- We strongly support the efforts by Mayor Schaaf to accommodate and facilitate the exercise of free speech while at the same time protecting persons and property from attack by vandals and others who embed themselves within otherwise lawful and peaceful demonstrations.
- We believe it is both appropriate, Constitutionally permissible and consistent with Oakland’s Crowd Control and Crowd Management Policy to impose narrowly tailored restrictions on the time and place of demonstrations, including a permit requirement (with streamlined, rapid processing and no or minimal cost), limitations on nighttime demonstrations and reasonable limitations on demonstration locations, including the blocking of streets.
- We believe that the City Council, the Mayor, the City Administrator and the Oakland Police Department must bring an end to the hijacking of the democratic process such as occurred at the regular City Council Meeting of May 5, 2015. All residents of Oakland and businesses in our city have a right to public governmental meeting conducted by their elected representatives in an atmosphere free of intimidation, disruption and stoppage, protecting the participation rights of all members of the public. Our democracy is damaged when a small number of demonstrators is allowed to halt the business of that democracy, and this is true regardless of the cause they espouse.
- City government and OPD should make every possible effort to keep communications open with demonstrators before and during demonstrations. If, despite these efforts, demonstrations interfere with the democratic process, or violate reasonable, narrow and constitutionally permissible restrictions, or are embedded with individuals committing violence to persons or property, those demonstrations should be declared unlawful, and participants should be lawfully disbursed.
- To the extent it is necessary to obtain Court permission to modify Oakland’s Crowd Control and Crowd Management Policy, we urge the City, and all other parties in the Coles v. City of Oakland, Local 10, ILWU v. City of Oakland and Spalding v. City of Oakland matters to enter into a meaningful, cooperative meet and confer process, and if that process does not succeed, we urge the City to petition the Federal Court for appropriate relief.
