Crime

Community Protests Killing of Sahleem Tindle by BART Police in West Oakland

Published

7 years ago

February 16, 2018

Family, friends and community members gathered Tuesday morning at the West Oakland BART station to protest the killing of 28-year-old Sahleem Tindle, who was allegedly unarmed and had his hands up, when he was shot and killed by a BART police officer.

Protesters are demanding the public release of the video of the Jan. 3 shooting, and that transit officer Joseph Mateu be held accountable for shooting Tindle. The Oakland Police Department, which is involved in the investigation, showed the video last week to Tindle’s family and their lawyer, but are refusing to release the video to the public while the investigation is continuing.

Yolanda Banks, mother of Sahleem Tindle

“They murdered my son. Joseph Mateu, the BART police, murdered my son, shot him in the back with his arms up, unarmed,” said Sahleem Tindle’s mother Yolanda Tindle, speaking at the rally.

“Our children are our irreplaceable treasure,” she said. “We will fight for them. I know you will fight for yours. Tooth and nail you will fight for yours. Tooth and nail I’m going to fight for mine.

“I have known many mothers in the same state of mind I’m in. I feel the pain, and the pain is crushing. We love our children, like you love yours.”
Civil rights attorney John Burris, who represents the family in a civil lawsuit, said the video footage shows Tindle was standing with his hands up, unarmed and with his back to the officer, when Officer Mateu shot him three times.

The incident started when Tindle and another man began fighting across the street from the BART station, according to Burris. The two men were tussling and wrestling with each other when the officer ran up.

The video showed the officer saying, “Show me you’re your hands, show me your hands,” Burris said.

“Within moments,” Mateu shot Tindle in the back three times,” said Burris. At the time of the shooting, the officer could not have seen a weapon of any kind, said Burris.

According to an official statement, Tindle ignored the command to drop a handgun, which led to Mateu firing his weapon.

Rally for justice for Sahleem Tindle, Tuesday, Feb. 13, at the West Oakland BART station. Photo by Ken Epstein.

A handgun was discovered at the scene, Burris said, but the officer had no way of knowing about the gun when he shot Tindle.

According to a legal claim filed this week against BART, Tindle had shot the other man in the leg before he was killed.

“Regardless of what happened before, at the time he shot and killed this young man, he did not have sufficient evidence to justify it,” Burris said. “It should be prosecuted. As to what level of

prosecution it is, that’s for the DA, but I certainly would start with murder.”

According to an OPD statement on the shooting, released on Jan. 4:

“The officer observed two males in a struggle with each other; one of the men possessed a handgun. After several commands were given, the officer discharged his firearm striking the man who was in possession of the handgun; he later succumbed to his injuries. Investigators are attempting to clarify how the other man, who was listed in stable condition and has since been released from the hospital, sustained his injuries.”

Tindle had two children, an 8-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter, according to his mother.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Related Topics:BART Oakland Sahleem Tindle

Up Next

OCCUR, SF Foundation Host Proposal Writing Workshop, February 22

Don't Miss

Oakland Council Seeks to Safeguard Soda Tax Funds

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of October 30 – November 5, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of October 30 – November 5, 2024

Published

22 hours ago

November 1, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price Announces $7.5 Million Settlement Agreement with Walmart

The settlement resolves allegations that Walmart unlawfully disposed of hazardous waste and medical waste from its facilities statewide to municipal landfills. Walmart agreed to pay $4,297,040 in civil penalties and $3,202,960 in costs, to be split among the prosecuting agencies, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, and some local environmental protection agencies. There are nine Walmart stores in Alameda County.

Published

5 days ago

October 28, 2024

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Oakland Post Staff

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, the California Attorney General’s Office, and eleven other prosecutors’ offices secured a $7.5 million settlement with Walmart on behalf of the People of the State of California.

“Large corporations must be held accountable when they do not follow the law and put the health and safety of Alameda County residents at risk,” said Price. “I commend my office’s Consumer Justice Bureau’s active involvement in this investigation, which helped bring this settlement forward and holds Walmart to account.”

The settlement is the result of over 70 covert waste inspections conducted by the district attorneys’ offices statewide from 2015 through 2021, including many assisted by Alameda County District Attorney’s Office environmental protection investigators. During those inspections, the offices inspected the waste that Walmart sent from its stores to local landfills and found hundreds of containers of toxic aerosols and liquid wastes (including spray paints, rust removers, bleach, and pesticides), as well as medical waste (such as over-the-counter drugs).

Improperly disposed of private consumer information was also found.

The People filed a civil law enforcement complaint against Walmart in 2021, wherein those unlawful disposals were alleged to violate the Hazardous Waste Control Law, Medical Waste Management Act, and Unfair Competition Law.

The civil action and stipulated judgment were filed in Alameda County Superior Court. The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office has been involved in the investigation and civil case preparation since 2015.

The settlement also imposes injunctive terms, which require Walmart to maintain an independent, third-party auditor to conduct three annual rounds of waste audits at its facilities throughout California during the next four years. Walmart’s auditor must use specific requirements in the settlement to ensure that hazardous waste is properly classified, handled, disposed of, and transported according to California law.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Black Tulip Calls for Action and a Cultural Shift in Oakland for Black Women’s Safety

Anyka Howard, founder of the Betti Ono Foundation and visionary of Black Tulip, expressed the core value of the movement and urgent need for change. “We’re not going to tolerate Oakland being a hotbed for dysfunction and violence, and perpetuating harms against Black women and girls,” Howard said. “We deserve better, we are worthy, our lives matter, and it’s time for us to boldly, and collectively proclaim that and expect the appropriate response.”

Published

5 days ago

October 28, 2024

Oakland Post

Jada Imani and another Black Tulip attendee building an altar at the Lake Merritt Amphitheater in honor of artist Zoe Reidy Watts, 25, who was killed in Oakland in March. Courtesy photo.

By Kristal Raheem
Special to The Post

Last week, Oakland City Council voted to adopt a resolution supporting the federal Protect Black Women and Girls Act, (H.R. 7354). The federal law would establish an interagency task force to examine the experiences of Black women in U.S. society, from education to health care to jobs to housing.

A 2020 study by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation reported that 40% of humans being trafficked in the U.S. are Black women. In 2022, the FBI reported 97,000 Black women were missing. That same year in Oakland, 400 Black women were reported missing.

The Council vote on Oct. 15 was just the latest reflection of a blossoming movement in Oakland demanding greater protection for Black women and girls.

From Oct. 3-5, the Betti Ono Foundation, in partnership with the Black Arts Movement Business District and Community Development Corporation (BAMB CDC), hosted their inaugural Black Tulip Cultural Week of Action.

The Black Tulip event series included a write-in at the BAMB CDC, an Oakland’s First Friday partnership, and a Day of Action at Lake Merritt.

Howard said everyone must support Black Tulip’s mission, regardless of race and other social identities. She specifically called for men to show up more as allies.

West Oakland native and founder of Black Terminus AR, Damien McDuffie, said the Town’s “pimp culture” has warped how Black women are treated. “Oakland has a complex history around sexual assault and pimp culture, so I think we have a warped sense of what safety might look like, especially for women and girls,” Damien saud. “I think a real impact on how women are treated here in Oakland or in the Bay Area will come from a culture shift.”

The Black Tulip Day of Action took place on Saturday, Oct. 5. Healers, poets, and musicians joined forces to amplify joy, remembrance, and hope.

Oakland educator and healer Venus Morris co-hosted the event alongside honorary guest speaker and singer Dawn Richard.

Richard is the artist relations director with the Hip Hop Caucus, an organization that helps artists use their platform to advocate for important issues. She is also one of 120 people being represented in a lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs for alleged sexual assault and abuse.

Despite the media frenzy regarding the legal case, Richard showed up in Oakland to stand in solidarity for the mission of Black Tulip. “I think our narrative has been stolen from us,” Richard said. “We’ve lost the narrative of what we represent in this culture and in this society. We are more and I think this event exemplifies that.”

Participants gathered to honor the lives of Black women who lost their lives to violence while also celebrating one another as the journey for justice continues.

“We are the mothers, the womb of this earth. There is no America, no globalization, no capitalism, without us,” Howard told Oakland Voices. “People are taught to see us in a particular way that does not honor who we are. Black Tulip is a reclamation of our sacredness. It’s an affirmation, a calling, a demand.”

This story was initially published by Oakland Voices (http://oaklandvoices.us). The author previously worked as a communications and public relations manager for Councilmember Treva Reid.