Police misconduct is being ignored as a community-wide problem in Berkeley.
The echoing canyons of empty storefronts blamed on the presence of homeless people and panhandlers probably have more to do with real estate brokers’ refusal to lower rental rates than panhandling, but Berkeley streets have another issue which is a serious, even dangerous problem for poor people and shoppers alike– police misconduct.
Try to imagine coming across the bay to visit friends with your family and being suddenly tackled, torn from your family’s side, and forced to spend the night in a psychiatric facility without charge or explanation. Would you ever come back to visit?
Hila Sulme and her son, both of San Francisco, visited friends one Sunday in Berkeley then stopped by the downtown library before walking back to their car on Center Street. It was November 18, 2012, around 6:00 pm.
They were on Center near the game store when, Ms. Sulme told the Planet, Berkeley bike officer Eric Keen zoomed around the corner and grabbed her son, taking him to the ground and handcuffing him. Another Berkeley police officer, a woman named Cole, was present as well, according to Ms. Sulme. A man who claimed to have reported a crime stood nearby watching as Ms. Sulme’s son was handcuffed on the public sidewalk.
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