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"Black Lives Matter" Movement Arrives in Long Beach: Demonstration Outside City Hall, Then Speakers Inside At Council Meeting Slam LBPD Actions, Seek Elected Citizens Complaint Board

Audience shouts demands to allow additional public speakers...and Mayor/Council waive rules to allow them.


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(July 12, 2016) -- The Black Lives Matter movement arrived in Long Beach today (Tues July 12), starting with a demonstration outside City Hall that drew roughly 80-100 people. At one point, incoming Second district Councilwoman Jeannine Pearce greeted the crowd and pledged her support to help achieve what she described as racial equity in Long Beach (detailed coverage here..

The crowd was racially and chronologically diverse, with some of college age, others retirees.


[Scroll down for further.]


Among those present were familymembers and friends of Barry Prak, fatally shot by LBPD on June 28, 2016. Familymembers said they've been unable to find out from LBPD exactly what happened. [In a release, LBPD indicated Mr. Prak was sought in connection with an April 2016 attempt murder warrant regarding a 2014 triple victim shooting in the area of Anaheim/Lewis. Police allege that on June 28 he ran into an apartment, for a time refused to come out and when he did exit allegedly charged them with a knife, leading to an officer-involved shooting in which Mr. Prak was killed as was an LBPD police dog.]


Also present and speaking at the demonstration, and later addressing the City Council, was an individual who described himself as a close friend of Donte Jordan, who was killed in an Nov. 10, 2013 LBPD officer involved shooting. Mr. Jordan's friend described his reactions, then and now, in dealing with the death of his friend. [In a Nov. 2013 release, LBPD said it received a call(s) reporting a man with a gun firing the weapon at a gas station in the 500 block of W. Anaheim St; others reported the suspect allegedly waiving a gun; arriving officers found a person matching the suspect description walking on Anaheim St. near Chestnut Ave.; they contacted him [details unclear in release] and an officer involved shooting occurred in which Mr. Jordan was killed; a handgun was recovered at the scene.]

Following the outdoor demonstration, many of the participants went into the City Council meeting where several supporters had signed up to speak using the period allowed for public comment on non-agendized items. The speakers variously accused LBPD of [summary paraphrase] disproportionately targeting, harassing, arresting, shooting and killing Blacks and members of other minority groups.


The first speaker was Michael Sallwasser [sp], who identified himself as a 5th district resident. "[Some my friends] do not automatically assume the police will be helpful when called," he said. "They worry about more than higher insurance premiums when they're stopped by the police because their experiences have been different...Long Beach needs to do better on behalf of Black lives. Black lives matter to me, and until they matter to the City of Long Beach, we cannot say 'all lives matter.'"

Anna Wagner [sp] also identified herself as a 5th district resident and said: "It's time to stop the senseless murder of Black lives. It's time to end the extra-judicial killing of Black people. Black lives matter. Police somehow apprehend white people all the time and manage not to murder them. Black people in this country deserve the same basic dignity and respect...But specifically here in Long Beach we need community oversight. We need an elected Citizens Complaint Board. We need to limit the use of force. We need to stop the extra judicial killing of Black people. We need to independently investigate and prosecute and we need to train police to be community members not just armed patrolmen, including anti-bias training. Black Lives Matter."

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At the conclusion of the ten public speakers allocated at the beginning of Council meetings, Black Lives Matter supporters/members in the audience shouted demands for additional speakers. Mayor Garcia responded by stating that he and the Council were working out a way to try and accommodate them and consulting with the City Attorney. Councilman Austin then made a motion (seconded by Uranga) to allow additional speakers [in effect waiving Council rules, which the Council can do on a 2/3 vote] to enable additional speakers; the motion carried 9-0. Austin initially suggested six more speakers which grew to at least eight more and Mayor Garcia allowed some to speak beyond the usual three minute limit.

The first two hours of the Council meeting had been consumed with a ceremony on the exit of Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal and the Council didn't begin acting on its agendized business items until nearly 8:30 p.m. However some Black Lives Matter supporters remained through the meeting and ultimately used the second period for public comment at the end of Council business to speak further (by which time Mayor Garcia and Vice Mayor Lowenthal had left for some type of celebration.)

Ida Moore [sp] told the Council: "We are taxpayers, and I believe we pay the policemens, policewomens salary...but we cannot audit their performance. They keep the books closed...I would like to request that you...allow the public to view what's going on with each case, and any offender that has a questionable record for police violence be put on suspension immediately." She continued: "Clarity is coming, big time, to the public, and you will feel scrutinized...we will know what's going on behind closed doors, so if any ties to questionable people or practices are being protected and kept strong, those processes and those ties are going to be broken one way or another. We are peaceful people but we understand that it's so deep this unjust process of murder and routine dismissal of human rights that we will have our say in the matter and you will hear us...I'm here to tell you peacefully: please recognize the clarity we're reaching and meet us. We can do this. Thank you. Black lives matter."

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Earlier in the day (July 12), President Barrack Obama spoke in Dallas, Texas at an interfaith memorial service for five police officers killed by a sniper, a male Black, who allegedly said he wanted to kill white police officers. The slain Dallas officers were handling routine policing (crowd control and the like) at what was an otherwise physically peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstration, protesting police shootings of Black men in Louisiana and Minnesota, widely reported with disturbing social network video.

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