Monthly Archives: May 2013

Patrick Gonzales And The Killing of Gary King

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Articulating “An Officer’s Fear of Imminent Danger” Justifies Police Murder

WeCopwatch Conducts “The Shortest Interview” with Patrick Gonzales

On September 20th, 2007, Oakland Police Officer Patrick Gonzales shot and killed 20 year old Gary King after Gonzales stopped King because he claimed that King matched the description of a Murder Suspect from an incident some time back. What has always been known is that Gary King was shot in the back as he ran for his life (see Ali Winston’s DEADLY SECRETS)

Video by Thomas Peele and Karl Mondon

But in an article released by Thomas Peele called OAKLAND POLICE: Too Quick To Fire, newly released documents show holes in Gonzales’s version of what happened. While Police generally can murder someone if they articulate that they were in fear for their life, interviews with other police who were on scene offer a different account.

1. If Gonzales could prove he was in fear for his life, it would be considered justified like most Officer Involved Shootings in Oakland.

2. But if Gonzales was in fear for his safety and the safety of others, why did he not alert other responding officers that King had an alleged weapon on him.

3. Conclusion. It doesn’t make sense that an officer shoots someone they claim are armed, don’t disarm them, and then don’t inform fellow officers of the gun and it’s whereabouts.

DA Report on the killing of Gary King by Patrick Gonzales

2012-10-02 OIS Redacted Report

Snatch Squads 2012! 1 Year after Oakland Police attack May Day Demonstration

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On May Day 2012, demonstrators from across the bay area converged in Downtown Oakland to participate in the annual May Day General Strike.

While the day began with spirited marches that snaked throughout downtown, Oakland Police would inevitably intervene by toppling over a female bicycle rider and arresting her. From there Oakland Police would pull multiple people from out of the crowd, taking them to the ground and arresting them.


Video Shot by Jacob Crawford

In the midst of the chaos, members of Oakland Police’s TANGO unit (a group designated to shoot projectiles and use gas against demonstrators) would throw flash bang grenades into groups of people and Tased at least one person (see post)
One thing that is important to note is that responsibility for the deployment of gas falls not only on the officers in control of the weapons, but their supervisors.

Note in this video shot by Simon Sedillo you can see LT Hamilton instructing TANGO Officer Mike Beaver where to throw a flash bang grenade.

Video by Simon Sedillo

In another incident of poor top down instructions, In 2011, Captain Ersie Joyner was reassigned after being accused of giving poor instructions to Victor Garcia regarding when to shoot protesters during the November 2nd General Strike. A young man by the name of Scott Campbell would be one of many people shot and gassed that evening due to poor decision making on Oakland Police’s part.


Video of Scott Campbell getting shot. Taken by Scott Campbell