I retweeted this:

https://mobile.twitter.com/IjeomaOluo/status/750932924493467648
I’ve only begun my research. So far, I know that Berkeley does have a citizen oversight panel: http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Police_Review_Commission/Home/About_Us.aspx

I still need to learn who’s on the commission. I also don’t even know who the mayor is, or who the mayoral candidates are, or who’s on the city council. Nor do I know any of their stances.

I also don’t know if the Police Review Commission has any real clout or not.

I would like to attend a meeting and start getting involved in local politics.

We don’t have body cams yet, as I learned in this kind of recent article: http://www.dailycal.org/2016/04/26/berkeley-police-department-discusses-implementation-body-worn-camera-program/

It seems like the issue is getting the money for them. Berkeley didn’t receive a federal grant.

(I have some reservations about body cams because of surveillance, but the tradeoff is stopping the execution of black lives, so yeah, seems worth it. And it’s an evidence-based effect.)

I don’t know yet what the threshold is for indicting police officers in Berkeley. California has banned grand juries for fatal police shootings ( http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_28621966/gov-brown-oks-nations-1st-ban-grand-juries ). I’m guessing the rules will at least be county-wide, though. Seems like there’s discretion based on the district attorney, so I need to learn who they are.

I’m still woefully ignorant, but I pledge to continue my research, share the research, and use that information to make a local impact.