Out Of Control Oakland Cops Kill Man In His Sleep

Does anyone have more information on this?

The tribune take on this is very different, almost to be a completely different story in some respects. I suppose that a few days will be needed for a better account to be fleshed out.

http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1726~1679831,00.html

The SJ Mercury News covered both what the police said and what neighbors and relatives said about the shooting, wheras the Oakland Tribune only covered the police's side of the story.

"The young man would still be alive today had he complied with the cops in the first place."

Like most rightwingers your basing your support for the police solely on their word.

What if the police really burst into the wrong appartment, the man sat up in his bed and the police (because they were scared and nervous shot him). The police out of fear for their jobs made up some story about him grabbing for a gun and you have the word of mudering cops against a dead man.

Right wingers actually believe they have morals since they always believe the made up stories of the police. Who knows what happened in this case, but we already have some racist posting that the guy must have been a drug dealer. For conservative whites in the US, African Americans killed by police are guilty until proven innocent (and even then the jury must be at fault since unlike all other state workers police are seen as always telling the truth).

The grabbing for a gun claim seems like the type of thing a cop would make up to justify a murder. How else could they justify killing someone who is unarmed? It was probably an accident (nervous cops who shot and only later realized the guy whose house they broke into was holding a remote control instead of a gun or someting like that) But who knows. Perhaps the Oakland PD just decided to go out and kill a black man tonight to celebrate their victory in the Riders trial.

what can anyone say, its insane, and its as evil as it comes. murder by police, but many people just don't care, until it happens to someone you know.

"something that even some well meaning people in the black community see as a "career choice".

what, so there are only SOME well meaning people in the "black community"? is that implying that the black community as a whole isn't well meaning? i find this comment extremely offensive and would like some clarification.

If you would like to email members of Oakland City Council to demand that the police department be held accountable for their (continuing) violence, you may reach them at:

nnadel [at] oaklandnet.com, jquan [at] oaklandnet.com, lreid [at] oaklandnet.com, dbrooks [at] oaklandnet.com, idelafuente [at] oaklandnet.com, jbrunner [at] oaklandnet.com, dwan [at] oaklandnet.com

You might also try giving Mayor Brown a call.

Mayor Jerry Brown
One City Hall Plaza
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 238-3141
FAX 238-4731
mayor [at] oaklandnet.com

The SF Chronicle ran the story, as well, and got an interview from the two officers' attorney. Strangely (considering whom he represents), the attorney's version of the events makes it sound rather like an unjustified killing (i.e., murder).

Of particular note are the following lines:


...[Officer] Gill yelled, "He's got my gun, I can't control him -- shoot him!" according to Stern [the officers' attorney]. Gill regained control of his weapon and shot the suspect in the head, Stern said. At about the same time, [officer] Vass also fired, the attorney said...


So let's get this clear... really early on a Sunday morning (e.g., latelate Saturday night) two police officers armed with guns (but without a warrant) burst into an apartment. In the back bedroom, they find a sleeping man who is startled awake by the sudden entrance of two men with guns. As they rush towards him and upon him, he struggles with them. Perhaps at some point, the just-awakened man briefly has his hand on one of the officers' guns. (Or perhaps this never happens.) If it does happen, it doesn't really matter, since the officer proceeds to grab the gun for himself and promptly shoots the unarmed man in the head.

Once again:
Officer Vass has full control of his weapon at all times during the encounter.
But Officer Gill, for a moment, may not have been able to wield full control over his own weapon, as the suspect may have had his hand on it. However, the suspect was never able to even remove the officer's gun from the holster.
Then, Officer Gill regained full control of his own weapon, pulled it out of the holster for the first time during the encounter, AND SHOT THE UNARMED MAN IN THE HEAD. Officer Vass joined him in this activity.

Just another murder committed by Oakland cops.

Neither officer will be charged with any crime.

Both are now on paid leave.

>>Right wingers actually believe they have morals since they always believe the made up stories of the police. Who knows what happened in this case, but we already have some racist posting that the guy must have been a drug dealer. For conservative whites in the US, African Americans killed by police are guilty until proven innocent (and even then the jury must be at fault since unlike all other state workers police are seen as always telling the truth). <<

It looks like the post got deleted, but once again, this just shows the hypocracy of right-wingers. They go on and on about the second amendment and "protecting your safety and property," but in reality, the only safety and property rights they care about are those of white people, and ideally white people who tow the line and think and act they way they do. If some GOP hack was shot by the police while they were asleep, you know they'd be all over it.

Puck the Folice

what a great handle...puck the folice. and if you read the article, the man was not killed in his sleep. i think you need to be awake to try to take away a cop's gun. puck the folice should change his name to fumb duck.

ALL THE NIGGA HAD TO DO WAS PUT UP HIS HANDS AND SURRENDER

BUT NO, HE HAD TO TRY AND PULL A MUMIA.

GOOD SHOOTIN BRO...

Officers are part of a crime-reduction team that targets violent crime or drug suspects.

The supposed sleeping man, pulled Officer Gill's gun out of Officer Gill's holster, and had it pointed at Officer Vass....Officer Gill took control over his gun and shot the man in the head....Don't you think if someone grabbed your gun from your holster, you would yell for your partner to shoot!!! Of course you would..Both Officers did a good job in saving their own lives....oh yeah, and not to add that the alleged "drug dealer" was found to have crack cocaine in his pockets after the encounter. Another point...if this man was in bed during the shooting, how come all of the blood was on the floor, and none was found in the bed....??

i cannot believe some of the ignorant comments on this page- terrence mearis was murdered! he was just a kid - f*ck the oakland police. mumia was shot and framed - a man named arnold beverly passed a lie detector test saying that it was himself who was the hitman who killed the cop in philly.
if these murderous b*st*rds get away with terrence's murder, then that would allow the oakland police to enter anyone's home they please without a search warrant and terrorize the oakland community much more. slavery aint over kidz!!!!

As you may know, the police in the US have a long and bloody history of brutality and murder, what is different now is that since the "war on drugs" billions of dollars have been poured into the coffers of local police departments across America in the name of "Drug enforcement" and the real net result of this is that instead of local cops that live in your neighborhood and have a face and a name, you instead have a jack-booted occupying army whose sole duty is to crush all opposition to the powers that be. The results of this has been more crime, more drugs an atmosphere that nurtures and fosters violence and hatred. The broadcast news media has conspired to supress the more horrible aspects of the continuing nightmare that has become life in urban America and until it starts to affect "Joe Comfortable" in his little cottony suburban cocoon I for one don't think that it will get any better!

THESE CITIZENS WHO KEEP SAYING WHAT THAY THINK HAPPEND IS GREAT, HOWEVER, THAY WERE NOT IN THE ROOM WHEN THE INCIDENT HAPPEND. TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT THE POLICE OFFICERS. IF THAY WERE KILLERS WHY HAS THIS NOT OCCURED IN THE PAST. LOOK HOW MANY ARREST THESE OFFICERS HAVE MADE IN THE PAST OF VIOLENT FELONS WHERE THERE WAS NO USE OF FORCE. IT'S REAL EASY TO POINT THE FINGER AT THE POLICE..... HUNDREDS OF ARREST THAT ARE PERFECT...GREAT, NO PROBLEM... BUT ONE ARREST THAT MAKES THE NEWS... O, NO, THAY MUST BE OUT OF CONTROL COPS..... WAKE UP.... THE MEN IN BLUE PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE EVERY DAY FOR US. SO LETS BEAT THEM UP SO NO ONE WANTS THE JOB !

You know i first want to say my heart still goes out to the Mearis family, which is my family. You know people can be so unkind at times, I dont understand how someone can get joy out of someone s death. This was a person who was taken away from this earth and his family and friends way too soon. I do speak from the mouth of someone who really and truly knew and love terrence"T". I was his Auntie Sandy. I dont beleve some of the things I have read here today, but I guess everybody does not have a heart. Whatever this young man did he did not deserve to die the way he did.......we all have to go but we dont have to go that way........if you knew "T" you know he didn't fight with that police man or should I say that man in a uniform........Anyway they have God to deal with and that far more powerful than any of us.........R.I.P. TERRENCE..........LOVE AUNTIE SANDY