In a move that has catapulted the normally low-key Berkeley Police Association into the public arena, a strongly-worded letter sent by the association’s attorneys to Police Chief Dash Butler was also sent to the city manager and to the City Council, rendering the caustic document public.
The Sept. 6 letter, delivered anonymously to the Daily Planet, honed in on the department’s modifying a procedure for handling suspects without consultation with the BPA.
But that is just the tip of the iceberg, BPA attorney Michael Rains wrote. “At best, this issue is the manifestation of a managerial philosophy rooted in inflexibility and autocracy, rather than one in which the voice of our employees is sincerely sought out and heard before final decisions relating to terms and conditions of employment become etched in policy memoranda.”
Butler, a member of the Berkeley force for 30 years and chief for 10, says there are numerous examples of department policy being modified as a result of consultation with the union. One is the issue of pepper spray.
The City Council had wanted officers’ spray cans tabbed, so that it would be known when they were used. However, the tabs interfered with effective use. The chief said union brought the issue to him and he brought it to the council and got the policy modified.
The specific complaint addressed in the letter deals with an order by Captain Will Pittman who advised officers of a change in policy.
“It appears over the years, we have developed a practice of asking,directing persons removed from a vehicle and/or those detained on city streets, to sit down on the curb of the pavement with their feet placed in the street,” said the directive. “The above-described practice is not a departmentally-approved technique...Placing people on the ground unnecessarily is demeaning and is a practice not supported by the department. Therefore, effective immediately, a report will be written whenever a citizen is placed on the ground (lying or sitting)....”
Alison Berry Wilkinson, attorney for the BPA, responded to Pittman’s order in a July 31 letter: This method is “taught in all (police) academies and is utilized in your departmental training.”
Although some might feel the tactic is “demeaning,” when it is used correctly, it “reduces the number of officers required to control a situation and eliminates the need to use more intrusive (and potentially more demeaning) techniques.” It is less intrusive than handcuffing suspects or putting them in the back seat of a patrol car, stated the July 31 letter to Butler.
Further, the association lawyers argue that the instruction is ambiguous: how can officers be directed not to sit people on the sidewalk, then be told that when they do this, they’re supposed to write a report?
“Officers would conclude that, if it is not approved or supported, use of the technique could hold the officer subject to discipline,” Officer Douglas Emberton wrote in a July 22 e-mail to Pittman.
Butler, however, said he stands firmly behind the directive. “If they tell you to sit cross-legged on the ground, how are you going to feel if you haven’t tried to run or tried to fight?” he asked.
As for the question of ambiguity, Butler argued that the order did not imply that officers could never use the procedure.
Writing a report when they do make people sit on the sidewalk it would make them reflect on their action. “It’s a catalyst for introspection,” the chief said.
Although the technique of having suspects sit on the curb was cited with a particular emphasis, the BPA listed other complaints against the department that include alleged misrepresentation to the BPA around promotional opportunities and derogatory statements including the use of profanity concerning the BPA made by Pittman.
While the BPA alleges that a second promotional list was established that added persons not on an earlier unused list, the chief said the promotions had been meted out strictly according to department rules and that all the persons had scored as they should on exams.
The chief said if in fact, the alleged foul language had been used by Pittman, the officers should have brought it to his attention earlier. He said he would look into the allegations, and that he and other ranking officers would be attending classes on improved communications.
As far as what needs to be done in response to the letter, Butler said he is in touch with the BPA attorneys and has asked them to determine exactly what the BPA wants.
“They have a very smart chief,” Rains said. “The officers just want the chief to (allow them to) give their input.”
Acting City Manager Weldon Rucker said he plans to step in and try to bring the two sides together. “I would like to see a better dialog between the administration and the association,” he said. “Unfortunately, (the union) has elected to go to this (public) level so soon.”
Rucker said he believes the problem will be resolved. “We’ll get to the root cause. They are all good people who want a healthy work environment.”
Richard Brenneman People of all stripes joined in the 40th anniversary celebration of People’s Park Sunday afternoon.
Sunday’s 40th anniversary celebration of People’s Park reflected Berkeley in all its passionate quirkiness. More than 1,000 people joined the party, from old- timers who remember the riots when it all started, to students for whom it is all ancient history—and everyone in between.
There was music and speechifying, dancing and eating, hanging out with old and new friends. The mood was one of exuberance, people celebrating the existence of the park and being together to enjoy the occasion. Even the weather cooperated; despite forecasts of possible rain, the day was clear and sunny.
Devin Woolridge, a site coordinator for the park who experiences it daily with all its ups and downs, with all the contentiousness and occasions of cooperation among its denizens, was ecstatic Sunday. “This is Utopia—so much positive stuff going on here.... This event is what I’ve been told and what I believe People’s Park is all about.” This is the biggest anniversary celebration Woolridge has seen in his 10 years working at the park.
There was action on and around the stage throughout the day. A wildly diverse mix of performers appealed to an audience of all ages. A Berkeley High School band called “IS,” the Shelley Doty X-Tet, Jonathan Richman’s group and others with exotic names and music styles had people up and dancing with abandon. The graceful Nefer Tem belly dancers had a routine all their own. Older folks were content to sit and listen or join in song with Phoenix and Country Joe McDonald. It’s been a long time since a crowd sang “This land is your land, this land is my land” with such enthusiasm. There was also a stage out on Telegraph Avenue featuring bands such as Antioquia and Outlaw Dervish which had people dancing in the streets.
Not surprisingly, there were people who took the stage with a message. City Councilmember Kriss Worthington touched off the celebration by expressing how much People’s Park means to the community. A group called for support to save Strawberry Canyon; Andrea Pritchett announced the opening of a CopWatch office in Oakland; Zachary Running Wolf called for a protest against the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s plan to dismantle the Bevatron and ship thousands of truckloads of radioactive waste through Berkeley streets. And as always, the diminutive figure of artist and filmmaker Claire Burch could be seen, recording the event with a video camera.
Mellow people sat or wandered about the lawn, connecting with old friends, taking in the sun and the scene. Even the dogs were mellow. An old gentleman named Willie has been coming to the anniversaries on and off since the park started. He wasn’t so sure about the young people of today. But over at the display of photographs of the park through the years there was a constant crowd of young people who appeared intensely interested in its history. A lady calling herself “Maid Marion,” who now lives back east, was here “at the beginning.” She had spent the day before in Big Sur at a celebration of Nepenthe’s 60th anniversary. “This is more of the same,” she said. No doubt many people here would disagree with her on that.
Near the basketball courts a woman named Sarah and colleagues were offering a chair massage in return for a donation to support Tristan Anderson, the young Berkeley activist severely injured while participating in a protest at the dividing wall in Israel. Slingshot newspaper, which has extensive coverage of Tristan’s case, was being given away at a table nearby. The Naked People were there too, but far fewer of them than in the past.
While all that was going on, Food Not Bombs volunteers were cooking and serving their usual vegetarian meal under the trees at the eastern end of the park. They set up tables under a canopy and all day long they cooked rice and beans and chopped vegetables to stir-fry in an oversize wok. They also provided bread, salad and an endless supply of Cliff Bars. There was not a moment in the whole afternoon when there wasn’t a long line waiting to be served
It was a glorious day of Berkeley at its best. Years ago during the earlier confrontations there was a flyer circulating, asking “Who owns the park?” That question is still being asked. The university may have the formal deed to this piece of land, but it was clear on this day who really owns People’s Park. Somebody noted that there was not a single police officer in the park all day. Nor did any official of the university participate in the celebration.
The people had the last lick at the very end of the day when Food Not Bombs cut up a dozen chocolate cakes and passed them out, giving everybody one final charge of energy.
Berkeley: 6-Year-Old Boy Injured in May 18 Crash Dies. Category: Page One from The Berkeley Daily Planet
A 6-year-old boy has died from injuries he suffered in a car crash in Berkeley 11 days ago that also killed his mother and injured her boyfriend, police said today.
Xavier Chevez died at about 6:30 p.m. Friday at Children's Hospital Oakland, Berkeley police spokeswoman Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said.
The boy was injured at about 1:10 a.m. on May 18 when the Cadillac he was riding in crashed into a roundabout and a tree near Allston Way and California Street.
Xavier's mother, 22-year-old Milanca Alicia Lopez, was killed in the crash. Lopez had been a student at the University of California at Berkeley, where she studied social welfare.
The driver, 24-year-old Jose Lumbreras, was taken to a hospital after the accident with what police described as serious injuries.
The Alameda County District Attorney's Office last week charged Lumbreras with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated for Lopez's death, and drunken driving causing injury for the wounds to Xavier, who became comatose after the crash and suffered paralysis. Kusmiss said the second charge might be amend ed as a result of Xavier's death, but district attorney's spokeswoman Teresa Drenick said a decision on amending the charge won't be made until Wednesday.
Beautiful Cream Japanese fabric, covered with a small metallic silver design giving the fabric a silvery oyster appearance.