Please excuse me as I am new and am still learning the knack of diaries.
This morning, I read THIS REC LIST DIARY with the videos of the disgusting beatings yesterday and since the phone numbers were there, I sure enough called to register my complaints with what I saw. To me it was very disturbing and I felt really helpless sitting there viewing this from the comfort of my chair.
So first I called all the Non-Emergency Berkeley Police numbers, and got sent to a phone machine. I believe it was the standard, "Oh, you want to register a complaint, tell it to the code-a-phone from 1987 sitting in the dusty utility closet and maybe we'll check it."
Then, I called the Chancellor's office and of course, no one was answering there either.
Then I called the Internal Affairs number for Alameda Co. Sheriff's dept and actually spoke to someone there. They said they hadn't seen the video and then they took my name and telephone number as I volunteered it. I wasn't scared about being "put on a list" or anything like that..I really don't care, so I didn't think it would be a problem.
Next I called the Administration office, and spoke to a nice sounding lady there. Basically the gist of my complaint was this...I told her, I was physically shaking and sickened by the use of force I saw being used against unarmed and peaceful protesting students. I wanted to register my outrage at this and wanted to know what was the reason for this heavy handedness I saw on the video against people who were NOT reacting violently.
I was calm and reasonable sounding and did not raise my voice.
I asked the woman on the line, who did say she saw the video, "As a human being, does this look right to you..does this look right?"
She answered, "Sir, you know, I can't respond to that question." in a way that I could hear in her voice that we were probably on the same level, believe it or not. She was calm and reasonable and I was calm and reasonable and she said she would take my name and number and the Sgt. would call me back...
"Well, I am sure you're getting a lot of calls about this", I said, and she informed me, "Yes, but the Sgt. is calling everyone back."
Sure enough, a few minutes ago, a "BLOCKED CALL" ID came up on my phone as it rang. I answered and it was Sgt. JD Nelson.
He asked me if I called Berkeley and asked them about this because they were the officers there. His officers were on the scene as well. He went on to inform me that it WASN'T his officers in that video.
I told him I called both places and said that I was under the impression that it was Alameda Co. Sheriff's officers that were involved.
This is where it got kind of weird because he went on a little rant about "What if we arrested you for something that you didn't do?" (He honestly said this) I said "Well, I am sure that kind of thing happens all the time, you don't know when you are called out if the person you are called on is the perpetrator of the crime...that's up to the courts to decide. You arrest someone and they are brought to trial. You do an investigation hopefully, before you make an arrest and that is PRECISELY what I am doing...I am investigating whether it was in fact your officers..."
"Well, " he said, "You said that ..." and then he quoted what I told the nice lady about being sickened by the amount of force used and said that I was blaming his officers but they had nothing to do with it, "But we were on the scene so we're taking it" and I should call Berkeley.
I explained that I had called and if it wasn't his troops that I appreciate the info and I certainly was grateful for the actual physical call back and asked him the same question..."As a human being, do you think that was right?" I asked that question and he said that was something I should ask Berkeley...then he said he had other calls and had to run. A true and literal Cop-Out.
So, I do appreciate the call. I didn't appreciate the weird exchange about being falsely accused and now I don't know what to think about whose troops those actually were beating the students with more than excessive force.
I hate even saying excessive force because NO FORCE was even fucking necessary IMO.
All I feel like I got out of that call was an even murkier view of whose troops that was, a passing of the buck and the vague feeling I am on some database now of rabble rousers (as if I wasn't by even joining KOS...heh)
SO WHOSE TROOPS, who do I complain to, what do I do, what can I do...this pisses me off more.
Oh and like I said, I am new to writing these so any suggestions...fire away if there is anything you think I left out or should include.
3:09 PM PT: Thanks for the Rec List and please take this as a suggestion to take a little time out of your life and actually MAKE calls to these people. I call Senators and Congress people all the time too and usually am met with a "we'll pass this along" kinda thing, but this makes me feel like even one call can make some kind of impact. I am excited about following up on this and showing what I can accomplish by just calling folks. I'll keep you all updated.