Berkeley police monitoring OWS protest too busy to answer murdered man's call for help with prowler.

[Octafish]

Last edited Tue Feb 21, 2012, 02:04 AM - Edit history (1)

I think the police state's got its priorities wrong.

Berkeley man, 67, slain outside his house in hills

Demian Bulwa,Henry K. Lee
San Francisco Chronicle
Monday, February 20, 2012

Residents of the tranquil Berkeley hills were in shock Sunday after police described a horrific slaying, with a homeowner beaten after confronting a young man - an apparent stranger - who had trespassed onto his property.

SNIP...

Police said Daniel Dewitt attacked the victim at about 8:45 p.m., after he and his wife returned home to find Dewitt near their garage. The victim told Dewitt to leave, went inside, then came out again and was attacked, said Berkeley police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss.

The victim had called police on a nonemergency line after first seeing Dewitt, according to sources familiar with the case. But police were busy monitoring an Occupy Oakland march to UC Berkeley, and officers were dispatched only to high-priority calls.

An officer who noticed the call about Dewitt on his computer told a dispatcher he would respond, but was told not to go, sources said.

CONTINUED...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2012%2F02%2F19%2FBAFU1N9T8J.DTL

Monitoring peaceful protesters must pay more than catching prowlers, career-advancement wise.

[provis99]

1. a cop's primary duty is to maintain societal order, not catch crooks.

I posted this police oath in a different thread:

most police oaths in the US mumble something about protecting the US and state constitutions, obeying superior officers, and maintaining order. Nothing about catching criminals, just maintaining order.

The Truro, Mass. police oath is probably typical:
"I, (Officer's Name) do solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to, and will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and that I will oppose the overthrow of the government of the United States of America or of this Commonwealth by force, violence, or any illegal or unconstitutional methods. I will faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties incumbent upon me as a Police Officer in the Police Department of the Town of Truro, so help me God."

http://www.truropolice.org/On%20Line%20Manuals/Oath%20of%20Office.pdf

-essentially an oath about protecting the established order, but nothing on catching drug dealers or rapists.

[MADem]

2. Very similar to many governmental oaths, that. nt

[Zalatix]

3. And people wonder why I say we don't need these police gangs?

Where are they when you need them to catch crooks? Oh WAIT, that ain't even their job!!!

[Octafish]

4. That may be. The fact remains police today are serving as a Gestapo.

That's un-American.

And now the Pentagon's various sides are mixing it up with the local "authorities."

Democracy Now! Broadcast Exclusive:
Declassified Docs Reveal Military Operative Spied on WA Peace Groups, Activist Friends Stunned

DemocracyNow!

Newly declassified documents reveal that an active member of Students for a Democratic Society and Port Militarization Resistance in Washington state was actually an informant for the US military. The man everyone knew as "John Jacob" was in fact John Towery, a member of the Force Protection Service at Fort Lewis. The military’s role in the spying raises questions about possibly illegal activity. The Posse Comitatus law bars the use of the armed forces for law enforcement inside the United States. The Fort Lewis military base denied our request for an interview. But in a statement to Democracy Now!, the base’s Public Affairs office publicly acknowledged for the first time that Towery is a military operative. "This could be one of the key revelations of this era," said Eileen Clancy, who has closely tracked government spying on activist organizations.

CONTINUED...

SOURCE:

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/28/broadcast_exclusive_declassified_docs_reveal_military

That's also un-American to the point of making out We the People -- the ones those oaths are upheld to serve and protect -- are now considered to be Enemies of the State.

Why this isn't headline news in every newspaper and on every tee vee and radio show also stand as proof of a nation no longer under its Constitution.

[pinboy3niner]

10. Catching crooks is NOT maintaining order?

Catching crooks seems implicit in that responsibility.

[provis99]

18. did you not read the oath?

all this small police force is expected to do is prevent the US government from being overthrown. I don't get how you figure catching crooks is implicit in that.

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. whiplash here

Silly me, I thought keeping criminals off the streets had something to do with social order...



Now I know better.

[mulsh]

5. OPD would not respond to this call in Berkeley police's jurisdiction.

but the call would go to Berkeley Police, seeing as how Shasta Road is smack dab in the middle of the Berkeley hills, about 1/2 mile north of UC Campus and Berkeley PD is independent of OPD

[Octafish]

6. Thanks, mulsh! Much obliged.

I'll edit the OP.

No matter the jurisdiction, this is a tragedy on every level. First for Mr. Kucor and his family -- but also for the nation.

[DCKit]

7. LAWSUIT!!!! nt

[sunbob]

8. cool

yeah, that is cool

[Quantess]

9. Easier and safer, too. I imagine.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

11. This is the worst. And based upon the absence of police in other local communities

who are assisting the Oakland PD supress peaceful OWS protestors with overwhelming, unnecessary force, increasing crime must be occurring in those neighborhoods.

It might even be anticipated that sophisticated criminals such as experienced and professional burglars might consider timing their activities when the police want to show their overwhelming force in Oakland and elsewhere.

What we have is institutional stupidity.

[G_j]

12. K&R

[Remember Me]

13. Ah, so good to see they've got their priorities straight

After all, what is one man's life among so many protesters??

[alp227]

15. follow up story: Berkeley victim's call for help went unheeded

After phoning police, (Peter) Cukor walked 160 feet from his Park Gate home to a fire station around the corner on Shasta Road for help, but no one was there because firefighters were out on a call, sources said.

As Cukor returned to his home he was allegedly confronted by Daniel Jordan DeWitt, 23, who family members say is mentally ill. Dewitt picked up a knee-high ceramic pot and bludgeoned Cukor with it, authorities said.

Cukor's wife, Andrea, phoned 911 to report the assault 13 minutes after Cukor first called, said law enforcement sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because a police investigation is continuing. Several officers then arrived within four minutes and arrested DeWitt a short distance from the home at 9:22 p.m.

Cukor, a business management consultant and father of two grown sons, died at Highland Hospital in Oakland. His family has declined to comment.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/21/BAFK1NAEGA.DTL

[lonestarnot]

16. Wrong on many levels.

[Neue Regel]

17. Sounds like the lily-white rich neighbors are nervous now

From the article in the OP:

The property where the attack occurred is on Park Gate near Shasta Road and Grizzly Peak Boulevard. The two-story, 6,500-square-foot house sits behind stone walls and up a driveway of roughly 40 yards.

Neighbors said they were having trouble coming to terms with what had happened.

"It's unsettling," said Pat Gahan, 44. "We feel so insulated up here. You really have to make an effort to get up here."


You can't hide in your gated community forever, Pat. Sooner or later you're going to have to confront the real world.