On November 8, 2010 the Oakland Police were called to the scene where Derrick Jones, a local barber, had been accused of assault by a neighbor. When Officers Perez-Angeles and Daza-Quiroz arrived Jones ran. The police claim that when they caught up with him, he reach for his waistband.
Officer Perez-Angeles then fired twice and Officer Daza-Quiroz fed seven shots at the suspect killing him. The officers said they thought Jones was armed, but all he had was a small silver colored scale.6
After the shooting officers handcuffed at least one witnesses. Officer Mega Lee said that she was ordered to handcuff a witness and drive that person to police headquarters for questioning. Ayanna Jenkins-Toney, a lawyer representing Jones' widow describes this as a desperate attempt on the part of the police to intimidate witnesses.10
Internal affairs officers interviewed the officers hours after the shooting. When asked why did not deploy his tazer, Daza-Quiroz responded "I wanted to get lethal."9
Perez-Angeles and Daza-Quiroz have both had many complaints fired against them for misconduct including excessive force.
Derrick Jones's sister said that she had no faith that the OPD is "capable of performing an objective investigation", and in December 2010, Police Chief Anthony Batts took the unusual step of inviting the FBI to come in and investigate this shooting.
It is unknown if the FBI actually did such an investigation. The DA declined to prosecute these officers, and it's unknown if either officer was disciplined for excessive force.
In February 2013, Oakland agreed to settle a lawsuit by the parents and daughter of the victim for $225,000.6
Lanell Monique Jones, Derrick Joneses widow, sued for $10 million for civil rights violations. In March 2013, US District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers ruled that previous misconduct by these two officers could not be entered into evidence as showing jurors 700 pages of internal affairs complaints against them would require a "tremendous expenditure of time." On April 1, 2013, a federal jury ruled that the officers did nothing wrong.11
Video:
Derricks friends and neighbors speak about the killing.
References:
- Winston, Ali. “OPD Used Violent Cops Against Occupy.” East Bay Express: Dec 21, 2011.
- ”FBI asked to investigate Derrick Jones shooting.” ABC: Dec 15, 210.
- Winston, Ali. “Wrongful Death Case Against OPD Heads to Trial.” Mar 19, 2013.
- Winston, “Wrongful Death.”
- Winston, Ali. “Oakland Police identified officers in Derrick Jones shooting.” The Informant: Nov 12, 2010.
- Henry K. Lee, "Oakland pays family of shooting victim", SFGate: Feb 23, 2013
- http://informant.kalwnews.org/2010/11/oakland-police-identified-officers-in-derrick-jones-shooting/#more-3544
- Winston, Ali. "Cops' Violent Past to Be Kept from Jury", East Bay Express. Mar. 20, 2013.
- Thomas Peele, "Recording: Oakland officer who shot an unarmed man said he wanted 'to get lethal'", Contra Costa Times, March 21, 2013
- Thomas Peele Oakland police who shot unarmed man face federal jury civil trial, Oakland Tribune, Mar 20, 2013
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Lee, Henry. "Widow loses lawsuit against Oakland police." SFGate.com: April 1, 2013.
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Killed by Oakland Police: Derrick Jones Didn't Have to Die—The Whole System Is Guilty Revolution Books
Please see the full list of police misconduct and continue to add entries for specific instances of OPD misconduct.