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Former City Councilmember Wilson Riles Jr. Knocked Down and Arrested While Visiting the City Zoning Office

OAKLAND POST — People across Oakland are reacting with shock and anger this week as news spreads that highly respected community elder Wilson Riles Jr. had been tripped to the ground, injured and arrested by police when he went to the City to deal with an ongoing zoning dispute he had with the city’s Planning (Zoning) and Building Department. A number of people went to the City Council’s Public Safety Committee meeting Tuesday evening to raise their concerns about his arrest.

Published

5 years ago

October 26, 2019

Oakland Post

Wilson Riles Jr. (Photo courtesy of KCBS)

By Ken Epstein

People across Oakland are reacting with shock and anger this week as news spreads that highly respected community elder Wilson Riles Jr. had been tripped to the ground, injured and arrested by police when he went to the City to deal with an ongoing zoning dispute he had with the city’s Planning (Zoning) and Building Department.

A number of people went to the City Council’s Public Safety Committee meeting Tuesday evening to raise their concerns about his arrest.

Rlles, who is 73 years old and served on the Oakland City Council from 1979 to 1992, had gone to the city zoning office a little after 8 a.m. last Thursday morning. He was arrested and taken to Santa Rita for battery on a police officer at about 9 a.m. after a staff member called 911 Santa Rita. He was released at about 11:30 p.m. after posting a $20,000 bond, according to KPIX Channel 5.

Riles told the Oakland Post that he had received a call Monday afternoon from OPD Chief Anne Kirkpatrick, who told him that she had talked to the District Attorney and that all charges against him were being dropped. The chief has ordered an internal affairs investigation into the incident, according to the City.

Riles said he was planning to file a complaint with the Police Commission and is being represented by Civil Rights Attorney Walter Riley.

“We are definitely going to follow up on this,” he said. “I’ve been working on this issue of police accountability for 50 years, both before and after the 13 years I was on the City Council. This is unacceptable and unjust. I am bruised and sore but, more than that, I am mad that our City, our Zoning (Planning) Department, and our Police Department could remain so prejudiced and brutally callous in its treatment of any Oakland resident.”

Riles sees his arrest as related to the city bureaucracy’s willingness to uncritically throw its weight behind gentrifiers’ complaints against the spiritual center he has created in his backyard. These actions are similar to the complaints that led to the BBQing While Black protests at Lake Merritt and the City attempt several years ago to shut down evening choir practice at a church in West Oakland, which led to a “Make a Joyful Noise” protest and celebration.

“This is an additional harassment tactic after four years of struggle over what me and my family and friends do in my own backyard: pray, seek sustainability, and grow fruits and vegetables,” he said.

He said the arrest occurred while he was leaving the city office after a frustrating meeting with city staff. He was talking to a staff member in the office, and followed him through an open door into the back room where he asked to speak to a supervisor. He and the supervisor walked out of the back room where he had an unsatisfactory discussion in the office and he decided to leave. At that point, he was confronted by four police officers who blocked his way. He was not told he was under arrest. When he attempted to get by one officer who blocked his way in the hall, he was tripped to the ground, handcuffed and arrested.

Riles and his family have been embroiled in a zoning dispute with the city for the past four years over neighbors’ complaints about a vegetable garden, temporary structures and a sweat lodge on his Laurel District property for Native American spiritual practices. Dealing with all the city obstacles has cost him about $7,000, he told the Post, but he eventually cleared all the hurdles and was approved by the Planning Commission. An attempt to overturn that approval was rejected by the City Council.

However, once again City staff was throwing up new objections.

“I had gone to the Zoning (Planning) Department to talk to Michael Legault, Specialty Combination Inspector of the Bureau of Building Inspections & Code Enforcement,” Riles said in a written statement. “He was threatening to require me to get a permit for something that the City codes do not require one to get a permit for, and he refused to look at the City codes.

“I insisted on speaking to his supervisor. Eventually, a supervisor, Rich Fielding, showed up and we sat down to discuss the issue, unsatisfactorily. Mr. Fielding indicated that he would look at a document that does not deal with this issue and that he would get back to me after I left the office.

“As I got up to go, four or five police officers arrived and blocked my way, never indicating to me that they were arresting me for anything. I continued to try to leave, and they grabbed me, attempted to twist my arms behind me, and tripped me, throwing me to the floor. These officers made no attempt to deescalate the situation. Handcuffed, I was hustled out of the building into a waiting police cruiser.

“Around 11:30 a.m., I was switched into a paddy wagon and driven to Santa Rita Jail to be booked.”

In a statement released by the City, spokesperson Karen Boyd said the City has to balance protecting Black residents and the need to protect employees against workplace violence.

“We recognize the arrest of former Councilmember Wilson Riles … raises deep community concerns.” Calling it an “unfortunate incident,” she said the city had to deal with “two disturbing national realities … the use of force by police against Black men as well as a heightened fear of workplace violence.”

Contrary to what Riles said had happened, she wrote that “Mr. Riles was detained following a 911 call regarding a city employee who reported a hostile man had chased a city inspector into the restricted staff-only area. Mr. Riles was later arrested on suspicion of battery on a police officer.”

Riles said that, unfortunately, this response of blaming and tainting the victims of police violence happens in Oakland just as it does in every other part of the country. “There was no physical threat from me toward any city staff person,” he said.

“After reviewing incident reports and Personal Digital Recording Device footage from the involved officers, Chief Anne Kirkpatrick has ordered a thorough Internal Affairs Investigation of the incident, as well as encouraged Oakland’s Community Police Review Agency to conduct an independent investigation.” Boyd wrote. “In order to not compromise the integrity of these critical investigations, the City of Oakland will not be releasing further information about this incident until these investigations are sufficiently complete.”

Reacting to the city’s statement, several community members told the Post that they are outraged that the police would knock down and arrest an elder – not even telling him he was under arrest. “Why would the police arrest an angry and frustrated client in the lobby of a city department – without even attempting to mediate or deescalate the dispute?” said one community member.

Others said they found the city’s explanation shocking. “Justifying battery on a Black man by some supposed ‘fear of workplace violence’ is the same rationalization Black people have faced for 400 years. Is the planning department frightened of violence when they are visited by developers?”

Some also said that the statement signals Black residents that they should stay away from the most important department of the city, Economic Development, because an employee can declare himself “afraid” at any moment.

This article originally appeared in Oakland Post.

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Recently Approved Budget Plan Favors Wealthy, Slashes Aid to Low-Income Americans

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The most significant benefits would flow to the highest earners while millions of low-income families face cuts

Published

2 weeks ago

March 21, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown

BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent

The new budget framework approved by Congress may result in sweeping changes to the federal safety net and tax code. The most significant benefits would flow to the highest earners while millions of low-income families face cuts. A new analysis from Yale University’s Budget Lab shows the proposals in the House’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Resolution would lead to a drop in after-tax-and-transfer income for the poorest households while significantly boosting revenue for the wealthiest Americans. Last month, Congress passed its Concurrent Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2025 (H. Con. Res. 14), setting revenue and spending targets for the next decade. The resolution outlines $1.5 trillion in gross spending cuts and $4.5 trillion in tax reductions between FY2025 and FY2034, along with $500 billion in unspecified deficit reduction.

Congressional Committees have now been instructed to identify policy changes that align with these goals. Three of the most impactful committees—Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means—have been tasked with proposing major changes. The Agriculture Committee is charged with finding $230 billion in savings, likely through changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. Energy and Commerce must deliver $880 billion in savings, likely through Medicaid reductions. Meanwhile, the Ways and Means Committee must craft tax changes totaling no more than $4.5 trillion in new deficits, most likely through extending provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Although the resolution does not specify precise changes, reports suggest lawmakers are eyeing steep cuts to SNAP and Medicaid benefits while seeking to make permanent tax provisions that primarily benefit high-income individuals and corporations.

To examine the potential real-world impact, Yale’s Budget Lab modeled four policy changes that align with the resolution’s goals:

A 30 percent across-the-board cut in SNAP funding.
A 15 percent cut in Medicaid funding.
Permanent extension of the individual and estate tax cuts from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Permanent extension of business tax provisions including 100% bonus depreciation, expense of R&D, and relaxed limits on interest deductions.

Yale researchers determined that the combined effect of these policies would reduce the after-tax-and-transfer income of the bottom 20 percent of earners by 5 percent in the calendar year 2026. Households in the middle would see a modest 0.6 percent gain. However, the top five percent of earners would experience a 3 percent increase in their after-tax-and-transfer income.

Moreover, the analysis concluded that more than 100 percent of the net fiscal benefit from these changes would go to households in the top 20 percent of the income distribution. This happens because lower-income groups would lose more in government benefits than they would gain from any tax cuts. At the same time, high-income households would enjoy significant tax reductions with little or no loss in benefits.

“These results indicate a shift in resources away from low-income tax units toward those with higher incomes,” the Budget Lab report states. “In particular, making the TCJA provisions permanent for high earners while reducing spending on SNAP and Medicaid leads to a regressive overall effect.” The report notes that policymakers have floated a range of options to reduce SNAP and Medicaid outlays, such as lowering per-beneficiary benefits or tightening eligibility rules. While the Budget Lab did not assess each proposal individually, the modeling assumes legislation consistent with the resolution’s instructions. “The burden of deficit reduction would fall largely on those least able to bear it,” the report concluded.

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A Threat to Pre-emptive Pardons

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — it was a possibility that the preemptive pardons would not happen because of the complicated nature of that never-before-enacted process.

Published

2 weeks ago

March 21, 2025

Oakland Post

By April Ryan

President Trump is working to undo the traditional presidential pardon powers by questioning the Biden administration’s pre-emptive pardons issued just days before January 20, 2025. President Trump is seeking retribution against the January 6th House Select Committee. The Trump Justice Department has been tasked to find loopholes to overturn the pardons that could lead to legal battles for the Republican and Democratic nine-member committee. Legal scholars and those closely familiar with the pardon process worked with the Biden administration to ensure the preemptive pardons would stand against any retaliatory knocks from the incoming Trump administration. A source close to the Biden administration’s pardons said, in January 2025, “I think pardons are all valid. The power is unreviewable by the courts.”

However, today that same source had a different statement on the nuances of the new Trump pardon attack. That attack places questions about Biden’s use of an autopen for the pardons. The Trump argument is that Biden did not know who was pardoned as he did not sign the documents. Instead, the pardons were allegedly signed by an autopen. The same source close to the pardon issue said this week, “unless he [Trump] can prove Biden didn’t know what was being done in his name. All of this is in uncharted territory. “ Meanwhile, an autopen is used to make automatic or remote signatures. It has been used for decades by public figures and celebrities.

Months before the Biden pardon announcement, those in the Biden White House Counsel’s Office, staff, and the Justice Department were conferring tirelessly around the clock on who to pardon and how. The concern for the preemptive pardons was how to make them irrevocable in an unprecedented process. At one point in the lead-up to the preemptive pardon releases, it was a possibility that the preemptive pardons would not happen because of the complicated nature of that never-before-enacted process. President Trump began the threat of an investigation for the January 6th Select Committee during the Hill proceedings. Trump has threatened members with investigation or jail.

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Reaction to The Education EO

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Meanwhile, the new Education EO jeopardizes funding for students seeking a higher education. Duncan states, PellGrants are in jeopardy after servicing “6.5 million people” giving them a chance to go to college.

Published

2 weeks ago

March 21, 2025

Oakland Post

By April Ryan

There are plenty of negative reactions to President Donald Trump’s latest Executive Order abolishing the Department of Education. As Democrats call yesterday’s action performative, it would take an act of Congress for the Education Department to close permanently. “This blatantly unconstitutional executive order is just another piece of evidence that Trump has absolutely no respect for the Constitution,” said Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) who is the ranking member on the House Financial Services Committee. “By dismantling ED, President Trump is implementing his own philosophy on education, which can be summed up in his own words, ‘I love the poorly educated.’ I am adamantly opposed to this reckless action, said Rep. Bobby Scott who is the most senior Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee.

Morgan State University President Dr. David Wilson chimed in saying “I’m deeply concerned about efforts to shift federal oversight in education back to the states, particularly regarding equity, justice, and fairness. History has shown us what happens when states are left unchecked—Black and poor children are too often denied access to the high-quality education they deserve. In 1979 then President Jimmy Carter signed a law creating the Department of Education. Arne Duncan, former Obama Education Secretary, reminds us that both Democratic and Republican presidents have kept education a non-political issue until now. However, Duncan stressed Republican presidents have contributed greatly to moving education forward in this country.

During a CNN interview this week Duncan said during the Civil War President Abraham “Lincoln created the land grant system” for colleges like Tennessee State University. “President Ford brought in IDEA.” And “Nixon signed Pell Grants into law.” In 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush which increased federal oversight of schools through standardized testing. Meanwhile, the new Education EO jeopardizes funding for students seeking higher education. Duncan states, PellGrants are in jeopardy after servicing “6.5 million people” giving them a chance to go to college. Wilson details, “that 40 percent of all college students rely on Pell Grants and student loans.”

Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC) says this Trump action “impacts students pursuing higher education and threatens 26 million students across the country, taking billions away from their educational futures. Meanwhile, During the president’s speech in the East Room of the White House Thursday, Trump criticized Baltimore City, and its math test scores with critical words. Governor West Moore, who is opposed to the EO action, said about dismantling the Department of Education, “Leadership means lifting people up, not punching them down.”