4/21: Making Police Obsolete

MAKING POLICE OBSOLETE:

You are invited to a discussion and presentation by writers and activists working to stop police abuse!

AK Press Warehouse
674-A 23rd Street
(between MLK and San Pablo- Near 19th St Bart).

Thursday, April 21st at 7pm

Speakers include:

KRISTIAN WILLIAMS, author of the recent Soft Skull Press release, Our Enemies in Blue, a book that details the development of police violence in America and documents the historical role of the police in maintaining existing structures of inequality. Kristian will discuss his book, which demonstrates that police brutality is not merely the result of “a few bad apples,” but is a function of the very nature of American policing. Our Enemies in Blue has been hailed by writer Ward Churchill as "imperative reading for anyone in the least concerned by the implications attending the rampant growth of police power and violence in the United States.”

ANDREA PRICHETT, founder of Berkeley Copwatch, a community based volunteer organization which monitors police activity in the Southside neighborhood and elsewhere in an effort to defend the the rights of all citizens, including those who live on the street, to fair treatment under the law. Copwatch also carries out campaigns and distributes educational material geared at ending institutionalized injustice and police misconduct in our communities.

KATYA KOMISARUK, author of the book, Beat the Heat, a book that gives you a set of easy-to-remember legal tactics for protecting yourself and the people you care about. Written by a Harvard-trained criminal defense lawyer who formerly served a five-year prison sentence, this illustrated street law manual provides easy to read and essential legal information to prepare you for interactions with the police. Now in a new revised second printing. and MESHA MONGE-IRIZARRY, founder of The Idriss Stelley Foundation, and organization that provides free, confidential services to biological and extended families of loved ones negatively impacted, disabled or killed by law enforcement.

The event is free and wheelchair accessible. Copies of Our Enemies in Blue as well as Beat the Heat will be available for sale by the authors, and a short book signing will follow the speaker presentations. The AK Press Warehouse is located at 674-A 23rd Street in Oakland between MLK and San Pablo. The warehouse is close to the 19th Street BART station and the West Grand exit of 80/980. For directions or more information about the event, call the AK Press Warehouse at (510) 208-1700 or check out http://www.akpress.com.