Emeryville Police Should NOT Carry AR-15 Assualt Rifles

Wrongheaded Policy on Police Weapons Hijacks 

Smart Public Policy

The Chief of Police Needs to Provide the Elected Officials 

With Objective, Trustworthy Information

Opinion/News Analysis
Should Emeryville police carry AR-15 assault rifles? That's a public debate that didn't happen; our police officers in fact already do carry these controversial high powered rifles with them.  Still, the City Council majority seems interested enough to begin an ex post facto debate on the issue. Last Thursday's Public Safety Committee was the opening salvo, so to speak, in the better-late-than-never debate.
So far what we've heard in this up until now one sided debate is that the Police Department has no choice about the weapons they carry; that's determined by the criminals and in the weapons the criminals happen to choose says our Chief of Police (the criminals in the aggregate presumably but unqualified nonetheless).

Councilwoman Nora Davis
We have no choice in the matter,
"Force must be met with force" she says.
On the table in the foreground are bullets,
the largest being a .50 caliber round
tank buster, the next weapon to be carried
by the Emeryville Police Department.

Public policy must be subverted we're told, all in service of a dubious meme that would lock us into an arms race with criminals.  The other side of the debate, promulgated by those who would advocate for a polity that doesn't lock us unnecessarily into that predetermined fate, those who say smart police tactics are what's called for and force need not slavishly be met with equal force, is countered by the Chief and also by Councilwoman Nora Davis as it turns out.  It's all being played out over the the Emeryville Police Department's use of the AR-15 assault rifle and its high powered rounds that can literally blow a person's head off, specifically, what's being debated is the wisdom of these new weapons being carried by officers in their day to day patrols.  Also at that consequential and revealing meeting, we watched the Chief present evidence that tantalizingly hints of a .50 caliber future; what's to come in Emeryville's  arms race with criminals.

Thursday's meeting revealed an unfortunate lack of cogency on the side of the police department and Machiavellian tactics being used to shut off honest debate by the Chief of Police Jennifer Tejada and her friend on the Public Safety Committee, member Nora Davis.

The police use of deadly force was placed on the agenda by Vice Mayor and Committee Chair Scott Donahue and was intended to open up the debate, but it was seized upon by Chief Tejada as an opportunity to deceive the Council member decision makers present (at least the Vice Mayor) as she presented a 'war on police' narrative that necessitates a ramping up the firepower of the cops on the street.  Since criminals are carrying these assault weapons, so must the police apparently.
Further, she attempted to mollify would be concerned citizens and Council members by signaling the AR-15's ordinary and 'reasonable' status by claiming the rifle is not even illegal in California and that the police aren't therefore carrying anything more than can be bought by ordinary citizens, a patently false statement.

The Chief of Police is enthralled with the idea that police must carry at least the same weapons that the criminals carry, hinting next in the line-up will be .50 caliber weapons.  It was a sentiment echoed by Councilwoman Davis, "Force must be met with force" the Councilwoman stated, a fait accompli that would take the public out of public policy and place it instead in the control of criminals.  This democratically disempowering and cynical worldview was presented after an officer made a presentation to the Committee about how police had recently found a criminal's cache of .50 caliber weapons, a gun that can take out a tank on a battlefield, a gun that's being employed more and more by ordinary criminals the officer said.

Emeryville Police Chief
Jennifer Tejada
In her days as Sausalito Chief of Police.
Now, in Emeryville, she's not 
giving us an honest debate
on the AR-15 assault rifle.

To graphically show the special capacity for havoc .50 caliber weapons can wreak, the officer placed a round on the table next to other rounds, including the AR-15 round.  These .50 calibers are what's coming next for the EPD and it would appear the Chief of Police is preparing the City Council to wrap their heads around the idea of our officers carrying this tank busting gun...we have no choice, remember?  Councilwoman Davis was so impressed by the presentation, the dramatic sight of the huge .50 caliber round prompted her to demand the Emeryville Police Department weapon up and meet force with force.
To pause for a moment and express the obvious: this dumb line of argument makes no sense whatsoever and is reckless, frankly.  In fact, we are not boxed in, our hands are not tied by criminals in Emeryville.  This is not policy in the public interest and it's dangerous.

After the presentation that presaged our bleak future, Emeryville cops carrying .50 caliber weapons (mounted on the roofs of the cop cars?), the Chief of Police again told the assembled throng that AR-15s are not assault rifles...an opinion disguised as fact by our Chief.  As we have said in the past, the Congress of the United States and the State of California disagree with her on that.  It's unseemly that our Chief puts stock in the opinion of the NRA over the State of California on this issue.  It's noteworthy that the police departments of the City of Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco, and San Jose all disagree with our Chief on the AR-15....they all agree with the State of California that these guns ARE assault rifles.  Nomenclature is important because the debate frame will drive public opinion and transparency and forthrightness by government officials should be the the operating principle here.

Coming Next to the Emeryville Police Department:
The 'Tank Buster' .50 Caliber Rifle
'Criminals are starting to arm themselves with it,
so therefore must we.'

But it's Chief Tejada's insistence that public policy be hijacked in Emeryville by the whims of criminals and their ever increasing firepower that we find most objectionable.  We urge the Chief of Police to stop this ham handed approach to policing.  To the Chief: if you think it's prudent for our officers to carry AR-15 assault rifles, or .50 caliber rifles, then you should made a cogent and persuasive argument and don't rely on these dishonest and unbecoming tactics.  Tell us why it's important for Emeryville police officer to carry whatever weapon you think is prudent and let's have a REAL and transparent debate.


To cut to the chase however, there's no war on police in America or in Emeryville and we believe its not appropriate for Emeryville police to carry AR-15 assault rifles (let alone .50 caliber guns).  Studies have shown police tend to use new weapons given to them with increasing and increasingly inappropriate frequency.  It's the old adage at play; when all you a have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a nail.  Police departments that issue tasers find their use by officers increases over time, increasingly with terrible effect on the public.  Already, one person has been killed by Emeryville police with the newly issued AR-15 rifle.

The AR-15 is a high powered weapon and it can blast through a concrete block wall or penetrate three people and still have enough power to kill the fourth.  It has the power to decapitate people.  We don't need our police carrying that kind of firepower in their day to day patrols in our town.  Perhaps these guns could be stored at the police station for use in the unlikely case one were ever needed.
But what we cannot countenance is for the Police Department to be used to purposefully obscure and now engage in forwarding actual misinformation to the decision makers and the citizens as they give us their opinion that they should continue to be allowed to carry AR-15's.  Our Emeryville Police Department has a stellar reputation; it's a shame to see it unnecessarily marred like this.

Protest March in Emeryville May Have Been Largest in History

Monday's Martin Luther King Day protest march in Emeryville was joined by "hundreds" according to the Emeryville Police Department.  The civil disobedience was peaceful; no vandalism or criminal activity save the blocking of streets was reported by the police.
Protestors are concerned about the Emeryville police shooting of Yuvette Henderson last year with a high powered AR-15 assault rifle, a weapon the citizens have recently learned the EPD now carries as a matter of routine in their patrol cars.  The arming by Emeryville police of these assault rifles has sparked a debate among residents and the City Council promises to look into the issue with police use of deadly force protocols being reviewed according to Councilman Scott Donahue, Chair of the Public Safety Committee.

The crowd started out in Oakland's
Oscar Grant Plaza at city hall thousands strong...
all ages, races & demographics.

East Bay Bridge Mall
Emeryville's suburban style shopping malls were
transected along the march route.

Over the 40th Street Bridge and past another
Emeryville shopping icon: Ikea...

Many 'inconvenienced'' drivers were supportive.

The Bay Street Mall
Into the holy of holies for Emeryville: the BSM,
what passes for our city center downtown.
A substantive protest has never ventured into
this mall before Monday.

Down Shellmound Street...

The intersection of 40th and Ohlone street was blocked
for an hour and a half.

Emeryville To Consider Medical Marijuana Dispensary

Oakland resident Sarah Hines is petitioning Emeryville's Public Safety Committee to consider permitting a medical marijuana dispensary in town.  Emeryville has a long-standing existing ordinance specifically against medical marijuana dispensaries, but Ms Hines believes the times have changed and public attitudes have softened as more is learned about the legitimate medical value of marijuana.  Emeryville may be ready to consider the benefits that such a dispensary would bestow, generous tax receipts not being the least of them.  The Committee has agreed to hear a presentation made by Ms Hines and her associates at their regularly scheduled February 2nd meeting at the Police Station.


Below is a letter to the Tattler by Ms Hines:
        .               .                .                .   


MARIJUANA FOR GOOD

Emeryville, like cities around the nation, is feeling the effects of the recession and has lost funds to the State.  Police and Fire services are struggling to keep up their high level of service.  Currently, the Fire Department is looking into new and unique partnerships to cut Fire Safety costs.  One of the largest line items in the Fire Department budget is for emergency service calls.  The Police Department budget is weighed down with Worker’s Compensation costs (right now more than 10 of their officers are out with various work related injuries).  I learned this by attending the Emeryville Safety Committee meetings over the last two years.

My daughters attend PRINTS [the Pacific Rim Montessori School] on Doyle Street in Emeryville, and rather than drive 15 minutes back to Oakland after drop off, I spend most days finding no or low cost things to do in Emeryville, the industrial city at the east end of the Bay Bridge (or EBMUD treatment plant, depending on your perspective).  As a Bay Area native, I’ve lived on three sides of this Bay and have watched this postage-stamp city develop into the powerhouse it is today.  Before Ikea opened, I wondered how the City would deal with the traffic, but Emeryville created the Emery-Go-Round and other solutions to manage the flow of people.  Being in Emeryville every day made me want to do more in Emeryville.

My chance came after the Supreme Court held that the State does not have to enforce criminal laws against sick people who use medical marijuana.  I put my legal training to work and drafted a nonprofit business model,  The Health Exchange Coop (THE Coop), a Medical Marijuana Dispensary that would donate 100% of its excess revenues to nonprofit health projects.

THE Coop would be a new private revenue stream for Emeryville that would, through its bylaws, fund existing and emerging public health needs in Emeryville.  THE Coop estimates that excess revenues would be $6 million within the first three years using a very conservative growth model.  In addition, Emeryville could anticipate that state and local taxes would be almost $1.5 million over the first three years of operation.  To give an example of what a thriving cooperative can achieve by being vertically integrated and safe, in 2010, Harborside Dispensary in Oakland grossed $21 million in sales.  If it had been sited in Emeryville, the City would have received a portion of the $1.8 million tax bill.

The funds raised would be controlled by a partnership of local stakeholders and THE Coop managing members, and would be spent only after focused inquiry into the areas of highest need.  My first suggestions to Emeryville would be a small Primary Care unit to offer health services to those Emeryville residents who may be using the highest percentage of public health care dollars.  This unit could be made up of a nurse practitioner, a social worker and an administrator who would provide whole health coverage to these patients in an effort to cut medical costs (similar pilot programs have been exceptionally successful at cutting costs while improving patient care and quality of life). 

To cut the Police Department budget, I believe that we should be viewing this department as a public version of a professional sports franchise.  Consider this, an Emeryville police officer – on an uneventful day – carries 20 pounds around his waist and sits for 10 hours in a squad car.  Then add physical confrontations with suspects or other typicalities of the job and it’s clear that police practice full contact sports every day.  As such, police officers could benefit from having a physical trainer or sports medicine provider on sight in their locker room to provide daily assessment of their physical well-being.  This would reduce injuries and worker’s compensation costs paid by the department.

What about liability (some might be shouting!)?  Emeryville needs to be careful with high risk businesses and doesn’t want to invite federal oversight.  Under THE Coop’s model, all liability is borne by the dispensary.  The City only invites trouble where it creates specialty laws to regulate medical marijuana, like a special dispensary license or a special medical marijuana sales tax.  The current law says that Emeryville, and any California city, can either ban dispensaries outright and forgo the tax revenue (and in our model forgo the direct investment in public health).  Or it can allow people to collectively grow marijuana.  At least that’s what a recent California court of appeals judge wrote.  He was relying upon a Federal Supreme Court decision that held a state does not have to enforce its criminal laws against sick people who cooperatively grow marijuana to aid in a number of medical conditions.

Most importantly, City officials could close any dispensary that presented a danger or nuisance to the community.  If Emeryville lifted its ban on medical marijuana dispensaries and didn’t like how a dispensary was operating, the City could close it as easily as it closed Kitty’s Bar, formerly on Hollis Street (perhaps more easily because federal agencies could help).  And of course, the Council could always reinstate its ban on dispensaries through an immediate Special Council meeting.

Sarah Hines is a licensed attorney at law, spouse and mother of three, and Oakland resident.