Oakland Police Chief Kirkpatrick Called Wilson Riles To Apologize For “Zoning While Black” Incident
ONN – Oakland Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick Called Wilson Riles To Apologize For “Zoning While Black” Incident
On Facebook, Steve Lowe, the developer of Old Oakland, said this in response to my call for Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf to apologize to Wilson Riles for the racist “Zoning While Black” incident: “My guess is that the City Attorney will advise that no one apologize lest it might become an admission of guilt and cost the City untold thousands.”
Well, former Oakland Councilmember Wilson Riles personally told me that Oakland Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick did call him to apologize for the harassment by Oakland Police Officers during Mr. Riles unfortunate visit to the Oakland Zoning Department.
On October 17th, Wilson Riles, once the Oakland District 5 City Councilmember, paid a visit to the City of Oakland’s planning and zoning division. As he explained in a Zennie62 YouTube Live Interview:
“A couple of weeks ago someone from zoning came by indicating that there was a complaint about the ceremonies we were having in our back yard. I don’t know why he didn’t have the knowledge about the decisions of the Planning Commission and the council had made, but apparently he didn’t. I asked him to go and check that out. Later on, I talked to him on the telephone he said he had found out that we had a right to do that but that he was going to require me to get some permits for the temporary structures that we have in our backyard. As part of what we are are doing all of that was also included in the agreement that we had with the Planning Commission of The City Council.
All those structures were put into the design review that we had to submit, but we also agreed that that if there anything that we were doing or that we needed to do that required a permit, that we would take out a permit before doing that. But the law was very clear and I hadn’t looked at it early in this process. The temporary structures do not require a permit, so I was a little upset that at the end of this process, after going all through this, the Zoning Department was still trying to shut us down for something that we had a legal right to do. And I asked them to look at the code – they refuse to do that. I went down to the Zoning Department to meet with this inspector on Thursday morning again asking him to look at the code about that requirement; he refused to look at the code.
I was frustrated I was arguing with him that that wasn’t right and he was supposed to be following the law. He was opposed to be doing something because somebody told him to do it or some mother complained he was supposed to be looking at the law that he’s supposed to be implementing. He got up, went back to talk to his supervisor, he said. I said waited for 15 minutes. He came back, sat down, and said he still hadn’t looked at the codes and he wasn’t gonna look at the codes. So I again, being very frustrated, you know told him how ridiculous it sounded – this was that he didn’t bother to actually follow the law he was supposed to be implementing. He stopped talking to me turned his head away got up and walked back in the activity area where the has their desk.
I got up five of him the door was open. I didn’t push the door. I didn’t push him. I didn’t touch anybody. I didn’t threaten anybody. I walked through the door and told the folks there I wanted to talk to the supervisor, and I stayed there until the supervisor came. We walked back through the door set back down at the desk I talked to the supervisor about the issues that I had and my concerns – that the law wasn’t wasn’t being followed. And he said I’ll get back to you.
So I stood up and started leaving the office and down this narrow hall and four police officers came up they were looking around trying to find somebody who was to tell them why they were there and what they were supposed to do – apparently nobody did. And so I continued walking and one of the officers blocked me from leaving they didn’t say we’re gonna arrest you they didn’t say what the charge would be or anything they just blocked me – physically blocked me. I tried to move around the person who was blocking me, and he grabbed me and other officers grabbed me. So I’m pushing my arms behind my back trying to put cuffs on me tried to trick me and didn’t district me, and we also held down on the floor and they were eventually able to hustle me down to a cruiser in front of the building you know. That’s that’s the incident that took place that Thursday morning.
Zennie Abraham – Well, you mean to tell me at no point they didn’t tell you A) why they were there, B) tell you what you were going to be arrested for, C) read you your Miranda rights – no, none of that and then on top of that when you left the office you had…
Wilson Riles – No idea none.
I still believe Mayor Schaaf should call Wilson Riles.
Stay tuned
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