When I was in graduate school one of the things which kept me sane was serving as a neighborhood liason with the police. Their professional burdens were far, far greater than mine yet they were invariably upbeat about humanity. Their cut-to-the-chase intelligence was so refreshing after dealing with the awkward self-important types who inhabit the Ivory Tower.

For that wonderful piece.

I teach in an Oakland school midway between the slayings and the funeral site. Gary Kamiya is indeed right about the divide between the Black community and police, but that's not the whole picture. The low or no income African American community is alienated from society in general, not just the police, and it is the children who are paying the price. I work with Black children who are so ANGRY about not seeing their fathers, being neglected by their harried or partying mothers, being raised by worn-out grandma or no one in particular at all. These are beautiful, smart, sensitive kids, and it's a wonder that more -don't- become killers. There is a huge problem with racial profiling, DWB, etc, but until the Black community starts to take responsibility for raising kids right, things won't change. A whole world is waiting to work with them, including me.

And in the meantime, at about 5pm today, 2 women were shot in West Oakland. At least one is dead.

Sigh. I really don't get it. Why do these kids want to kill so badly?

Here is the news brief:

Oakland — Police are investigating a deadly shooting in West Oakland that happened late this afternoon.

Two women in a red sedan were critically injured when they were shot at from a passing car in the 3200 block of Filbert Street between San Pablo Avenue and 32nd Street, police said.

The sedan's driver lost control of the car when she was shot and crashed into two parked vehicles. The suspects fled the scene in an unidentified vehicle. It is unknown whether any arrests have been made.

Alameda County sheriff's deputies and other law enforcement agents arrived on the scene to investigate the shootings, which happened about 5 p.m.

The women were taken to Highland Hospital, where at least one of the women died.

Oakland Police Department investigators had arrived on the scene by 7 p.m. Anyone with information is asked to call 510-238-3821.

There is a huge problem with racial profiling, DWB, etc, but until the Black community starts to take responsibility for raising kids right, things won't change. A whole world is waiting to work with them, including me.

just as soon as the white community starts to take responsibility for the global financial crisis that they caused... just take responsibility white people, and I'll be here to work with you all.

anyway a note about Kamiya's actual story.... where was your long winded piece on the cold blooded murder of Oscar Grant by BART cops this past New Years Eve? pulled off a train and shot in the back like an animal... couldn't find time to write about that?

More to the point, why does "assault with a firearm" get you a six year sentence with parole, while non-violent drug offenses result in mandatory ten-year minimum sentences?

That skewed system also applies to rape and other forms of assault - if a firearm only gets a six year sentence, what about rape? Two years?

The justice system in California clogs up the prisons with non-violent drug offenders (who often then learn violence in prison), and recycles the real criminals out onto the streets to commit their crimes again.

It's Prohibition in action - police resources wasted on snoop & sting operations against minor drug dealers and recreational users, leading to ever-more violent criminal gangs taking over distribution and marketing - just look at Mexico today, where the death of four police officers is a weekly event.

End the insanity, already.

...and getting away with it, not going to prison for it, having fellow officers close ranks, the deaths of police officers will fill me with indifference.

The colleagues of the cop that abused the author looked vaguely embarrassed. Really? Is that really enough? Did they intervene to stop the harassment? What have they done to get that ticking time bomb removed from the force? Vaguely embarrassed? What a bunch of putzes.

And maybe I missed it, but where WAS the long-winded, sentimental piece about the poor man shot to death by BART cops as he lay on the ground begging to please not be tased? What about his family? What about his baby daughter growing up without a father? What about the diseased, trigger-happy culture of our police forces around the country?

In the midst of this horrible loss of lives - where is the NRA to explain to us why they continue to oppose controls on assault rifles (it was an AK47, I believe, that this parole violator with a lengthy record used to kill these policemen)? So many law enforcement officers dead...how many does it take?

i see no one denying that the shooting of Oscar Grant by a BART officer was also a horrific tragedy in that community. and Kamiya's excellent piece by no means skirts the tensions within the poor black communities of Oakland when it comes to relations with the police.

A truly moving piece about a heart-breaking and tragic event.

But, I cannot commend the way in which the author, Gary Kamiya, blithely dismisses the unacceptable past experience he had had with a San Francisco police officer whom he happened to see today at the memorial service. It's simply not acceptable to justify that officer's unprofessional behavior by saying "Every profession has people who should not be in it." There are some professions that are and should be held to the highest standards of professionalism and accountability. Law enforcement is, unquestionably, one of those professions. We, the public, must not tolerate the existence a police officer who is "a little guy with a major authoritarian complex." I hope, Mr. Kamiya, that you'll make a formal report to the San Francisco Office of Citizen Complaints regarding the atrocious treatment you experienced at the hands of that officer. It's bad apples like that guy who are likely to become, at some point, the next BART police officer who murders an unarmed Oscar Grant. We, the public, have a grave responsibility to report the bad behavior of cops instead of bowing down to their "authoritarian complexes" and rationalizing their unprofessionalism by saying that "Every profession has people who should not be in it."