October 28, 2011
By: Arlene Engelhardt, Executive Director
Pacifica National Board Condemns Actions of Oakland Mayor and Police Department
Berkeley, CA". On October 26, 2011, the day after Oakland City Police attacked Occupy Wall Street protesters in Oakland, California, the Pacifica National Board passed a resolution condemning the actions of the police department and the mayor (text follows):
The Pacifica National Board wishes to express its strong condemnation of the actions of Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and the Oakland Police Department for their brutal eviction of the peaceful protesters at Frank Ogawa Plaza on the morning of Oct 25. We call for the formation of an independent committee of inquiry to investigate the conduct of the Oakland Police Department and the other uniformed services that were involved in the eviction of the protesters at Frank Ogawa Plaza.
The action came after police repeatedly fired tear gas and beanbag rounds leaving Oakland's Occupy Wall Street encampment in ruins. Later Tuesday, hundreds of protesters who marched through downtown Oakland were met by police officers in riot gear who cleared the plaza firing tear gas and flash grenades.
As Arlene Engelhardt, Pacifica's Executive Director said, "Pacifica believes in the first amendment, believes in democracy, and realizes there can be neither without a society's commitment to both."
The Pacifica Foundation was the founder of public radio in this country, beginning with KPFA in Berkeley (CA) in 1949. It is a network of five non-commercial listener-supported radio stations including (in addition to Berkeley), New York (NY), Washington (DC), Los Angeles (CA) and Houston (TX) and more than 200 affiliated radio station across the country.
1
1
1
