Berkeley Copwatch | Community Organizing for Police Accountability

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For 30 years, groups of ordinary people from communities across the country have come together to resist police violence by documenting incidents of abuse. Eye-witness and video accounts from thousands of observers over the years have boldly challenged the actions and credibility of the cops. From its inception as a tactic in maintaining slavery to its current role in the repression of political movements and marginalized people, the very institution of policing is being challenged like never before.

Join us for a national gathering to share and build our collective work, and to celebrate 30 years of Copwatch and other organizations involved in the struggle to document police conduct and defend our communities and movements against police violence and abuse.

Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the gathering will be pushed back to 2021. In the meantime, please fill out this survey to share your contact information, indicate what you’d like to see at this convening, and let us know a little about the work you are doing.

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PEOPLE'S DATABASE FOR

POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY

Berkeley Copwatch is excited to announce that the People’s Database is finally ready to be downloaded and used by Copwatch groups and other organizations working to track police misconduct. This free tool could be a game-changer for organizers who want to ensure that the everyday abuses committed by police officers are recorded, archived and able to be used to alert our communities when particular officers or police practices threaten the pubic safety.

Learn More

COPWATCH IS 30 YEARS OLD!

News

Join the Copwatch DeCal Class!

September 8, 2020

Every semester, the Copwatch DeCal Class, hosted by UC Berkeley DeCal Program and Berkeley Copwatch, invites activists, organizers, academics, lawyers, resisters, rebels, concerned civilians and family members from communities of struggle across the Bay Area to join us on Monday evenings for facilitated conversations on policing and safety—past conversations have included friends from the Oscar Grant Committee, Stop the Gang I...

Following Community Pressure, BPD Released Highly Edited Video of Officer-Involved Shooting

September 2, 2020

Community pressure worked! After telling us yesterday that they would not release any information about the incident until a future unknown date, BPD released a statement and a highly edited propaganda video at last night.

https://www.cityofberkeley.info/PoliceNews.aspx?id=155674

The video shows a new BPD officer, Cheri Miller—22 months on the force, arriving on scene with weapon drawn in response to teenagers stealing sundry...

Demand Transparency! BPD Has Not Released ANY Info about Officer-Involved Shooting One Month Ago

September 1, 2020

BPD said they would release video from the officer-involved shooting on 8/31. That date passed.

BPD is now saying they will ultimately release a redacted video at an unknown later date. We still don't even know the basic facts of the incident. We need accountability.

APTP Rolls Out M.H. First: Community First Response in Oakland

August 28, 2020

Congratulations, MH First! It's Berkeley's time to step up now...

Here's a beautiful video they made telling Kayla Moore's story, in the words of her sister Maria Moore:

Berkeley PD: We Need Answers

August 14, 2020

Photo: Torched side of the building at The Way Christian Center in Berkeley.

On July 30, an as-yet-unnamed Berkeley police officer fired a gun in response to an alleged in-progress robbery. The department released a statement that no one was injured by gunfire, but how can we be sure that no one was injured if the subjects were not detained and there has been no substantial release of information with the ongoing investigation....