They openly advocated the killing of police officers as a form of political protest and “justice,” and with the murder of Officer Frey by Black Panthers Minister of Defense Huey Newton, they made good on the threat. As the group’s membership increased, the Panthers held armed rallies to protest police shootings, demand economic improvements for blacks, and incite the revolution that the group felt was a precondition to strengthening black social, political and economic power in America.įrom the very beginning, the Black Panthers tried to incite violent confrontations with the police to achieve their aims. ![]() Initially, the Panthers formed armed patrols to shadow Oakland police officers on duty to interrupt their activities and record incidents of perceived police brutality. The Black Panther Party issued its economic, political and justice demands in a “Ten-Point Program” that, among other things, demanded the end of “police brutality and murder of black people,” all-black juries for black defendants, and the immediate release of “all black men held in federal, state, county and city prisons and jails.” The organization sought to protect black residents from police abuse and advance the Black Power movement. The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense - later known as simply The Black Panthers - was created in October 1966 by Huey P. That name might not be familiar to the current generation of officers on the street, but most cops who served in the 1960s-1970s would immediately recognize it, and would also know the militant, anti-police group that Newton helped found - The Black Panthers. While there, the driver was arrested for the murder of Officer Frey and the attempted murder of Officer Heanes. ![]() The pair sought refuge at a friend’s home, who took the wounded driver to the hospital. In the ensuing commotion, the driver and passenger fled on foot, commandeered a passing vehicle at gunpoint, and forced the motorist to help them escape. Heanes fired at the driver, hitting him in the abdomen. Officer Heanes was hit in the volley, and Officer Frey was shot several times as well. A struggle erupted between Frey and the suspect. Officer Herbert Heanes responded as the driver was removed from the vehicle for questioning. When Officer Frey discovered that neither the driver - a known political activist - nor his male passenger were the registered owner of the vehicle, he requested additional assistance and waited for help. Photos by Vianey Alderete Contreras.On October 28, 1967, deep in the heart of West Oakland (Calif.), Officer John Frey made a traffic stop on a vehicle with multiple outstanding traffic warrants. Newton was murdered during a drug buy in West Oakland, at 1456 Center Street. In fact, the silence is so loud now that it is very similar to one of those moments when you wonder if the lack of noise means a child is hiding an expensive vase, now broken. The leaves on the trees with white and pink flowers make the cool breeze sound louder. On Center Street, bikes pass by, and the only thing you can hear is the chains going round and round, as the tires make tiny rocks on the pavement skitter from left to right. That is also the direction from which several young men wearing colorful beanies come and go, with hip hop music blasting from the speakers of their phones. They match well with all the oil stains that the Texas-sized pickup trucks from the people working on the construction area have left behind.īirds chipping can be heard from the house with a bougainvillea tree on 15 th Street. A 7-Eleven Slurpee cup, empty Sriracha packages and instant noodle cups line the corner of the sidewalk and the street. On the sidewalk are abandoned office chairs, trash bins, boxes with office materials, and boxes with even more trash. ![]() The street is currently decorated with a variety of trash. ![]() One wonders if the construction part of the process of gentrification happening throughout Oakland. The beat of a hammer can be heard from somewhere nearby. You know,” says a man, who maybe sounds a little white and sophisticated, behind the wall hiding the mysterious construction project. on a Monday, there is not much going on this area, just the sound of a chainsaw and that of plywood panels being stacked, as there is also a construction project going on across the street from 1456 Center Street. But there is a gate opening through which you can see trash and construction materials, as well as a machine, lying steady under the sun.Īt 11 a.m. The corner between 15 th Street and Center Street is gated, with green plastic fabric hiding the mess inside. Newton was murdered almost 30 years ago? It’s hard to find the exact address where he died-1456 Center Street-because the house numbers jump from 1424 to 1506, and there is an open and what looks like forgotten lot where construction is supposed to happen.
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