Free Fly Benzo

SAN FRANCISCO, California — In the wake of the 2 recent police shootings — one by the BART police, killing Charles Hill, who was intoxicated and shot moments after police arrived, and the second by the SFPD killing Kenneth Harding, for what many witnesses corroborate as Harding evading a public transit fare — a flurry of protests and actions have erupted resulting in dozens of arrests. Among these, one community member and organizer, Fly Benzo, was arrested at his home by the police a few days ago. He is being held right now on $43,000 bail, and has been charged with some misdemeanors and felonies. His arraignment is being held today, most likely during the afternoon. Supporters should stay updated here, and turn out to pack the courtroom today!

UPDATE: It appears the DA has dropped his charges, and that he will be released today (Tuesday).

TIME: Monday – July 25

The arraignment looks to begin in the afternoon, but folks will be demonstrating starting at 8:30am.

UPDATE: It appears that he will be arraigned on Thursday, July 28th, instead.

LOCATION: San Francisco Hall of Justice, 850 Bryant Street

Demonstration Over Bayview Shooting Results in Arrests

SAN FRANCISCO, California – On Saturday July 16th, Police shot and killed Kenneth Harding at a MUNI station in Bayview. Police claim Harding was carrying a gun and shot at the police, forcing them to shoot Harding. While several witnesses claim that Police chased Harding for fare evasion and that Harding was not firing a gun. Police claim that they discovered Harding’s gun at a parolee’s home and gun powder residue on Harding’s hand. However, skepticism over SFPD’s claims that contradict witness accounts has lead to several protests already.

On Tuesday evening demonstrators gathered in Dolores Park together to denounce the second police shooting of a public transit passenger this month. Around 150-200 protesters marched from Dolores Park, through the Mission district and down to Market street. Along the way, demonstrators smashed a bank’s window, and threw a hammer at a police station. Smoke bombs and paint balls were also released. As the marchers approached the cable car turnaround off of Market, a few dozen were kettled, or immobilized by police, including a journalist. Another journalist was allegedly attacked by either a demonstrator or a police officer, resulting in damage to the journalist’s camera. One demonstrator was struck by a police motorcycle and subsequently arrested. A total of 35 were arrested by the end of the demonstration. (See photos on Indybay)

Read some of the literature being passed out during the demo.

Update:

Wednesday

4:00pm – At least one person arrested last evening is still in jail, for two felony charges.

Thursday

Police are now claiming that Harding shot himself in the head. However, they’ve been unable to find the gun that was used. Also, read Bay of Rage’s article on the demo/march from Tuesday, here.

Bayview Shooting Demo: Rage in the Street

SAN FRANCISCO, California – A black man in Bayview was shot and killed by police Saturday afternoon, after he ran away for fare evasion of the public transit MUNI. This comes on the heels of the police shooting of Charles Hill at a BART station platform in San Francisco. The police claimed that the intoxicated Hill posed a threat and wielded a knife, while the police are claiming that the Bayview shooting transpired because the passenger was carrying a gun. Read more about the shooting below.

A demonstration has been called for on Tuesday, 5pm, Dolores Park. See more on Indybay.

Police kill in SF Bayview

SAN FRANCISCO, California – Around 4:45pm today, police shot and killed a MUNI passenger in the Bayview district of San Francisco. The police claim they spotted a gun on the passenger and chased him down; then the passenger drew his gun and shot at the police. The police have provided empty bullet casings they found on the street as evidence, but have yet to recover a weapon, suggesting the passenger either threw it away or the weapon was taken by a passerby. Witnesses, however, claim that the young man had no weapon, but was being chased for fare evasion for the light-rail. One witness said, “It didn’t even make sense what-so-ever, honestly. A young man running, he didn’t even have no gun out at all, with his hands up in the air, and you’re still shooting?” (KTVU). This shooting comes only a few weeks after the killing of Charles Hill at the SF Civic Center BART platform, where police claimed Hill wielded a knife, and where witnesses claimed he had no knife.

A call to protest the shooting has gone out, asking people to meet up at 24th and mission in San Francisco (as of around 9:30pm, Saturday).

UPDATE:

Sunday, July 17

1:30pm: A speak out against the police shooting at Bayview is being attacked by the police. They are pepper spraying demonstrators and they are calling for support and folks with video cameras.

Read the updated article from SF Bay View.

CA Prison Hunger Strikers’ Health Rapidly Deteriorating

from PrisonerHungerStrikeSolidarity:

Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity coalition received an urgent update from medical staff at Pelican Bay State Prison that the health of at least 200 hunger strikers in the SHU is rapidly worsening. A source with access to the current medical conditions who prefers to be unnamed reported:

“The prisoners are progressing rapidly to the organ damaging consequences of dehydration. They are not drinking water and have decompensated rapidly. A few have tried to sip water but are so sick that they are vomiting it back up. Some are in renal failure and have been unable to make urine for 3 days. Some are having measured blood sugars in the 30 range, which can be fatal if not treated.“

SHU prisoners at Pelican Bay have said they are willing to risk their lives and will continue to strike until their demands are met. The CDCR continues to refuse to negotiate.

Prisoners across CA continue to refuse food in solidarity with the Pelican Bay SHU hunger strikers.

This past weekend, families and friends sent encouragement and support to their loved ones during weekend visits at prisons across the state, witnessing the toll the hunger strike is taking on their bodies. Families have said their loved ones are extremely pale, shaking and have already lost 20-30 pounds. Some families of prisoners who have only been drinking water for 12 days now witnessed their loved ones faint or go into diabetic shock in visiting rooms over the weekend.

People locked up across the state have been telling their friends and families about the tactics prison officials have been using to break the strike.

Many prisoners have said that medications are being denied to prisoners on hunger strike.

Prisoners have reported that guards in at least Pelican Bay General Population and Calipatria State Prison have been calling throughout blocks and units: “The Hunger Strike is over! The 5 demands have been met!” which is not true. According to family members of prisoners at Calipatria, participation at Calipatria was huge–at least 1,500 prisoners throughout that prison alone joined the hunger strike– until the guards spread rumors of the strike ending. Some prisoners at Calipatria remain on hunger strike, however.

While the CDCR released it’s estimate of 6,600 prisoners participating in the hunger strike during the 4th of July weekend and declared the numbers dropping to over 2,100 in the following days, of course the CDCR failed to mentioned how and why that happened. The decline in numbers in no way demonstrates a lack of support or dedication to this struggle from the prisoners, rather how eager the CDCR is to make this issue go away quickly and quietly.

Families and community organizations like Prison Moratorium Project continue to rally support outside of striking prisons like Corcoran, sharing information and trying to visit their loved ones as regularly as possible. Families and community members are also supporting the strike outside Pelican Bay.

Support for this hunger strike is at a crucial point, where we need to pressure the CDCR to negotiate with the prisoners immediately. Call the CDCR and urge them to negotiate NOW. Also call your legislators and urge them to make sure the CDCR negotiates with the prisoners in good faith. Click here for more info, including a sample script and phone numbers.

In Need of Witnesses

Last Fall, on November 17th, 2010, the UC Regents voted to increase student fees; students and workers turned out to demonstrate against the Regents’ harmful decisions. On this day several arrests were made of student demonstrators including notably Peter Howell and Eric Wilson. Howell was arrested after one police officer lost control of his baton and drew his pistol on a crowd of protesting students, while Wilson was arrested after an incident in a stairwell. Both Howell and Wilson have been met with serious charges (see below), and have had their lives considerably disturbed by these series of events. They go to court in less than two weeks and they are both in desperate need of witnesses of their respective incidents to testify at the trials. Their legal counsel expect the trial to last approximately a week, and have confirmed that it will take place in San Francisco. Please leave a comment on this blog and leave your contact information if you witnessed these incidents. Your contact information will be forwarded to Howell and Wilson’s legal counsel, and will otherwise remain confidential*. If you know people that attended the November 17th, 2010 Regents’ Meeting protest, please forward them this link and spread the word!

Read more:

• The Nov. 17 Regent’s Meeting
• UC Repression (of Howell)
• Howell Faces Charges Still

Peter Howell is charged with:

1) Penal Code section 148(b): removal of baton from Officer Kemper

2) Penal Code section 243(b): battery on a police officer (Kemper)

3) Penal Code section 148(a)(1): resisting, obstructing or delaying an officer (Officer Suttles)

4) Penal Code section 406: Rout: attempted riot

Eric Wilson is charged with:

1) PC section 243(c)(2): battery with injury on an officer (Officer Bolano)

2) PC section 148(a)(1): resisting, obstructing or delaying an officer (Officer Bolano and Sgt. Acuna)

3) PC section 148(a)(1): resisting, obstructing or delaying an officer (Officer Suttles)

4) PC section 406: Rout: attempted riot.

*Comments must be approved by a moderator before it appears public. So, the comments will remain unpublished.

BART Delayed in Response to Another Shooting

SAN FRANCISCO, California – On Sunday, July 3rd, the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Police responded to a call about an intoxicated individual at the Civic Center BART platform. Within moments of arriving, 2 officers approached 45-year-old Charles B. Hill, and shot him three times resulting in his death. While BART and BART Police claim Hill was wielding a knife, other witnesses claim that Hill could have been easily restrained with the use of non-lethal force and that he posed no threat. Police have at least partial footage of the incident but refuse to release it, nor have they proceeded openly with their investigation with the media.

In response to the shooting reminiscent of the 2009 shooting of Oscar Grant, a demonstration was called for Monday, July 11th at the Civic Center BART platform. Demonstrators delayed BART trains from leaving the Civic Center station, shutting down the station for both BART and MUNI. Announcements at BART stations and on trains could be heard over the loudspeaker stating that BART trains would not be stopping at Civic Center due to “civil unrest”. Police intervened in the civil disobedience and many of the demonstrators reconnoitered above ground, eventually marching towards the Powell St. station. Meanwhile another group delayed trains at the 16th st. Station. Demonstrators at Powell took the train to 16th and merged together with the 16th st. demonstrators to march down the street towards Powell and Market. They were forced to zig-zag down side streets due to police blocking traffic flow. The march culminated at the Powell and Market intersection, spilling into the tourist-dense Powell st. Cable Car turnabout. The marchers attempted to continue up the street but were beat back by police leading to a stand-off, merging a crowd of demonstrators with hundreds of tourists. The demonstration ended around the scheduled time, after half an hour of milling around chanting, “No justice, no peace, disband the BART police” and distributing information about the murder of Charles Hill.

Read more about the murder of Charles Hill at OaklandforJustice.

Anticut 3 – Friday

from Bay of Rage:

Anticut 3: Austerity Is Prison

//July 8th, 6:00 sharp, don’t be late//
//Intersection of Broadway and Telegraph [Oakland]//

against capitalism
against austerity
against prisons
in solidarity with the Pelican Bay hunger strike

• be on time; we leave at 6:00 pm sharp
• bring noisemakers! pots and pans, horns, etc
• bring friends, banners, propaganda
• let’s keep each other safe
• for more information on the newly-passed California austerity budget, read this
• for more information about the Pelican Bay hunger strike, visit this website

This is the third in a series of anti-austerity actions designed to resist and make visible the new age of austerity and crisis in which we find ourselves. As many will know, the state of California recently passed a devastating budget, inflicting deep cuts to health  care programs, universities and community colleges, public assistance grants, mental health, and programs for the elderly and disabled. Resistance is more necessary than ever. Since it has become clear that neither corporations nor the state can provide jobs or resources for us, we need to begin providing for each other directly. To do that, we first need to get together, get organized and get going. This is what Anticut 3 is about.

But because any attempt to fight the austerity regime will be met by state repression –which we saw a glimpse of during Anticut 2 – and because the current budget will swell California’s already overcrowded prisons, we have decided that this next action should stand in direct solidarity with the important hunger strike by prisoners at the notorious Pelican Bay “Supermax” prison. Anticut 3 is dedicated to articulating the links between austerity and the prison system.

also, be sure to make it to our comrades’ action in SF on July 7th: Take Back the Day

6,600 CA Prisoners on Hunger Strike

from PrisonerHungerStrikeSolidarity:

The CDCR’s own figures acknowledge 6,600 prisoners participated in the hunger strike across 13 prisons (out of a total 33) in California this past weekend. While the CDCR claims the number of prisoners participating has dropped to 2,100 people yesterday, we know this hunger strike is strong, and many prisoners are in it for the long haul.

Thousands of prisoners have come together in solidarity with the prisoners at Pelican Bay SHU, while being locked up in brutal conditions themselves. This massive resistance and support is a testament to people’s undying will and ability to build collective power in the face of disappearance and death.

A rally in solidarity with the hunger strikers will be held at the UN Plaza in San Francisco, Saturday July 9th (via Indybay)