike didn't expect his wife, mother, and sisters to understand any of this.
"In the beginning, I had a lot of faith," Mike said.
On Friday, February 3, nine days after his assault, the first newspaper story ran mentioning Mike in connection with the capture of four murder suspects. The Herald's early bulldog edition hit the streets not long after midnight and was usually read by the cops, firefighters, cabdrivers, and anyone else working in the dark. The story said Mike had been injured and the department was investigating whether he'd been beaten.
Before dawn the telephone rang at the Coxes' house in Dorchester. Mike turned carefully and grabbed for the receiver by the bed. He heard a voice grumbling. The voice was unfamiliar, and Mike had to hold the receiver away from his ear when the grumbling grew into a primal scream. Then it stopped. The caller hung up. Mike was puzzled, but didn't think much of the weirdness. He and Kimberly tried to get comfortable again.
Then the telephone rang again -- and again. Each time Mike picked up the receiver to hear the same animal-like scream. Toward daybreak, the caller asked for someone by a name that made no sense.
Mike asked the caller, "Who?"
"You [expletive]," the caller yelled. Then the voice swore at him again.
The line went dead, and that was it. The calls ended. Mike and Kimberly weren't going to puzzle too much over it, not with all they had going on in the family, given Mike's condition.
Later in the morning, a friend of Mike's called to tell him about the newspaper coverage. The story, a mere 289 words long, ran on Page 16 and carried the headline "Alleged Beating of Undercover Cop Probed." It reported that the department was looking into the possibility that "an undercover police officer was beaten by other officers at the height of a chase following a shooting last week." It was the first public disclosure that Mike had been a casualty in what so far had been heralded in the media as a night of sterling police work. Would the truth now begin to come out about what had actually happened at the fence on the dead end in Mattapan where the chase concluded?
Mike read on: "Officer Michael Cox, 29, a member of the Anti-Gang Violence Unit, suffered kidney damage and head wounds in the Jan. 25 incident, which occurred as police pursued four suspects for a shooting at a Roxbury eatery, sources said."
Mike found himself thinking about the crank calls. They were clearly connected to the story. He might be reading the story for the first time at midmorning, but Mike knew that cops working the overnight shift often grabbed the city's two morning newspapers.
The caller, Mike decided, was not random, a nobody -- he was a cop who'd read the news story. He would never be able to prove it, but he knew it in his bones. Mike felt panic. He knew the call was a warning: Keep your mouth shut.
The story itself presented another puzzle for Mike. In it, police sources were quoted as saying they were trying to sort out what had happened. One police source said, "We have no official complaint yet. Michael has not come in and said he was beaten up."
"No official complaint?" thought Mike. The notion that police investigated violent assaults only after the victim filed a formal complaint was flat-out absurd. The department was making it sound as if the ball was in his court -- to both pursue the case and solve it.
Then a story about him in the Globe only added to his anxiety. The story reported police officials were "trying to determine how plainclothes officer Michael Cox was injured in the line of duty last week." But comments by the spokesman were misleading, if not outright false. "We're not sure -- and he's not sure -- how he was injured."
Mike was confounded. The stories were like a punch in the stomach. Officials were saying his injuries were serious but they didn't know how he got hurt.
Then came this: "There is no assumption of any wrongdoing yet."
No assumption of wrongdoing? Mike couldn't get past that line. It was nine days since he'd been beaten, and everybody knew he'd been beaten -- mistakenly, perhaps, but he was beaten, and the beating was overkill, a case study of excessive force. But officials telling the public, "There is no assumption of any wrongdoing" did not sound like a department determined to get to the bottom of the beating of one cop by other cops.
When the stories about Mike ran in the Herald and Globe, Mike's family jumped all over them. They saw the stories as clear-cut evidence the Police Department was in coverup mode. They said, We told you so, Mike. You have to do something. Mike agreed to meet with an attorney one of his sisters had found. His name was Stephen Roach, a 45-year-old civil trial attorney. Roach had just started his own firm downtown. He had been practicing law for just over a decade, competently but without fanfare.
Roach showed up at the Coxes' in early February. "I just wanted him to leave as fast as possible," Mike said. He had met with Roach mainly to placate his family, but the meeting did last long enough for Mike to realize Roach was an outsider. "He knew nothing about the Boston police," Mike said. "He had not worked for them, and he didn't seem to be part of that culture."
But, for Mike, this was good. He had privately begun to question the low-key nature of the department's response. Maybe his family was on the right track. Maybe the "grace period" was not so much time to allow the wrongdoers to step up as to enable a coverup to take root.
Several nights after the meeting with Roach, the calls started again. "Virtually every night," Mike said. Sometimes the caller didn't say a word; other times he screamed or swore. Mike became convinced the caller was a cop using a kind of blunt force -- the linguistic equivalent of a nightstick or flashlight -- to keep him down and silent. But if that was the intent, the harassing calls had the opposite effect.
"It helped me to focus," Mike said. "This was not just gonna go away."
One September night eight months after the beating, Mike jerked upright and leaned over the back of the couch. He thought he'd heard something outside. But his street was quiet. His unmarked police cruiser sat in front of his house, untouched.
He'd taken to sleeping on the living room couch after finding a tire slashed one morning when he left the house for work. Over the next few weeks the other three tires were cut up. His car was clearly targeted; it was the only one on the street that was hit. Mike was certain cops were the culprits, cops who'd adopted yet another technique to communicate what they thought of him, "that I was becoming some type, you know, of rat." In the police world, tire slashing was known to be one way cops expressed displeasure with one another.
The harassment accelerated as officers began receiving subpoenas in late summer to appear before a Suffolk County investigative grand jury. Mike had gone back to work in July, and his return wasn't going well. "I'd just walk into a room and, you know, people look at you like you're dirt." Some commanders reassured him his beating was unacceptable, but the talk was empty, particularly when he could see actual suspects still on the job. No one had yet been disciplined, despite the lies the investigation had already established. Instead, the crank calls continued, albeit with breaks. Once a crew of Boston firetrucks arrived in the middle of the night, apparently summoned by a false report that the Cox house was ablaze.
Now there were the tires. When Mike lay back down on the couch, a video camera, pointed out of the living room window, continued making its slow, whirring sound. The camera was aimed straight at Mike's cruiser. The car's shadowy image was displayed on a monitor attached by cables to the camera.
Boston police anti-corruption investigators had installed the camera. It was a primitive setup, requiring Mike to "do a lot of rewinding and setting up of this equipment, turning it on and off." Kimberly was put off by the whole thing. To her, the clunky equipment was a token, even patronizing response: "I didn't think that was a serious attempt for them to find out who was doing this." In fact, it became a symbol for how the couple viewed the overall investigation -- halfhearted, bungled, and wanting.
By early fall, Mike had seen enough. He'd always believed in the system, but he now felt it had fallen short. "I was failed by the Police Department," he said. Mike decided he was on his own in the search for justice. "I had to do something," he said, "regardless of what the DA's office or the Police Department was going to do." The continual harassment, rather than a deterrent, had become a prod. "I decided, along with my family, that I needed to find out, you know, who was involved, who did this."
Mike hired Steve Roach, and in late fall, he sued. He sued his fellow cops, his Police Department, and his city. He said his civil rights were violated when Boston police officers repeatedly beat and kicked him until he blacked out. He took on the police culture of silence and said his assailants joined others in a coverup.
Mike was in metamorphosis -- moving from cooperating victim in others' investigations to aggressor in the quest to hold his assailants accountable. He'd been a punching bag that night at the fence, and he'd felt like one ever since.
"It was humiliating what happened to me," he said. "There's no reason to treat anyone like that. And then to just leave them. And if they do it to me -- another police officer -- would they do it to another person if they got away with it?
On December 31, 1995, an estimated 1 million revelers turned out for Boston's First Night activities. For the occasion, more than 200 Boston police officers and 91 police cadets were deployed to keep the city's record of a festive and peaceful New Year's Eve intact. "We're going to keep this a safe and enjoyable way for people to celebrate," Mayor Tom Menino promised beforehand.
Mike Cox was not feeling particularly celebratory. His lawsuit against his police colleagues and his department could cost them their jobs, monetary damages, and "it could send them to jail." Mike now wrestled with a new fear: He'd become a troublemaker, and the quickest way for those troubles to end was "by me not being on this earth." That was the way Mike Cox's year ended -- believing his life was at risk. He'd been a cop for six years and knew the score. He understood his lawsuit meant he was locked in combat against the police culture, and, by taking it on, he had become the enemy. ª

Father Say Vallejo Police Shoot His Son In the Head, Shoot Son Arms Off & Shoot Son Feet Off
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAeYXj4UGgc]:
Father Micheal Say Vallejo Police Shoot His Son In the Head and shoot his son arm off and shoot his son feet off. You must look at the VIDEO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wZJGMU3hZk AND SEE THE KILLING!!!!! Father tells the story that his son had three bullets holes in his head while he wipe off the makeup off his face while he laid in the coffin. You must see the video on you tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wZJGMU3hZk. The citizen in Vallejo is under attack by the Vallejo Police. When will the FBI come and Investigate the Vallejo Police Department..????

Videos about the class-action law suit against Vallejo Police

"Rev. Harris Stands With Guy Jarreau's Mother From Louisiana To Announce Class Action Law Suit" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHPYcBCk_Rs]:
National Network In Action President Rev. Harris Stands With Guy Jarreau's Mother From Louisiana To Announce Class Law Suit Against The City of Vallejo Police.





Protest over Police Shootings 10/15/12
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ2ohhxXVm0]



Civil Right Leader Rev. Floyd D. Harris Jr Does Candlelight Vigil For Guy Jarreau 10-11-12 Part #1
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcM-URT8-OA]:
Civil Right Leader Revl Floyd D. Harris Jr Does Candlelight Vigil ( 10-11-12 ) Part 1. Guy Jarreau Was Shot And Killed By Vallejo Police. This Is His Mom Standing In The Alley Where Guy Was Smoked By The Police.!!!!!!
We Will Never For Get How They Took This Brother " LIFE "


Guy Jarreau Family Is Exposing The Corruption On Who Was Paid Off To Cover Up The Murder Guy
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkGJkBMKA1E]:
Guy Jarreau who was murder by the Vallejo Police. Guy mother has not receive the police report. This family as and the community have been demanding justice for Guy Jarreau. The day of the murder the Vallejo Police took cameras and other items at the crime sceen and have not return it back to the family. Why is the Vallejo Police Killling young black men? The Vallejo Police Department is averaging at least 1 murder a month.

2012-10-17 "Mama's Cry for Resistance in the Killing Fields of Vallejo"

by Al Osorio from "POOR" magazine [http://www.poormagazine.org/node/4560]:
 Last night's Town Hall in Vallejo drew a large crowd, at least eighty people - almost entirely people of color - filling a room at the North Vallejo community center. Cephus Johnson and his wife sister Beatrice X spearheaded the event, part of plans to specifically help the families of police murder victims in Vallejo while also incorporating them into the struggle of so many other black and brown families who have suffered at the hands of police violence. Needless to say fathers suffer as much as moms, however in so many cases moms have done the majority of the child rearing and thus bear the brunt of the pain of loss as well as the responsibility of seeking justice within a racist system with the odds stacked against them. Uncle Bobby (Cephus) unveiled the term MoM, Mobilization of Mothers. Sister Beatrice shared how she is a mom but can only imagine how much suffering this inflicts on a person. She recalled watching sharing a hotel room with her sister in law Wanda at the time of the Johannes Mehserle trial, observing her so consumed by pain she had difficulty getting up to answer the door.
 Minister Keith Muhammad spoke well, his words resonating with the audience. He related the struggles to get the DA to charge Mehserle, and how video evidence was what enabled them to turn a corner and get a measure of justice. As Uncle Bobby stated often, it was history but not victory. Each mom spoke of their loss, their pain, their fight for justice. Their courage. And not just moms, dads spoke too.
 Some brought us to our feet to clap as we witnessed their defiance in the face of overwhelming loss and pain. After they stood back to allow another mom to talk, we also witnessed what the love and the will for justice costs them. The quiver in the voice, the tears shining in the eyes, the body shaking as she is overcome by the endless agony of her baby stolen from her, dissolving into sobs as she is comforted by clergy and other moms.
 It's never easy to see a mom cry.

Announcement of a Class-Action lawsuit against the City of Vallejo

Announcing a Class Action Law Suit against City of Vallejo
Date: Oct. 15, 2012
Time: 12noon
Location: Vallejo City Hall 555 Santa Clara St, Vallejo, CA ( Steps of City Hall )
Press Contact:
Rev. Floyd D. Harris Jr. (559) 803 - 0286
Vallejo CopWatch [Vallejocopwatch@gmail.com]
There will be a Class Action Law Suit file against the Vallejo Police Department for the past Murders citizens of Vallejo (with indications of a systematic cover-up). Many Citizens of Vallejo are saying "enough is enough" of losing their children's future to the Vallejo Police.
Guy Jarreau, jr., who was murdered by the Vallejo Police, had been filming a music video for his college's culture club about non-violence in a Vallejo alleyway along Sonoma blvd., and was shot in the chest by two plains-clothes Vallejo PD Officers for no apparent reason according to the many eye-witnesses on the scene. Andrea Jarreau, Guy Jarreau jr.'s mother, has came from Louisiana to announce the Class Action Law Suit, which will be joined by many families of victims of this grave injustice of street-executions of innocent community Citizens. There has been a large number of African Americans, and members of other nations within our multi-cultural community, who are all supporting this effort.
 We must continue to Educate, Motivate, Energize, Organize and Mobilize and take our community to a higher level.


2012-10-11 "Rev. Harris Stands With The Mother Of Guy Jarreau's!! Family Announces Class Action Law Suit" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzUT1Ud19YE]:
Aundrea Jarreau's Griffen, the mother of " Guy Jarreau, comes to Vallejo, CA every month from Louisiana to fight for JUSTICE for her son who was murder by the Vallejo Police Department. The family tells the Mayor Osby Davis his time is up. The Vallejo Police Departmetn has not return items to the family that was taken for the crime area. The mother read off a list of name of people who lost there lives to the hands of the Vallejo Police Department. The Vallejo city is getting national and International attention on how the Vallejo Police Department is killing young black men. Since May of 2012 there have been 7 police officers shootings and 5 have been fatal. The families and community around the word is watching the Vallejo City. The community has camera NOW!!!!!!

2012-10-15 "Class action lawsuit" press conference

2012-10-16 "Protest and tears continue over police shootings in Vallejo" from "Vallejo Independent Bulletin"
[http://ibvallejo.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1534&Itemid=1]:
Yesterday, Rev. Floyd Harris and friends and relatives of Guy Jarreau and Mario Romerro were present for a press conference and protest on the steps of Vallejo City Hall.
Harris, who is president of the National Network in Action and an organizer of Vallejo Copwatch called for the protest. Among other things, he stated that the Nation of Islam has taken up involvement in the issues in Vallejo.
Speakers called for wearable cameras to become mandatory for Vallejo police.
Jarreau's cousin Bernice indicated that involved parties will be pursuing a class action suit.
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ2ohhxXVm0]

2012-10-13 "Civil Right Leader Rev. Floyd D. Harris Jr Does Candlelight Vigil For Guy Jarreau (10-11-12 Part #1)"
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcM-URT8-OA]:
Civil Right Leader Revl Floyd D. Harris Jr Does Candlelight Vigil ( 10-11-12 ) Part 1.
Guy Jarreau Was Shot And Killed By Vallejo Police.
This Is His Mom Standing In The Alley Where Guy Was Smoked By The Police!!!
We Will Never For Get How They Took This Brother's "LIFE"

A voice of inspiration...

MALCOLM X: "The Police Are Working With the Criminals", excerpt of  a lecture given during his time with the Nation of Islam, 1960s. As true today as it is in any age. Power corrupts, unaccountable power corrupts absolutely.
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0KZnt9UB3A]:

Vallejo Cop Watch Town Hall Meeting, Oct. 11th

Press Release from
  * National Network In Action
  * Oscar Grant Foundation
  * Vallejo Cop Watch

Town Hall Meeting
Date: 10-11-12
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: North Vallejo Community Center 1121 Whitney Ave Vallejo , CA
Contact: Rev. Floyd D. Harris Jr [559-803-0286]

Mario Romero 23, known by friends as “Papaya,” was shot 30 times by the Vallejo Police on September 2, 2012 in front of his home. The Romero family needs your continued support. Stand with this family and all other families who have lost a loved one to the Vallejo Police Department.
There have been seven police shootings in the past six months; five of the seven have been fatalities. Every 36 hours a black man, black woman or black child will die at the hands of police officers. If you have been a victim of police harassment or brutality, come and learn what you can do to protect yourself.
There will be training on “Cop Watch, Know Your Rights When Confronted by a Police Officer" and how to file a complaint against the Vallejo Police Department. We continue to encourage all Vallejo citizens to arm themselves with cameras to protect themselves.
We must continue to Educate, Motivate, Energize, Organize and Mobilize and take our community to a higher level.



"The Angels are watching over us" photographs taken at 2012-10-11 "Justice for Mario Romero Town Hall Meeting"...
Even though you cannot see me don't ever doubt my presence....
Changes are starting to happen just keep the faith.
There was a whole lot of spirits in the building...
Our loved ones are watching over us guiding us on our journey for justice.

Guy Jarreau, jr.'s Candlelight Vigil

Civil Right Leader Revl Floyd D. Harris Jr presides over Guy Jarreau, jr.'s Candlelight Vigil ( 10-11-12 )
Guy Jarreau Was Shot And Killed By Vallejo Police. This Is His Mom Standing In The Alley Where Guy Was Smoked By The Police.!!!!!!
We Will Never For Get How They Took This Brother " LIFE "
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcM-URT8-OA]:

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXZLXx2NFzA]:

Observations about a Federal investigation into Vallejo Police

2012-10-11 "Police Shootings" by James D. Davis, published by "Vallejo Independent Bulletin"
[http://ibvallejo.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1528&Itemid=1]:
A recent article on police shootings in New York City during 2011, based on a report published by the Police Department itself, showed officers shooting and killing 9 suspects and injuring 19 more, “the second-lowest annual toll in recent city history” (a city of eight million people with 515 homicides in 2011).  (Five of Vallejo’s 18 homicides so far this year have been officer-involved killings.)
The New York City report concluded that the experiences of the 62 officers who fired at suspects demonstrated that “restraint is the norm” in police shootings.  In those 36 separate encounters, more than two-thirds of the officers involved fired five or fewer shots.  And more than a quarter fired only a single shot.  In none of the episodes did the police officers reload. The 28 suspects wounded or killed by police bullets in 2011 represented a slight increase over the 24 suspects shot by the police in 2010, the lowest number in recent history. (As a point of comparison, in 1971, the police shot 314 suspects.)
According to newspaper accounts I’ve read about the latest Vallejo officer-involved shooting and killing—to wit, one Mario Romero, Sept 2--more than 30 shots were fired at close range into Mr. Romero’s car by two officers.  Reloading was probably required at some point during this orgy.  And they were probably shooting with weapons that required pulling the trigger each time; pretend you have a gun and pull the trigger fifteen times; it took me fifteen seconds.  The police said Mr. Romero had a replica gun and Ecstasy pills.  He made a move for the replica gun and they opened fire, at one point jumping up on the hood of Mr. Romero’s car—to get a good look or a better shot.  Mr. Romero wasn’t shooting then; indeed, Mr. Romero was never shooting.  The police would have you believe Romero reached for his fake gun when confronted by two police officers, headlights and maybe spotlights blazing into his eyes, red lights flashing.  It wasn’t like he thought he could escape or have a gun battle with the officers.
Yes, this whole story is absurd.  But we’re never going to hear what happened.  The police investigate themselves, assisted by the DA.  They’re both police agencies.  There is no independent citizen review.  And the police don’t discuss the results of their investigation; it’s police business.  Mr. Romero and his case have died.  You won’t read about it anymore.  There will be no report.
The only way I know to find out what happened is to have the AG or the U.S. Department of Justice file criminal charges or allegations of civil rights violations against the officers.  Then there would be an open court hearing and we would hear from the officers and witnesses.  A civil action against the officers would probably not succeed because the police have nearly unqualified immunity for actions taken in the course of their duties (a lawyer could argue that the police were “on a lark of their own,” not pursuing lawful duties).
How would we get a Justice investigation?  One or more of the council members could write and request it.  Mayor Davis at least made a feint in this direction; the other council members and the city manager are silent.  They have confidence in the system that exists, even though it remains hidden from us.  They think we should trust them to take care of the police department.  Yes, we’ve had a spate of officer-involved shootings and killings this year, but the council is taking care of it.  You think?
---
Comments posted by readers at "Vallejo Independant Bulliten":
2012-10-11 from "Anonymous" -
Jim, when did you write this article? Burris has been hired by the daughter, and another lawyer was hired to represent the mother. They are the only 2 who have standing to sue civilly for wrongful death. Excessive force is a violation of civil rights; that will be the focus of the case. Police Governmental Immunity does not apply to violations of civil rights. As long as the family wants to pursue the wrongful death action, there will be at least some limited information available. The court file is open to the public, but depositions are not filed with the court file, so unless one of
the parties made the deposition transcript public, and if there is no protective order stopping someone from purchasing a copy from the court reporter, you could buy a copy. (which would be in the hundreds of dollars or more depending on the length of a transcript). The City Council has already voted unanimously to ask the AG office to investigate. It is up to the AG office to decide if it will investigate. Burris in his public statement said he was submitting a request to the feds (FBI and Justice Dept) to investigate. Again, it is up to the FBI and Justice Dept. to decide if it wants
to investigate. No one can force them. You've identified one of the more serious problems with all CA police departments - the privacy laws, and statutes which protect police officers - identities, claims against them, investigations, recommendations, conclusions. This is not a Vallejo PD issue - it applies throughout the state. Time to talk to Sacramento.
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2012-10-11 "Anon, get your facts correct" -
At City Council one of the daughters specifically said she had NOT hired Burris. Osby's invite to the Dept of Justice was ultimate grandstanding as he knows they wont come in for a long time (after the case is closed by VPD and the DA)
-
2012-10-11 from "Anonymous" -
Got my facts right. On Sept. 21, Burris, said at a news conference that he is representing Joseph Johnson, 21, and Mario Romero's 3-year-old daughter. Since Romero only has 1 daughter, who is 3, I doubt she spoke at city council. The sisters have said they did not hire Burris. That is correct. Under CA wrongful death statute, the mother and daughter have standing to bring a lawsuit, the sisters do not, so they have no reason to hire a lawyer.
-
2012-10-12 from "Jim Davis" -
Good to know Burns is trying, no matter who hired him and who has standing. The latest development is the city council calling on a Justice mediating program to improve relations with the community. That strikes me as wide of the mark. The problem is the police department, not the community. No one is in control of the department. I hope we get a fuller story one day, but I'm not holding my breath. Love, Jim

Report on the 2012-10-03 "Vallejo City Ad Hoc Public Safety Review Committee"

2012-10-10 "Ad Hoc Public Safety Review Committee Shows Compassion" by Hatfield McCoy from "Vallejo Independent Bulletin"
[http://ibvallejo.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1527&Itemid=1]:
The Ad Hoc Public Safety Review Committee was tolerant of many speakers during their last meeting on October 3rd, and despite the constant verbal protests of Assistant City Manager Craig Whittom, the committee, for the most part, showed civility to the speakers, and in some instances, even compassion. Committee members DeJesus and Worel were absent. Both liaison council members Gomes and Davis were also absent.
One of the first speakers spoke angrily about the lack of diversity (color) on the Ad Hoc panel. Chairwoman Joanne Schivley quickly explained that that would be a matter to take up with the City Council as they are the ones who made the initial appointments from the citizenry. Speaker Claudia Stevens asked why the Chief of Police and the Fire Chief are not required to live in Vallejo, and why the City Manager does not hire Vallejoans to hold these posts at all costs. Several speakers from the family of recent police shooting victim Mario Romero, and others who have lost sons at the hands of the police over the last few years, spoke with passion of their pain and frustrations. Chairwoman Schivley (for the first time since Mario Romero’s death) offered her condolences to the family. To that Ms. Mitchell (Romero’s mother) replied: “My son has been dead thirty-one days now; you are thirty-one days too late.” No other committee members offered verbal condolences, in fact at one point during the speaker presentations, Mr. Tweedy was seen rudely and actively engaging on his cell phone.
“All we want are answers,” said one of Romero’s sisters, “we want to know why we do not yet have the police report of my brother’s death, and why it has taken so long for my mother to see her son’s body,” she pleaded. Another speaker spoke of the reprehensible behavior of a Vallejo police officer stating: “He trained his service weapon on my three year old grandson.” Yet another speaker had this to say: “None of us can hide behind thick eight feet high walls in front of our houses, or thick metal gated fences with security guards in front of our homes. We have to live down here among the people.” And yet another woman simply recited names: “Officer Badour, murderer 6/3/10; Officer F. Rodriguez, murderer 6/3/10; Officer Tipoli –murderer 12/11/10; Officer Melville – murderer 12/20/09; Officer R. Greenburg – murderer 6/4/09; Officer Wylie, murderer 6/14/09; Sgt. Bassett Badge number 485 – murderer 6/9/10, and there are many more,” she said before she sat down. (She forgot to mention Officer Chase Calhoun who killed a beloved eleven year old family dog recently).  Chairwoman Joanne Schivley explained that all of these matters were out of the purview of the committee, and asked the speakers to go address the City Council.
Much of the meeting was centered on whether or not the committee would have enough time to bring full and final reports of recommendations to the City Council by mid October. After much debate, it was determined that the fact finding mission of this volunteer committee (De Jesus of Vallejo Police and Dunn of Vallejo Fire are getting paid, but all other members are volunteer citizens) would need additional time to hear from final speakers and to prepare their reports in detail for City Council review. In the end it was determined that they would culminate their fact finding mission on or before December 19th.
One of the things that the City Council had proposed during a recent City Council meeting is their unanimous desire to resurrect the Vallejo City ‘Human Relations Commission’ which serves as a liaison between the public and the city, and offers a means of support and an avenue in which citizens may register concerns. Since she had previously been a stalwart member of this committee, it was determined that Ms. Liat Meitzenheimer would be invited to speak to the group as to how the Human Relations Commission operates, and/or submit suggestions for “giving it more teeth,” as Councilmember Gomes had suggested. According to Committee Vice Chair Bob Schussel, other future speakers to come before this committee will include the Police Chief of Richmond, Chief Magnus who has reputedly done a phenomenal job of lowering the crime rate in the city of Richmond, Ca. Chief Magnus is due to speak on November 7th. (Will someone please tell our City Manager Dan Keen? Keen needs to attend in order to hear how Chief Magnus is turning the city of Richmond around.) On October 17th the committee hopes to entertain the Chair of the San Jose State’s Criminal Justice Dept. who will speak about communication policies. (Many agree that one of the biggest problems surrounding the Vallejo Police Department is a lack of communication). On November 20th, the Ad Hoc committee hopes to host a speaker who will address some aspects of a Citizen Review Committee illuminating models of citizen oversight among other issues.
“After the final speakers, we will make every attempt to distill the information we have gathered and put it into a final, easy to understand report for the City Council’s review,” said Committee Vice Chair Bob Schussel.With the upcoming holiday season encroaching after December 19th, it was understood that the Ad Hoc Public Safety Review Committee culminating reports would not be submitted to the City Council much before the New Year. (But not to worry because past Ad Hoc Public Safety Review meetings are available at the Vallejo City website should you have difficulty sleeping some night).