SAN FRANCISCO - November 8 - The National Lawyers Guild SF Bay Area ("NLG") denounces the violent, unnecessary, and wasteful Oakland Police response to peaceful protests on Friday evening, November 5. Police arrested at least one NLG Legal Observer along with approximately 150 demonstrators who were peacefully marching to the Fruitvale BART station, the site where Mehserle shot Oscar Grant in the back, killing him. The demonstrators were illegally jailed into the weekend.
NLG Legal Observers monitor police activity at public demonstrations to prevent police brutality and hold police accountable for misconduct. The NLG also provides legal support to those arrested in connection with First Amendment activity.
Hundreds of heavily armed police from at least seven different Bay Area law enforcement agencies swarmed through downtown Oakland and the Eastlake neighborhood Friday night. "The police surrounded the demonstrators, trapping and arresting numerous people who were doing nothing but protesting the unjust sentence, including one of our legal observers," explained NLG Executive Director Carlos Villarreal. "There has been a lot of media attention on a few incidents of property damage Friday night, but like we saw on July 8, the police action actually focused on shutting down the lawful political demonstration."
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