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Oakland Police Pull Over Minorities to Prevent them from Voting
THE OAKLAND POLICE ARE TRYING TO SUPPRESS THE MINORITY VOTE
The Oakland Police are stopping all cars with minorities in them and holding them for no reason for extended periods of time. I have never seen so many cops stopping so many cars except for at times when drunk driving is of great concern, such as on New Years Eve or St. Patrick's Day. In the span of three blocks, I saw a dozen cars, all with African American or Latino drivers being stopped for no apparent reason. As soon as I and my companion commented on how strange it was that so many people were being stopped, we were pulled over as well. (My companion, the driver, is African American.) There was absolutely no ground for the police pulling us over, and they held us on the side of the road for almost 30 minutes, although they eventually let us go without issuing a citation (because we hadn't done anything!!!). While we were waiting, I saw another four cars being pulled over, again for no apparent reason. I was mystified as to why the cops were doing this, until I realized that it must be an attempt to keep minorities from making it to the polls. Luckily, my companion and I were leaving the poll when we were pulled over having already voted. However, we both work and go to school. We had carved out a particular time in the day where we could go vote. If the cops had stopped us on the way to the polls, we could very likely not have had time afterwards to vote. I have no doubt that some of the people who are being stopped may be thus prevented from making it to the polls. This is absolutely egregious behavior by the Oakland Police Department to suppress the minority vote. I was appalled.
Posted:
Nov 4 2008, 1:30 PM EST by Anonymous
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