OAKLAND/SACRAMENTO, CA – The Oakland Police Department (OPD) is the target of a “People’s Investigation” by the Anti Police-Terror Project (APTP) after murdering a victim in Sacramento last Wednesday night who authorities claim exited his house with a firearm, according to a recently released statement.
The Sacramento Police Department (SPD) called OPD for backup when answering to an alleged suspect in a Sacramento homicide, the APTP statement notes.
APTP is a “Black-led, multi-racial, intergenerational coalition,” looking to create a safe community, and to hold police accountable for excessive abuse, as noted by the released statement.
Executive director and co-founder of the APTP, Cat Brooks, expressed her distrust in the OPD and SPD’s analysis of the murder by police, stating, “The police as a rule cannot be trusted in these incidents, and their first story should never be taken at face value.”
The APTP statement explains strategies that law enforcement officers have been trained to exhibit in order to avoid taking responsibility for their actions.
“More and more, we are hearing the claim that the victim was a sudden, imminent, and unavoidable threat… in an effort to dampen community support and lay the framework for a legal justification,” the statement asserts.
APTP’s co-founder and creator of Mental Health First, Asantewaa Boykin, criticized SPD’s history of violence and disingenuous work, while offering support for every family member affected by the recent tragedies.
“SPD is undeniably heinous, violent, … outright dishonest—particularly when engaging with folks who are in a mental health crisis, or part of a marginalized community exercising their First Amendment rights,” charged Boykin.
APTP’s First Responders Committee said it has been working with families affected by police terror and has reported police abuse in the Bay Area after the committee uncovered additional investigations, the released statement notes.
As stated in the press statement, APTP said, “These investigations have led to discoveries like the fact that 38-year-old mother and grandmother Yuvette Henderson was murdered with an AR-15 in broad daylight by the Emeryville Police Department.”
The organization said its goal is to protect people by fighting for justice, maintaining that “we undertake a People’s Investigation of the actual facts to demand transparency (and) create accountability… in the tragic wake of state violence.”
Kaveh Nasseri Mashhadi is a recent graduate of UCLA with a major in Political Science and a minor in History. He is passionate about journalism, immigration law, and international politics. He hopes to attend law school and pursue a legal career.
Avery Redula is a second year at UC Davis studying English. After undergrad she plans to attend law school, where she can pursue criminal law. She is most interested in cases regarding domestic violence and gang violence, as she learned from her summers spent at the DA's office that they are issues that most affect her home county of San Joaquin.
Yenah Lee is a third year at UC Davis studying Sociology and Communications. After completing her undergraduate studies, she hopes to attend law school to pursue a career in either family or health law.
Autumn is editor in chief at the Vanguard's LA branch and a fourth year political science major with a philosophy minor at UCLa. She is originally from Davis, CA. Previously, she was the social justice desk editor. She is looking forward to law school and a career in politics after graduation.
Adam Solorzano is a second year student at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism where his focus is on documentary filmmaking. He has created different short form documentaries in the Bay Area ranging from Oakland street safety, art therapy, R/C lowriders, and deported veterans. He has also worked in Guatemala on a short form video on native bees.
Moreover, he has reported on topics of illegal cannabis and criminal records after legalization, the closing of juvenile prisons in California, and the prison to college pipeline for formally incarcerated deported U.S residents. Prior to his graduate career, he majored in comparative literature at UC Berkeley. During this time he focused on English and Spanish literature. In addition, he has also worked as a reentry navigator for formally and incarcerated youth at the Division of Juvenile Justice facilities in California.
Gabriel Johnson is a system impacted first generation University & Law School student who graduated from McGeorge in 2022 With Distinction. Gabriel is a long-term vegetarian who hopes to make a difference fighting for both Human and Animal rights.
