MEDIA ROOTS — You’ve likely heard of Scott Olsen, the Iraq War veteran shot in the head by a police tear gas canister at point blank range during the nationwide crackdown on the Occupy Movement.  The tragic event transformed him into an international symbol of police brutality, and it continues to be an important story signifying state repression. 

Yet, you probably haven’t heard of Kenneth Harding.  His story wasn’t featured on Democracy Now! and was scarcely covered in the progressive press.  However, the story of Kenneth Harding is as tragic and damning as that of Scott Olsen, Oscar Grant, Rodney King, or any number of people who have experienced the raw fist and boot of the US police state.

Kenneth Harding is another U.S. citizen dishonoured by his nation who was gunned down in cold blood by S.F. police this past summer.  S.F. police then blocked anyone from offering the gasping and dying Harding first aid as he bled to death before a crowd of hundreds left in aghast. 

Harding’s mother spoke with “The Morning Mix with JR” on KPFA last week to talk about an event she was organising to raise awareness around the murder of her son and push for an investigation to bring the killer cops to justice.  (See transcript below.) 

In another related story of unwarranted police killing, another man was recently brutally gunned down in Monterey Park, CA outside of a restaurant by one of a swarm of cops apprehending the man who had broken some windows with a metal bar.  Instead of collectively overpowering the man with their bare hands or waiting for back-up, one murderous cop lunges forward and shoots him, point blank, almost ten times, completely unprovoked, leaving Steven Rodriguez dead. 

In story after story, cops seems to be malfunctioning, losing their cool with their weapons, degenerating into wanton murder.  Unwarranted police aggression and their use of deadly force over the decades, poorly covered by corporate media, has conditioned many in the U.S. to seemingly accept and condone such lawlessness from police forces.

As the corporate media parroted police disinformation surrounding the Kenneth Harding story, the San Francisco Bayview National Black Newspaper documented the events from a grassroots perspective:

“When police stopped a teenager stepping off the T-train yesterday [16 Jul 2011] to show his transfer as proof he’d paid his fare – $2 at most – he ran from them. They shot him as many as 10 times in the back and neck, according to witnesses. For many long minutes, as a crowd watched in horror, the boy, who had fallen to the sidewalk a block away, lay in a quickly growing pool of blood writhing in pain and trying to lift himself up as the cops trained their guns on him and threatened bystanders.”

One M.D.s Letter to the SF Examiner Editor wrote: 

“I take exception to reports describing Kenneth Harding lying dead on the Bayview sidewalk. I have reviewed at least five videos which document him laying face down in a pool of blood and arching his neck in an attempt to breathe.

San Francisco police officers are trained in CPR, emergency airway management and first aid. A simple and humane maneuver might have been to simply roll him over on his back and apply a compression dressing to the wound in his neck.”

—Ahimsa Porter Sumchai, M.D. San Francisco

Kenneth Harding “laying face down in a pool of blood and arching his neck in an attempt to breathe.”

Attorney for Harding’s family, Adante Pointer, discussed the glaring contradictions between “police department’s shifting stories” about the murder of Kenneth Harding by police and the accounts of hundreds of witnesses, many of which tried to administer first aid or get help, but were kept at bay by silent, cocked-and-loaded, cops brandishing firepower.  No one wanted to be next in some of the most dramatic minutes of U.S. history since Oscar Grant was gunned down in cold blood by BART police. 

As expected, the murderer cop in that case, Johannes Mehserle, was not administered a punishment commensurate with the crime of murder.  Instead, he was given a slap on the wrist and a mere one year jail sentence.  In the case of Kenneth Harding’s murder, we haven’t even seen the names of the guilty cops.  But Kenneth Harding’s mother continues to seek justice with the help of the SF Bayview community and independent, grassroots media to illuminate the struggle for justice around police terorrism.

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THE MORNING MIX WITH JR — “You are listening to The Morning Mix.  Good morning ladies and gentleman.  I am your host, The Minister of Information, JR.  Today, we will be talking about the unjustified murder of unarmed young Black man, Kenneth Harding in San Francisco and the upcoming protest to shut down 3^rd Street in San Francisco this Sunday [22 Jan 2012].

“We’ll talk about the plight of the Black Farmers in California as well as the Black International Film Festival and the upcoming Carter G. Woodson Bowl, a.k.a. Black Jeopardy.  All of this after the news.”

JR (c. 7:05):  “We are back.  I am your host, the Minister of Information JR, for The Morning Mix.  Today, we will talk about the Carter G. Woodson Black History Bowl, a.k.a. Black Jeopardy.  We will talk about the Oakland International Film Festival.  We will also talk about the plight of the Black farmers in California.

“But, first, we need to address these unjustified police murders of unarmed people in the Black community all over the United States.

“Our next guest is the mother of Kenneth Harding, 19-year old unarmed Black man who was shot in mid-July [2011] over a $2 dollar bus transfer by the San Francisco Police Department.  We have his mother live in the studio today.  Her name is Denika Chatman.

“How are you Miss Denika?”

Denika Chatman (c. 7:58):  “I’m good.  Thank you for asking.”

JR (c. 8:00):  “Can you tell the people a little bit about your son, Kenneth Harding?  Who was Kenneth Harding before he was murdered by the San Francisco Police Department in such an atrocious way?”  

Denika Chatman (c. 8:12):  “My son was very filled with life.  He was the life of the party.  He could go anywhere and fit in.  He loved life.  And he was a college student, set to start college last fall.  He was an entertainer.  He was out here [in the S.F. Bay Area] trying to get his music out.  And he was very family oriented.  He loved his mother.  He loved his brother.  He loved his sister.  And he loved the Lord.”

JR (c. 8:45):  “Can you tell the people a little bit about what happened in the middle of July [2011].”

Denika Chatman (c. 8:51):  “Yes.  My son, Kenny, he was on a T-train in San Francisco, Muni Transit.  And the police, pretty much, racially profiled him, approached him, asked him to supply proof of purchase of transfer for being on the train.  And when he didn’t supply it, they removed him from the train where at that time he, just, had sat for a moment and then he took off running.  And while he was running, he was running with his hands up. 

“And they still shot him down and allowed him to lay in the streets for over 28 minutes while he bled out and died.  They wouldn’t allow the paramedics through to try to help him. 

“And, basically, I feel like he was ambushed because they came at him from two different directions over a $2 transit fare.

JR (c. 9:47):  “I just want to put it out there that this is on YouTube.  They can put Kenneth Harding into YouTube and this will come up.”

Denika Chatman (c. 9:56):  “That is correct.  There was over 150 people out there that day.  So, everybody pulled out their phones and started recording.  And that’s why there are so many videos of my son’s death on there.

“And I’ve never seen it.  I don’t want to see it.  But I do get the sympathy calls and support from everyone else who has seen them.”

JR (c. 10:19):  “What’s been going on since in the community of Hunter’s Point where this occurred?  What’s been going on since with people, such as Fly Benzo and Kilo and different people who support you?”

Denika Chatman (c. 10:33):  “That’s where the majority of my support comes from.  As far as Fly, him and his brother Pladee have been assaulted, hospitalised, incarcerated for speaking openly about what they witnessed on that day and for still speaking out in regards to it, which I don’t understand because there’s also a YouTube of what happened to Fly Benzo.  And I don’t understand why the courts won’t just use that as evidence and see what actually occurred on that day and that the police provoked all of this and just drop the charges. 

“And that’s why I endorse his campaign.  Free Fly Benzo.  His brother Pladee, he was assaulted as well. 

“Kilo Perry, the police have harassed him on several occasions; he has been incarcerated for speaking out for the murder of my son, for what he saw the police do.”     

JR (c. 11:29):  “Isn’t the San Francisco Police Department pushing charges that could result in Fly Benzo, otherwise known as Debray Carpenter, where he could be facing years in prison?”

Denika Chatman (c. 11:43):  “That is correct.  And I carry a lot of the guilt behind that because the battle he’s fighting is because he stood up for what he felt wasn’t right, the injustice done to my son.  And because of that he is looking at a lot of prison time.  And that’s why I’m fighting so hard for him on his side in solidarity because something has to be done.  And he shouldn’t have to go through this behind speaking out against injustice.

JR (c. 12:20):  “Can you talk a little bit about what you guys have going on January 22^nd?”

Denika Chatman (c. 12:24):  “Yeah.  On January 22^nd, we are having a peaceful protest march and rally starting at 3^rd Street and Oakdale, my son’s murder spot.  That is San Francisco. 

“And we are marching over to Candlestick Stadium to surround it.  It’s the NFC Playoff Championship Game and we know that the 49ers are gonna make it there.  So, we’re just trying to bring awareness to the game-goers that, ‘We don’t have no problem with you enjoying your game. We’re not even trying to disrupt the game. We just want to bring awareness that right outside of this stadium, the police are killing our children.’

JR (c. 13:08):  “Right.  Can you also talk a little bit about this concert that you have comin’ up?”

Denika Chatman (c. 13:13):  “Yes.  I can touch on it.  We’re having a big benefit concert for my son on February 10^th.  And I’ll just list a couple of the artists who will be there:  The Jacka, J-Diggs, Mac Mall, Turf Talk, Beeda Weeda.”

JR (c. 13:33):  “And this is at 330 Ritch in San Francisco.”

Denika Chatman (c. 13:36):  “Yes.  Everything is still being collaborated, put together, so we’re just waiting on finalisation right now.  But everything is approved to go.”

JR (c. 13:49):  “How has the police been responding to you and your family since this murder occurred?”

Denika Chatman (c. 13:54):  “Well, I went down to the Office of Citizen Complaints in San Francisco to turn in my complaint.  At that time, I had only been in my new home for not even ten days.  And at that time they were the only ones who had my address, my physical address, because I had to put it on the paperwork.  And within three to five days my home address was listed under Google with step-by-step directions on how to get to my home. 

“And I haven’t had any interactions with the police.  However, they still haven’t been forthcoming with any of the evidence, or the videotapes, or anything to prove that they did a righteous kill.”

JR (c. 14:40):  “If people would like to help you and your supporters and would like to help fight police terrorism in aiding the people who are supporting Kenneth Harding, where can they do that and how can they do that?”

Denika Chatman (c. 14:55):  “Well, we just established the Kenneth Harding, Jr. Foundation.  If you would like to support, you can come to our meetings, you can also follow me on Facebook at Justice 4 Kenneth Harding Jr.  And you can actually see everything that we’ve done up until this point as well as find out all the upcoming events and also posted on the page, anything that’s needed or anything that has to do with the Foundation we post it up there, so that if people want to participate or become part of his Committee.  They are welcome to do so.”

JR (c. 15:40):  “Well, Denika, I just want to salute you for standing on the front line when you’ve faced such an atrocity to your own family, the atrocious murder of your own son by somebody who was a so-called public servant.

“Do we know the name of the police officer that killed your son?”

Denika Chatman (c. 15:59):  “There were actually four of them.  And all their names are listed on the Justice 4 Kenneth Harding, Jr. site as well.”

JR (c. 16:06):  “Well, thank you for standing on that front line.  We appreciate your strength and your commitment and dedication.  And you know the Block Report is behind you.”

Denika Chatman (c. 16:16):  “Bless you, JR.  I also want to thank you for being a part of my son’s Board, being part of our Foundation. 

“And one thing that a lot of people don’t know, they can go get the new issue of the Bayview Newspaper, read my story.  It’s called ‘Picking Up the Pieces.’  And on there, I’m actually giving shouts out to you for coming to Seattle to see about me and my family after all of this occurred, for you for being on the front line with me in supporting me throughout all of this, to all my front-runners who are still standing on the front line, who didn’t allow the police to get to them and silence them.  Kilo Perry, Fly Benzo, Pladee Clayton, all o’ ya’ll.  I just wanna thank my true soldiers.”

JR (c. 17:05):  “Well, right on.  Salute.  Thank you for coming in.”

Denika Chatman (c. 17:08):  “Thank you for having me.”

***

Writing, transcript by Felipe Messina for Media Roots

Photo by ElvertBarnes

MEDIA ROOTS — Felipe Messina of Media Roots speaks with Vaquous of Occupy Montreal to get an international perspective of the global Occupy Wall Street Movement, find out what Canadians are saying and doing as they participate, and what lessons they can share with their international counterparts about what can be done toward socioeconomic justice through collective action and the taking of the public square around the world, physically and digitally.

We apologise for the audio quality wherever distortion occurs.  We feel these stories from the ground are worth being shared even without slick production or bells and whistles.  Media Roots is a collaborative independent media project and not corporate-funded, so we rely on your contributions.  If you would like to support this type of fiercely independent, unembedded, journalism bringing you real stories of substance toward socioeconomic justice, please contribute whatever you can to help Media Roots bring you the highest quality content possible.

MR

MEDIA ROOTS — On Saturday, November 19, 2011, Occupy Oakland (OO) held another mass day of action after the nationwide crackdowns against the Occupy Movement days before.  In response to the coordinated Federalised repression, the OO General Assembly voted unanimously for a coordinated West Coast Port Shutdown, for which ILWU leaders have announced support, even urging a simultaneous East Coast port shutdown.  This would be the first nationwide port shutdown in U.S. history. 

Thousands vigorously took to the streets and jubilantly marched through downtown Oakland and around Lake Merritt before tearing down a fence around an empty lot at 19th & Telegraph to establish another OO encampment.  The uptown location draws attention to the ongoing gentrification in Oakland, as public schools are being closed whilst charter schools are opening.

The demonstrators held a huge dance party in the streets despite the pouring rain, as over thirty tents were set up by occupiers.  Although not enough people held the space overnight to prevent a third raid by Oakland PD the next morning, 11/20, the Occupy Movement continues undeterred.  Even as the long-standing OO encampment a few blocks away at Snow Park was forced out by police, 11/21, OO persisted with at least eight more tents sprouting later that evening “in a West Oakland lot at 18th and Linden streets.”

Messina

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Abby Martin of Media Roots covers Occupy Oakland’s Day of Action Saturday, November 19, 2011.

***

On Friday, November 18, 2011, Jack Hayman, of ILWU Local 10, spoke with Steve Zeltzer of Work Week Radio on Pacifica Radio’s “The Morning Mix with Project Censored.”  They discussed the burgeoning solidarity between labour, particularly ILWU, and the Occupy Movement in the wake of the historic Occupy Oakland General Strike earlier this month, the new call for a West Coast shut down of ports, as well as urging East and Gulf Coast ports to also shut down next month.  -Messina

***

PROJECT CENSORED

Dr. Peter Phillips (27:56):  “The Occupy Movement certainly is a nuisance to the 1% and increasingly more so, as they worry and coordinate nationally the repression of that.  And we’re just coming back stronger.”

Steve Zeltzer:  “That’s right.  That is a fear that they have.  The other thing is this week the President of ILWU Local 21, Dan Coffman, was here in San Francisco and he spoke last night to ILWU Local 10.  They are under attack by the same repressive forces in Longview, Washington where they brought in, union people are scabbing on their jobs, IUOE 701 [International Union of Operating Engineers Local 701].  But there was a meeting last night.  Jack Hayman is a retired Member of ILWU Local 10 and he’s joining us this morning to talk about the meeting [with] Dan Coffman and a formation of a new committee, the Committee to Defend ILWU.  Welcome, Jack, to the show.”

Jack Hayman:  “Hello.”

Steve Zeltzer:  “I wanted to ask you about a report about what’s happening, of the visit of Dan Coffman.  What’s going on with this Committee to Defend the ILWU.”

Jack Hayman (29:03):  “Well, Dan spoke at the Longshore Clerks Hall first, Local 34, to their union meeting.  And then he came over to address the Local 10 Membership.  And it was quite an event because we’ve all been waiting with bated breath to get a report on what’s happening up in Longview.  And he gave a tremendous talk to our Membership.  We hadn’t quite heard a report like this in a while.  It was very inspiring.  And the key point was that this multinational bank consortium, EGT, that they’re fighting up there is gonna be bringing in a big ship within the next month, he said.  And a call is going to go out to all ports on the West Coast to shut down because what this is about is about union-busting.  And they’re taking on probably the most militant union in the country.  It’s not just a small local up in Longview of 200 people.  It’s a challenge to all of the ILWU.  And, in fact, what Dan said, a call will also go out to the East Coast and Gulf Coast ports to ask longshoremen there to shut down as well.  So, if this happens, it’ll be the first ever nationwide strike of all the ports.  And he got a tremendous standing ovation for that.  The Members were really, really inspired, fired up.”

Steve Zeltzer:  “The ILWU has supported the [Occupy] Movement and maybe you can talk about the march that’s gonna happen this coming Saturday [11/19/11], tomorrow at 2pm.  And Dan will probably be speaking at that march.”

Jack Hayman:  “That’s right.  Dan spoke about the march tomorrow.  But he first mentioned the November 2^nd Port Shutdown here in Oakland that was led by Occupy Oakland.  And he said they watched it on television.  And it sent thrills down the spines of their membership.  There was a collective shot in the arm for the entire Membership up there to see thousands of people pouring into the Port of Oakland in solidarity with the Longview longshore workers and shutting the Port down.  I mean, he’s never seen anything like that, he said.  And you could see it in his face, his expression.  So, yeah, they have their union banner, he and Byron Jacobs, the Secretary Treasurer of Local 21 in Longview, will be marching.  The Occupy Oakland march begins at 2pm, 14^th & Broadway.  They’ll be up front on the demonstration march.  But he’s also gonna be speaking tonight, if the listeners out there are interested.  There’s an Occupy Oakland General Assembly at 6pm and then we’ll be addressing that Assembly.  So, I’d encourage listeners to come out to both of those, the General Assembly tonight at 6pm at Oscar Grant Plaza, formerly Frank Ogawa Plaza, and tomorrow, Saturday, at 2pm, 14^th & Broadway.” 

Steve Zeltzer:  “Now, also there’s a committee that was recently formed at your union hall, Local 10.  It’s gonna be meeting this coming Tuesday at 7 o’clock, the Committee to Defend the ILWU.  You can reach it at [email protected].  What exactly is this committee?”

Jack Hayman (32:39):  “It’s a committee to build rank and file support within the longshore unions and the labour movement in general.  One of the activities it will be involved in is organising a caravan from the [S.F.] Bay Area up to Longview [in Washington state].  And that will be led by the ILWU Members.  We’ll have motorcycles and cars and buses.  And when we get the call from Longview, we’ll be heading up there in a caravan.  And we just kind of bounced it around a little bit in a discussion last night with Dan and he seems to think that’s a great idea.  Maybe they’ll have a caravan coming in from Portland and Seattle.  And the idea is that if we can show that kind of support when this ship comes in, there’s a good possibility that Occupy Portland and Occupy Seattle will do the exact same thing that we did down here on November 2^nd and shut the ports down.”

Steve Zeltzer (33:46):  “Well, that sounds like a powerful response to the attack on your Members in Longview, Washington and also the attack on all workers.  I was gonna discuss on the other segment there are many workers who don’t have a contract, Oakland Education Association, United Airline Mechanics, American Airlines.  The Railroad Workers are working without a contract nationally.  They wanna impose a contract.  All these workers have the power.  They’re not even without a contract.  But it would mean fighting and breaking the law, though, to actually go out in some of these cases.”  

Jack Hayman (34:17):  “Well, yeah, what we’re looking at here is a first ever shutdown of all the ports in this country.  And that’s gonna have an inspiring effect on other unions and people that are not unionised.  That’s exactly what happened in the ‘30s when with these convulsive militant strikes by workers occupying plants, mass-picketing.  And that’s what made the Labour Movement grow.  People saw they could challenge the power of capital.  And they organised millions and millions into the trade union movement.”

Steve Zeltzer (34:59):  “I wanna thank you, Jack for joining us.  We have to go on, but hopefully people can, if they are interested, come to the rally tonight and tomorrow at 2pm.  And also on Tuesday night at 7 o’clock, they’ll be a meeting of the Committee [to Defend ILWU] at 400 North Point, ILWU.  So, thanks for joining us this morning.”

Jack Hayman (35:18):  “Alright, thank you, Steve.  And thank you to everybody out there.”

Transcript by Felipe Messina

MEDIA ROOTS — Los Angeles-based Margot Paez of Insight Out News continues to bring you unembedded, grassroots news that matters to the people, as the corporate media seeks to smear the Occupy Movement and its plain and sincere demands for socioeconomic justice on various levels. 

After marching in solidarity Monday and Tuesday against the, apparently Federalised, anti-First Amendment police state crackdowns on the Occupy Movement from NYC to Oakland, Occupy LA and ReFund California Coalition demonstrators attempted a sit-in at the CSU Chancellor’s Office in Long Beach yesterday morning.  Something of a tug-of-war ensued between cops shielding the Chancellor’s Office and demonstrators demanding a hearing of their grievances when a door frame warped causing a glass door to break.  Insight Out News provides detailed analysis of the incident dispelling allegations of protester violence.

Messina

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Margot Paez of Insight Out News reports on this morning’s incident at the CSU Chanellor’s Office in Long Beach.

Photo by flickr user Dignidad Rebelde