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Patricia Johnson wants to know what happened the day a Berkeley police officer shot her sister.  

“The truth—that’s all we’re looking for,” said Johnson, whose sister Anita Gay was killed Feb. 16 by Officer Rashawn Cummings. Johnson was speaking to the Planet Wednesday evening as she stood outside the South Berkeley Senior Center, where a Police Review Commission meeting focusing on the Gay homicide was to begin shortly.  

Johnson carried a sign: “Justice for Anita Gay.” 

Inside the meeting room, where the audience grew to more than 50 individuals, a number of people carried signs and banners calling for justice for the 51-year-old South Berkeley grandmother. At least one sign called for justice for Gary King, the young man killed by an Oakland police officer Sept. 20 at the corner of 54th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way. 

Stories differ on the Gay killing. Some witnesses have told reporters that she was intoxicated or on prescription medication, and some said that she was armed with a knife and threatening others when she was shot by Cummings, who had responded to a domestic violence call at Gay’s home on the 1700 block of Ward Street. Other witnesses told reporters that Gay had dropped the knife before she was shot. 

After hearing from some 25 speakers and deliberating among themselves, the commission voted unanimously to conduct two separate investigations: one will be a police misconduct investigation and a second will address policy issues, with respect to how officers respond to calls of domestic violence. 

While a few public speakers, such as Greg Getty of Liberation Radio, spoke angrily of “police who shoot grandmothers in the back,” most of the public comments were directed to the commission, asking for a swift and comprehensive citizen investigation. 

Nick Chambers addressed the need for a full and transparent inquiry. He said the killing should not be seen as an isolated incident, but, referring to the case of former police Sgt. Cary Kent who stole drugs from the evidence locker he was charged to guard, should be looked at in the context of known police misconduct. 

Another speaker called for “full officer cooperation,” and pointed to the Berkeley Police Association role in forcing the PRC complaint process behind closed doors. Complaints against the police are no longer heard in public, due to a combination of a Berkeley Police Association suit against the city—an appeal is pending—and a California Supreme Court case. 

Andrea Prichett of Copwatch echoed the sentiment. “I want Officer Cummings to go on the record with you guys. Even though it’s the new bizarre [closed door] system,” she told the commission. 

“We need you guys to restore faith in oversight,” Prichett said, asking the commission not to allow the BPD to withhold documents or otherwise stall the procedure. 

Calling for a “thorough investigation,” Gay’s neighbor Rosemary Carpendale asked why one officer responded to the domestic violence by himself.  

Carpendale said she was particularly concerned that there had been children in the building who witnessed the shooting. “The children kept looking out the window,” she said. “This will impact the children for the rest of their lives.” 

(On Thursday, the Planet called Fred Medrano, director of the city’s Health and Hunan Services department, to ask if the children were receiving counseling. He said he would not be able to disclose that, due to privacy concerns. However, he said his department has such expertise.) 

The question of how police officers treat suspects armed with knives was on the minds of a number of citizens.  

Ken Nelson, a Richmond resident who heads the NAACP California Criminal Justice Committee, did not speak publicly but observed the meeting. He told the Planet that recently there had been three killings by police of people armed only with knives: A mentally ill man with a knife was killed by Santa Rosa police Jan. 4 and a 57-year-old woman with a knife was killed by San Pablo police on Christmas Day.  

“What we have here is not an isolated incident,” Nelson said, adding that the investigation “should open the door to how law officers use force.” 

Idella Melton, a resident of Berkeley for more than 50 years, introduced herself as one of the people who had originally organized the Police Review Commission more than 20 years ago. She pointed out that, at least in the movies, people shoot suspects in the arm or in the foot and wondered if the Berkeley police could not do the same, when necessary. 

She further pointed to the issue of class, asking whether the situation would have been handled differently “if this had been a person who lived in the hills.” 

Flanked by her sister and niece, Patricia Johnson took a turn to address the commission: “We’re here to ask you sitting there to help us through this nightmare,” she said. “We’re hoping that you’re going to investigate this like it was someone in your family. What happened to [Anita Gay] should never happen to anybody’s mother or brother. We’re asking for justice for us all – black, white, Hispanic, Asian…” 

Johnson ended on a bitter note, reflecting on the police officers as people “everybody is supposed to trust to have honor and integrity. If this is any indication of how they are serving the community, we’re all in trouble,” she said. 

When it came time for commissioners to respond, they echoed many of the sentiments of the speakers, promising a fair, impartial investigation. 

“There needs to be justice in this case,” said Commissioner Michael Sherman, adding his sympathy for the family, friends and neighbors “and for the police officer involved.” 

Sherman commented on the absurdity of new rules imposed by the BPA lawsuit, including the fact that the commissioners were not permitted to name the officer in public, even though the name has been public knowledge since the shooting. 

“The only way to have justice is through and open and transparent investigation,” he said. 

Commission Chair Bill White, however, pointed out that the misconduct investigation will not be “transparent”—that is, open to the public—given the courts’ rulings. The policy investigation, however, can be open to the public, he said. Two different subcommittees, each focusing on one of the investigations, will be appointed at the commission’s next meeting. 

After hearing the public and the commissioners speak, Police Chief Hambleton, present throughout the meeting, added his thoughts. “Without any question, this is a tragic situation. We all wish these events had not unfolded,” he said, promising, “We will cooperate with the commission.” 

Responding to concerns about getting police documents in a timely way for the investigations, he explained that while a criminal investigation was ongoing, he could not release documents, but he promised that once investigations are complete the documents will be released. The BPD Internal Affairs Bureau and the Alameda County District Attorney are both conducting investigations. 

“We will do everything in our power to get the facts out in the open,” he said. 

Officer Henry Wellington, Berkeley Police Association president, along with others from the BPA, listened to the public speakers and commissioners but did not comment publicly. 

On Thursday, in an interview with the Daily Planet, Wellington said it was important for the officers to be present at the meeting and hear the public feedback. It was also important for the public to have a place to air their thoughts, he said. 

And Wellington said it was important for the community to see police officers there, “so that the community can understand that we are people, not just a blur in the car.” 

He added that he thought some of the public remarks were unnecessarily accusatory, as no one in reports of the incident had accused the officer of an intent to kill Gay. 

“The events of that night are tragic for the family of Ms. Gay and have had a profound impact on the officer involved and all officers in the BPD,” he told the Planet. “I understand the family’s motive in having the incident undergo as much scrutiny as possible. Our hope is that whatever scrutiny is directed toward the incident is done in a fair and impartial manner.” 

Asked if the officers will appear before the investigating committees, Wellington responded, “We’re always ordered to do that.”