(All PNN-TV Video coverage of the meeting with O'Malley is linked to the bottam of this article)
“We are looking at all aspects of the incident, the actual firearm involved in the incident, where it came from, other witnesses who the police are looking for and what was in the officer’s mind when he was approaching the scene.” said Alameda District Attorney Nancy O’Malley about the January 3rd shooting by West Oakland BART poLice officer Joseph Mateu of African Sun, father, Brother and Uncle Sahleem Tindle.
It was at this point in O’Malley’s statement to the family and attorney John Burris that this poverty skola reporter’s mind had a little trouble staying focused, “ What was in the officers mind????, how about poLice culture rooted in a 525 years of genocidal history of white supremacy that shoots to kill young Black, Brown Poor, disabled and indigenous daughters and suns first and asks questions later.
O’Malley continued, “We are using our resources to send the video to a couple of crime labs outslde of Oakland who specialize in forensics, rather than my eyes or your eyes just looking at it-…”
“What do you mean by Forensic video?”,Attorney John Burris cut in.
“A forensic person would be able to break down the video frame by frame and really look at what happened at the location of the incident…”O’Malley continued.
As she spoke my mind wandered again to the body cam video of the incident. How much forensics do you need to know that Mateu was on a trajectory of death as he was running toward Sahleem. There was no chance for Sahleem to do anything much less “show his hands” as Mateu kept mumble-demanding as he ran towards Sahleem. Mateu was clearly unable to think clearly much less discern when and how not to use the deadly weapon he had in his hands pointed forward for the entire time he was running to the scene. Mateu’s hysteria was overt. There is nothing more money, and more crime labs and more wasted resources or science could elaborate on. It was pre-meditated police culture which teaches shoot first , ask questions later.punto final.
“Have you looked at the initial statement by Joseph Mateu?. Fierce mama warrior, truth-teller and leader Yolanda Banks Reed addressed O’Malley, “The story and the narrative he told us before the video came out was not the same as what Mateu’s body camera revealed,” she concluded.
O’Malley responded by saying she had what Mateu told the police but other statements were privy to the Police Officers Association (dropping Cat Brooks’ fierce warrior from ATPT’s name to prove that this was somehow understood by everyone?) and all the other witnesses who saw the incident and that she didn’t want to give the impression that any decision was made.
“I’m glad to hear that no decision other than the decision to charge (Mateu) with the murder of my sun Sahleem Tindle,” Yolanda responded, going on to say that she didn’t want this to drag on and on as she is grieving. “There are so many African-American males that are being murdered by police and their loophole is this was fear, that the African-American male is a threat,someone has to be held accountable for these murders and that time is now.”
“I talked to you about the Mosaic law, you can work on reform all you want, but this is a lawless state, where everyone will turn on each other, as the DA in office you hold the power to convict this man and give a judgement that is fair. I am here for my Sun and will do everything in my power to make sure justice is done. what we are surprised about is how can be Mateu be up for promotion after murdering my Sun We have been talking to BART commission. They didn’t even know how this officer (Mateu) was promoted, how could this murderer be promoted?” Yolanda said.
“And we know you are running for election, and since you have been in office no police officer has been held accountable for their actions. I am certainly doing an investigation as well, Yolanda concluded.
This reporter/poverty skola added, "The community is watching you, Ms O'Malley, this is your chance to act consciously, to do something different, to act for justice not more InJustice."
After the Meeting with the DA O’Malley
“It was an important meeting to have, and now we look forward to the next meeting,” said John Burris outside the DA’s office as the people and media gathered. The meeting lasted for approximately 30 minutes and was oddly surreal. O’Malley making great pains to seem as though she was understanding and yet really giving no commitment.
“They have a system in place already set up to deal with this, it is just tragic that we keep having to go though this over and over again,” Fierce mama and warrior Yolanda summed up the tragic yet horrific aspects of the meeting after Attorney Burris. “As a mother we don’t even have the time to grieve, “she concluded.
After the family and Mr Burris spoke to the media, we begin to circle around the sterile halls of that injustice kkkort. the beautiful family of the Hebrew Cultural Community which Yolanda and Sahleem are members led us in a series of powerFULL chants and songs for justice.
When this all happened this reporter and the whole POOR Magazine family were in shock, we knew Sahleem and Yolanda very well because of previous racial brofiling Driving While Black in this stolen land. And the Hebrew Cultural Community of powerful youth has been extended family to POOR Magazine since 2010. Many of Saleem’s beautiful cousins and family coming through to POOR’s Family Project Revolutionary Summer Camp. Another beautiful family member and fierce mama warrior Sala Haquiyah Chandler has also been a powerful POOR Magazine extended family member and we were all there when her beautiful sun lost his life to unclear circumstances.
Their powerful indigenous village of the Hebrew Cultural Community, like POOR Magazine, has been and will always be a powerFULL resistance to the colonizer lies of separation, the cult of “independence” and what i call “the Separation Nation” and other lies of this plantation prescribed nation that are imposed on our young peoples minds everyday in America. It is no small coincidence to me that Sahleem, like Oscar Grant before him and so many more were shot by these officers of the Stolen Land law and once again, as soon as this story broke, people tried to cast aspersions on Sahleem’s character instead of looking clearly at the culture of killer poLice who murder every Black, Brown and Indigenous Sun and daughter they can.
It is why POOR magazine, Krip Hop Nation refuse to even engage with the perpetrators who test, arrest and incarcerate us. It is why POOR Magazine , Idriss Stelley Foundation and Krip Hop Nation teach the How to Not Call the PoLice EVER workshops. It is why we practice this in our liberated villages of Homefulness- a landless peoples solution to homelessness. It is why myself and Leroy Moore refuse the lie of reform and “police training” as we know it is filled with more lies about fixing an already broken poLice system. And in the end like the beautiful Yolanda says, we will not give up fighting the time has come
The people will win justice. Sahleem will win justice. None of us will give up.
PoorNewsNetwork Coverage of the Meeting with Alameda DA O'Malley:
Statements after the mtg by John Burris and the Family: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsD3p21ap8k&t=21s
Mtg with O'Malley Part #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNBBFKq75Ns
Mtg With O'Malley Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViaUXBGe3z4&t=446s
Mtg With O'Malley Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9F4ceRHJ8k&t=11s
Mtg With O'Malley Part 4-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YdUyoKnT3w