I'm a proud resident of Oakland, but we have more than our share of violent crime here. Tonight there was fatal shooting downtown near the Occupy Oakland encampment. Multiple protesters report that the those involved in the shooting had nothing to do with Occupy Oakland. The police say they don't know if any protesters were involved.
But Oakland City Council President Larry Reid say it doesn't matter who was actually involved in the homicide. He knows that Occupy Oakland is to blame.
The details:
Sources on the scene said four to six shots were fired outside the 12th Street BART station at the intersection of 14th Street and Broadway by Frank Ogawa Plaza, which has served as the epicenter of Occupy Oakland since the group formed more than a month ago. The victim was given CPR by Oakland firefighters before an ambulance drove him away.
Members of Occupy Oakland remained adamant that the incident was unrelated to their movement. "This was not an internal incident," 35-year-old Shake Anderson told the San Francisco Chronicle. "What happened was the result of neighborhood violence. Don't forget, we're in downtown Oakland."
Interim Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan confirmed the victim's death during a press conference, explaining that the a fight transpired between two groups of African American males, during which one pulled out a gun and fired several rounds into the crowd.
I was driving home tonight from San Francisco listening to KCBS radio and they were running a looped report on the shooting every 10-15 minutes, featuring an interview with Oakland City Council President Larry Reid.
Reid exclaimed bluntly that it didn't matter if Occupy Oakland protesters were "directly involved" in the shooting, that the protesters are still to blame. According to Reid, Occupy Oakland is attracting a "criminal element" to downtown Oakland. Yes, he actually said that.
In 2010, Oakland had the fifth highest crime rate for U.S. cities. That was an improvement over 2009's #3 ranking.
Tonight's shooting was at a BART station entrance down the street from the Occupy Oakland encampment.
I'm not surprised that City Council President Larry Reid would be spreading this kind of disingenuous propaganda. Although using the violent murder of young man to promote his own political agenda, the agenda of the 1%, is truly reprehensible.
Reid had already been agitating for the eviction of the protesters. Yesterday he held a press conference calling for the immediate removal of the Occupy Oakland encampment.
"It's very frustrating," Reid said. "The camp keeps growing, it keeps getting filthier and they think they have the right to do whatever they want to do."
Make no mistake, the one percenters are circling, getting ready to move in for the kill:
Echoing Reid's frustration was the chamber of commerce which released details of a survey it commissioned this week that asked Oakland voters their opinion on the Oakland Occupy encampment and Quan's handling of the situation.
In addition to finding that a majority of voters disagreed with Quan's decisions, the survey also found that 60 percent of the 1,100 voters questioned thought the camp should be dismantled.
That's right, the Oakland Chamber-of-fucking-Commerce commissioned a poll of Oakland residents, and the Chamber tells us (in fact they're trumpeting it as a Hot Topic on their home page) that Oakland citizens want the Occupy encampment dismantled. How convenient.
Oakland City Council President Larry Reid is a scumbag. He doesn't represent the people of Oakland. He doesn't represent the 99%. And I suspect that Occupy Oakland will still be here long after Larry Reid has lost his position on the City Council.
Contact info for Larry Reid