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Federal Lawsuit Filed Against City of Oakland for Police Violence During Recent Protests

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At the tail-end of a 15,000-strong youth-led protests Monday June 1st, a few hundred protesters flee after Oakland Police Department released tear gas and flashbang grenades without warning. Photo by Saskia Hatvany.

Representatives of social justice organizations and individuals announced a civil rights class-action lawsuit Thursday against the City of Oakland in the wake of police violence during protests May 29 and June 3.

During the protests, Oakland police and other law enforcement agencies used tear gas, rubber bullets, flashbang grenades and other “nonlethal” weapons against students who marched into the downtown area and people protesting near police department headquarters.

“Despite almost 20 years of federal court oversight and several settlement agreements, the Oakland police continue to violate the rights of peaceful protestors, particularly African Americans and other people of color,” said civil rights attorney Walter Riley.

National Lawyers Guild (NLG) members Riley and Dan Siegel of Siegel, Yee, Brunner & Mehta are lead counsel in the case, filed in federal court.

Scheduled speakers at the National Lawyers Guild San Francisco Bay Area Chapter Thursday morning press conference were Siegel and Riley; Sara Kershnar, NLG chapter executive director; James Burch, NLG chapter president; Cat Brooks, Anti-Police Terror Project; and Akil Riley, youth organizer.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction to ban the use of tear gas, flash-bang grenades, wooden and rubber bullets, and other dangerous tactics against protesters.

It also seeks damages for persons injured by the police on May 29 and June 3.

“We are seeking relief in the courts, but we demand that the mayor and City Council finally take the steps necessary to create a police department whose leaders and officers are held strictly accountable for violations of people’s rights,” said Riley.

 

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Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025

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Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025

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IN MEMORIAM: William ‘Bill’ Patterson, 94

Bill devoted his life to public service and education. In 1971, he became the founding director for the Peralta Community College Foundation, he also became an administrator for Oakland Parks and Recreation overseeing 23 recreation centers, the Oakland Zoo, Children’s Fairyland, Lake Merritt, and the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.

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William "Bill" Patterson, 94. Photo courtesy of the Patterson family.

William “Bill” Patterson, 94, of Little Rock, Arkansas, passed away peacefully on October 21, 2025, at his home in Oakland, CA. He was born on May 19, 1931, to Marie Childress Patterson and William Benjamin Patterson in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Dunbar High School and traveled to Oakland, California, in 1948. William Patterson graduated from San Francisco State University, earning both graduate and undergraduate degrees. He married Euradell “Dell” Patterson in 1961. Bill lovingly took care of his wife, Dell, until she died in 2020.

Bill devoted his life to public service and education. In 1971, he became the founding director for the Peralta Community College Foundation, he also became an administrator for Oakland Parks and Recreation overseeing 23 recreation centers, the Oakland Zoo, Children’s Fairyland, Lake Merritt, and the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.

He served on the boards of Oakland’s Urban Strategies Council, the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, and the Oakland Workforce Development Board.

He was a three-term president of the Oakland branch of the NAACP.

Bill was initiated in the Gamma Alpha chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.

In 1997 Bill was appointed to the East Bay Utility District Board of Directors. William Patterson was the first African American Board President and served the board for 27 years.

Bill’s impact reached far beyond his various important and impactful positions.

Bill mentored politicians, athletes and young people. Among those he mentored and advised are legends Joe Morgan, Bill Russell, Frank Robinson, Curt Flood, and Lionel Wilson to name a few.

He is survived by his son, William David Patterson, and one sister, Sarah Ann Strickland, and a host of other family members and friends.

A celebration of life service will take place at Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center (Calvin Simmons Theater) on November 21, 2025, at 10 AM.

His services are being livestreamed at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1250167107131991/

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Euradell and William Patterson scholarship fund TBA.

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