A 2011 report from San Francisco

This is an article I wrote in September 2011 in relation to protests against police brutality in San Francisco at the time. Given the current events in the USA, its still relevant so thought I would share it again.

Report from an American city up in arms

Protest is alive and well in the US, well at least in San Francisco, where weekly protests have been held against police brutality. This follows the recent killing of two people by BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) police. Kenneth Harding, a 19 year old African-American was shot in the back as he ran away from police who suspected him of having not paid his $2 fare on the BART train. Charles Hill, a homeless man was gunned down on a station platform. These two killings by BART police took place in the space of a month.

These events have led to the setting up of the No Justice, No BART Campaign who have organised the weekly protests. Targeting busy BART stations during evening rush hour, they have provoked a hugely disproportionate response by the Police. Police have shut off mobile phone use in BART trains and stations to stop protesters from organizing. Witnesses to the killings and protesters have been intimidated and even thrown in prison.

For the duration of the first two protests, police closed all Downtown BART stations also affecting the MUNI subway system which shares many of the same stations. On Thursday 8^th September, protesters at Powell St. station, (one of the busiest in the city) attempted to open the station gates so passengers could get on the trains without paying. The police responded by closing the station and kettling around 100 protesters inside. Other protesters outside handed out leaflets to bewildered would-be passengers, and shouted slogans and abuse at the riot cops blocking the station entrance.

 

The BART serves some of the poorest areas in San Francisco and the surrounding Bay area. The two men shot dead by the police were both shot in poor neighbourhoods in San Francisco. This is part of a growing problem of police brutality in the poorest areas of American cities. In Oakland, which is connected to San Francisco by the BART, and is much less well off, statistics show that 80% of the time when police draw their guns they shoot. This has contributed to a growing fear and distrust of the police in poor areas, particularly in black and Latino areas, as police patrol these areas heavily armed. This fear would likely have contributed to Kenneth Harding running away from police despite the fact they only suspected him of fare dodging.

 

These actions have brought into question the whole necessity of police on trains and in stations as well as the whole need for transit fares. Statistics have shown that the amount raised by ticket sales only covers the costs of issuing and policing the tickets. Other costs are covered by general city funds. So by getting rid of fares and policing of them, the BART system could be made both safer and more accessible.

 

The issues of the BART police relate into wider issues in American society today. With the continuing economic crisis, homelessness and poverty are on the rise. Public services to help people get out of these situations are having their funding cut just when they are most needed.

In San Francisco, instead of increasing funding for homeless services, the authorities have introduced a law against people sitting or lying down on the street. Of course, criminalising sleeping on the street does nothing to solve the problem and only increases anger of people already frustrated by cutbacks in essential services. This feeds into the anger and distrust of police and authority, who are responding with force and zero tolerance for dissent.

 

What is happening in San Francisco though is only a microcosm of what is happening around the United States. San Francisco is largely quite a wealthy city without the poor ghettos that exist in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago. All the conditions are in place and it would be no surprise for events similar to the recent riots in England to happen in these cities.