The Oakland Police Officers' Association just posted "An Open Letter to the Citizens of Oakland" http://www.opoa.org/uncategorized/an-open-letter-to-the-citizens-of-oakland-from-the-oakland-police-officers%E2%80%99-association/ regarding the general strike tomorrow and inconsistency in the Mayor's message. The letter notes the extreme cost of providing a police presence for protests and asks that the citizens of Oakland support the police in asking for the Mayor to give clear instructions that are consistent with her publicly stated positions on these issues.
I support Oakland police officers and, like all employees, they deserve to have clear expectations laid out by their leadership that are in line with the values espoused by the city government. That is that only way that any employee can be truly effective. What is frustrating to me is that the motives of the Occupy movement have been convoluted by the Mayor and the actions of the OPD at the direction of Mayor Quan. What started as a protest about the role of corporate greed manipulating government has been understandably upstaged by police brutality by OPD (which there are already community groups and federal injunctions in place and working to change). Violence is real, visceral, and immediate. Corruption is opaque, abstract, and unwieldy.
This is the kind of distraction and "mission drift" that maintains the status quo when it comes to how our elected officials interact with private businesses. It allows those running for office to puff up their chests to oppose police brutality, while taking no action to change the role of corporate money in elections.
Keep your eyes on the prize Occupy Oakland. And if you are interested in working to end police violence and misconduct consider checking out one of these groups:
http://www.theiacp.org/PoliceServices/ExecutiveServices/ProfessionalAssistance/Ethics/tabid/140/Default.aspx
http://makeoaklandbetternow.org/
http://www.oaklandcommunity.org/
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