WATCH LIVE: Supporters of Sahleem Tindle, man fatally shot by BART police officer, marching at 7th and Broadway streets in Oakland: https://t.co/cO9f3YXUK7 pic.twitter.com/oN4G48GHPj
— ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) April 3, 2018
OAKLAND — A gathering of as many as 150 people marched through downtown streets Monday, focusing attention on another in a series of prominent fatal police shootings of black men.
Protesters gathered at 3:30 p.m. outside the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office to call attention to what they said was a failure to charge BART police Officer Joseph Mateu, who responded to a report of a man with a gun Jan. 3 in the 1400 block of 7th Street, across from the West Oakland BART station.
In video footage captured by Mateu’s body camera and released at a press conference Feb. 21 by BART police — in response to a partial clip leaked by a family member — the officer can be seen running toward two men. Police said Mateu shot one man, Tindle, for allegedly refusing to drop a gun.
But the Tindle family’s attorney, John Burris, insists video and other evidence don’t match law enforcement narratives, and family members have continued to hold protest gatherings to draw attention to the case.
The DA’s Office and Oakland Police Department are carrying out separate and investigations into the shooting, both still ongoing.
More than a hundred sign-holding and slogan-chanting protesters marched along 14th Street, briefly blocking the intersection of 14th and Broadway, before entering BART’s 12th Street-City Center station. There, they occupied concourse platforms and prevented at least two trains from leaving by blocking the doors.
BART sent an alert just before 5:30 p.m. that trains were not stopping, but lifted the alert at 5:45 p.m. to say trains were now stopping and transit was recovering.
Some protesters then exited the station and headed to Oakland police headquarters at 7th and Broadway. Oakland police responded by blocking off streets near marchers’ routes, and AC Transit buses sent word of delays along downtown routes.
HEADS UP: Due to a protest happening in Downtown #Oakland we are dealing with service delays for all buses near 12th street. We appreciate your patience!
— AC Transit (@rideact) April 3, 2018
Check back for updates.
Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.