EVIDENCE OF PREPLANNING EMERGES
More facts and details came out during the days and weeks that followed.
Oakland has over 700 police; 165 of them were at the port on April 7th; 20 were members of Tango Teams--those equipped with the "less-lethal" weapons.
Less-lethal doesn't mean non-lethal. Shell casings recovered from the Port of Oakland fiasco were printed with the warning: "Do not fire directly at persons or seriously injury or death may result." These instructions indicate that they are meant to be fired at the ground and caused to ricochet. Nevertheless, photos and videos show police aiming horizontally at shoulder level on April 7th, and at least two persons were struck in the face. Many more were hit in the chest, back, arms and hands.
Casualties were much heavier than what I'd at first imagined. More than just a few people had been hit. Some were struck in the face, others sustained broken bones, and yet others suffered minor wounds which later turned out to be serious. Those hit included fifty protesters, nine longshoremen and two newsmen.
Five of the injured longshoremen were sent to the hospital. Crane operator Billy Kepoo was wounded in the hand and required surgery--a splintered bone was sticking out of the skin. Billy has been unable to work at his crane-operating job.
A freelance journalist, Ron Smith, who was not part of the protest, was also hit. A finger bone in his left hand was broken.
"I had my camera in my left hand up by my face when it hit me," Ron told the Bay Guardian (4/16/03). "I've been in war zones. I've been in Columbia, El Salvador and I've never seen anything like this."
Some of the injuries that seemed relatively minor at the time could have lasting effects. Willow Rosenthal was hit in the calf. There was an article about her in the Tribune (5/25/03). "Rosenthal's leg swelled immediately, but she figured it would go down in time. She went to the doctor and was told she had severe hematoma, but it would eventually subside. When the swelling didn't go down, the skin and tissue began to die and turn black.
"Rosenthal spent ten days in the hospital. She had two surgeries under general anesthesia to clean the wound and receive skin grafts on a 4-by-4-inch area of her calf. The doctors called it a severe crush injury, she said.... She's on disability from her job, where she helps train low-income women to open and run their own businesses."
Contrary to what Police Chief Richard Word had told the media, less-lethal munitions do more than just sting the skin.
No police were reported injured.
Mayor Brown and Chief Word blamed it on us, claiming that protesters threw rocks, bottles, chunks of concrete, and metal objects similar to bolts or rivets at the police. That charge was denied by eyewitnesses.
And because of the many photos and videos from that day, it wasn't necessary to rely on eyewitnesses alone. Videos were taken by protesters, National Lawyers Guild representatives, and TV cameramen. The police themselves had taken a two-hour video, which was eventually released in response to a public records act request by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Tribune.
The Tribune (5/13/03) reported that the police video "doesn't show objects being thrown at police, or any other type of physical attack against officers." The Los Angeles Times (6/8/03) said, "Police officials have said they have videotapes that show protesters throwing objects at officers. But after releasing several photos and videos, police spokeswoman Ashford acknowledged that the images do not ‘necessarily' show such attacks. The Times reviewed the tapes and compact discs of the protest and saw no instances of demonstrators throwing objects."
It's hard to believe that much could've been thrown without it being seen by witnesses or recorded on any of the films taken. Assuming, however, that an unseen person did throw a rock, then one must wonder why the police went on shooting for at least an hour an a half - as their own reports show. Did poorly disciplined cops lose their heads? Persons who panic that easily must be unfit to be police officers to begin with, so if the police stick to their rock-throwing story, they'll invite questions about the quality of their personnel and the control that police commanders have over their officers.
Actually, I do not believe that police commanders lost control of their men. From videos, photos and accounts I've heard, as well as my own observations of riot police on Middle Harbor Road, it appears to me that that the police were functioning as units and clearly following orders.
The rock-throwing story is an effective sound byte, and it diverts attention away from evidence indicating that the attack was pre-planned. Many people have pointed out that the police probably would not have brought less-lethal munitions unless they intended to use them.
Evidence of pre-planning was also was given by Larry Wright, an APL employee who was one of the dockworkers in the port on the morning of April 7th. Larry gave this account to the City Council (4/29/03):
"When I got to work, the gate was blocked up and there were cars all the way down the street. So I pulled over to the curb quite a ways from the gate where I normally go in, and parked my car, and I was standing there.
"I walked up a ways toward where the gate was, and the demonstration was going on, and at one point the police split the demonstrators and started pushing a lot of them in the direction where I was standing. And when they got to me a police officer took his baton and started to push me, and I said, ‘Hey, I'm a longshoreman, I'm just here waiting to go to work.'
"So he seemed sympathetic and friendly, and he said, ‘Okay, but you better get in your car because we're going to start shooting in a couple of minutes. And it really stings.'
"I thought at the time he meant tear gas because they had gas masks and stuff. But anyway, I got in my car, which was down the line a bit. The police kept pushing people. There was a line of police, when they got just about even with me, they raised their weapons up and started shooting. They shot a couple of these percussion grenades that made a lot of noise and smoke, and also a number of other projectiles at people.
"So I didn't see anybody throw anything. I was right there and the police officer told me, ahead of time, they were going to start shooting in a couple of minutes - and they did. And I think it's important information because I think they had the intent to do this shooting before it actually happened."
Transcripts of police radio transmissions indicate the police were following orders when they shot protesters. An example is the shooting at the intersection of 7th and Maritime streets, which is about a mile from the SSA gates where the first shootings took place. A police radio conversation which took place at that point was reported in the Tribune (5/13/03):
"After one unidentified officer confirms the ‘Tango Team' is present - referring to the group authorized to use less-lethal ammunition - one voice is heard to ask whether the protesters should be arrested or dispersed. 'Disperse them,' was the reply, and the firing started again."
So who authorized the police to go to the port equipped with riot gear and less-lethal weapons?
Statements made by Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown which I quoted earlier from six different newspapers indicate that he either made the decision himself or at least wanted to appear as having made it. However, those statements, which came out during the first days after the attack, were not often repeated afterwards. For me, the mayor's declarations don't conclusively prove that he had a role in the matter; they only show that he was trying to present himself as a strong, decisive mayor - but apparently had second thoughts after it became apparent that the shootings inspired more disgust than awe.
In the newspapers we can find the names of relatively low-ranking police officials who were at the scene, lieutenants and a captain, but not the identities of the person or persons in charge. The remarkable thing is that no ranking police official seems to have been in charge of the 165 police at the docks on April 7th.
One might almost get the impression that the police were sent there more or less by accident and left to their own devices. Actually, it wasn't done that casually. On April 4th, three days before the event, police met with shipping companies and port officials to plan a response to our upcoming demonstration.
It would be interesting to know exactly who attended that April 4th meeting and everything that was said and discussed - the minutes of that meeting. Those are among the items we've specifically asked our Oakland City Council to delve into.
In any case, on the morning of April 7th, company officials were at the scene. According to the Mercury News (4/8/03), "shipping company officials asked police to remove the protesters, and it was at that point violence broke out."
The newspaper didn't name the company officials who made that request. Fortunately for this attempt at reconstructing the events, there is another source.
The Police Mobile Command Post was in the same paddy wagon into which the police put their prisoners. In addition to June Brashears, one of the other prisoners was ILWU's Jack Heyman, who, while he was there, identified SSA's Kevin Mehlberg, accompanied by another SSA official, both wearing their conspicuous yellow-and-green company jackets. (Maritime Worker Monitor 4/18/03)
Kevin Mehlberg is the Primary General Manager of Matson SSA Terminals which is located at 3050 Seventh Street.
It seems incredible to think that 165 Oakland police officers could've been delivered to the docks and put at the disposal and under the command of shipping company officials - it sounds like something that would happen in a company town back in the 19th century. Nevertheless, it appears that Kevin Mehlberg and his colleague were running the show.
So what kind of a company is SSA? Stevedoring Services of America is the largest marine terminal operator in the United States and has received dozens of contracts from the Pentagon for military cargo handling at U.S. ports. It also controls the largest block of votes on the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) bargaining committee that sets the agenda for the contract negotiations, and it used its influence in an attempt to break the union.
SSA is a powerful, well connected company. Their lobbyist, Reginald "Reggie" Bashur, was an aide to Bush when he was governor of Texas.
In a Tribune Op-Ed article (6/17/03), Jack Heyman wrote, "Last year during longshore contract negotiations, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) representing shippers closed all terminal gates, locking out longshore workers and shutting down all U.S. West Coast ports from Canada to Mexico for ten days. Longshoremen protested by organizing picket lines, rallies and marches. After the PMA lockout, President Bush invoked the Taft-Hartley Act, forcing longshoremen back to work under employer's conditions."
During those negotiations, Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge phoned the ILWU president, warning him that the Bush Administration would view any dockworkers strike as a threat to national security.
To hear it from SSA spokesperson Andy McLauchlan, the firm has a strong commitment to social responsibility. Regarding the contract to manage the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr, McLauchlan told the Tribune (4/8/03) that SSA was not profiting from the war and instead was offering humanitarian aid. "It is sort of a social responsibility issue more than a profit for us," McLauchlan said. He told the Chronicle (4/8/03), that the cargo SSA will be bringing into Umm Qasr will be three million tons of humanitarian aid, including food and medicine.
Referring to the April 7th event, McLauchlan told the Chronicle, "Our concern with this type of protest is the safety of our employees." He said he knew of no injuries to SSA workers.
Although McLauchlan didn't seem to know it, Billy Kepoo, the crane operator who was mentioned earlier, was an SSA employee. Billy told his story at a City Council meeting some weeks later, on April 29th. He was wearing a cast on his forearm, and said that until his injury healed, he was unable to work. SSA had denied him Workman's Compensation.
So much for SSA's humanitarian sense of "social responsibility." My impression is that the company doesn't care much about how their employees are treated, that they shoot their workers and then lie about it. In fact, they shoot everybody. And I do suggest that if someone were to call them the "archetype of entrepreneuring evil," they might privately take that as a compliment.
It was on the public streets near and leading from the SSA terminal that nearly all of the shooting took place. As far as I can tell, no shooting took place near the APL terminal. That may have been due to chance, or it may have been by design. I have speculated that the two companies may have had different policies, that perhaps APL did not want violence at its gates, but SSA did, and did it to make a point. Be that as it may, SSA is where it happened.
The lords of SSA must've thought that by showing some real violence - shock and awe - they would be rid of us once and for all and never see us at their gates again.