Activist in Oakland demand California officials hold law enforcement accountable

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These days, public safety is a hotly debated topic, but according to one Oakland mother, her son’s treatment in police custody was anything but safe.

Along with a group of activists, she is calling on California Attorney General Rob Bonta to focus more on ensuring that law enforcement officials are held accountable.

According to Terry Lovett, her son’s ordeal while in police custody was a crime that is being disregarded.

Her words, “It’s basically consumed me,” “I spend my entire day doing this. All I can do is try to learn what happened to my child.

Although Jalani Lovett was caught and found guilty of robbery in Los Angeles, she was born and reared in Oakland. He passed away at the county jail in September 2021 while he was waiting to be transferred to another facility. Terry was informed that her son died from a fentanyl overdose, despite the fact that he was alone in his cell.

“If they only have contact with the deputies, where’s the drugs coming from?” she responded. “But I’ve got pictures from the coroner’s department that shows that Jalani was beaten,” she said. “I’ve got pictures in my discovery that show a hole in the back of Jalani’s head.”

Nobody has been willing to discuss the truth with Terry thus far.

“I’ve climbed the ladder until I’m at the attorney general’s office and he just refuses to talk to me,” she continued. “They settle these cases with taxpayer money—your money, mine, and yours—and the officers receive no criticism. They are not placed on suspension or terminated. It’s absurd. When will he perform his duties?

Jalani passed away in Los Angeles, but the Bay Area and other jails in the state have seen an alarming number of in-custody deaths. Since 2014, over 66 inmates have lost their lives in Santa Rita Jail in Alameda County.

“Anyone in custody is entitled to return in the same manner that they left. Ladell Dickerson, Jalani’s older brother, advised her to “go to your next destination without dying in that custody if you are sent to prison.” Many deaths that occur while a person is in custody are ignored because the families involved lack resources and support. They simply want to keep everyone quiet, but we won’t be silenced.”

In order to increase awareness and put pressure on Bonta to address the issue, they have been touring the state. Justice reform advocates stated during a rally in Oakland on Saturday that, thus far, there has been little criminal prosecution and only settlements. They stated that as long as information on police abuse investigations is kept confidential, that will not alter.

“You must be able to provide the evidence in order to prosecute these cases, hold these officers accountable, and imprison the murderous police officers. And the police departments keep a lot of that evidence under wraps,” Max Brownstein of the Sparticist League stated. Thus, we are requesting that the archives be opened. He possesses the keys to the cabinet because he is the attorney general. Although he has the option to make these papers public if he so chooses, he refuses to do so in the sake of protecting the police. He is the best police officer.

Bonta pledged throughout his campaign to try to stop officers from abusing people in jails and on the streets. His website stated, “Whether you have a loved one in jail or are worried about crime in your neighborhood, we all benefit when there is action to ensure the integrity of policing in our state.”

That action is what the activists are waiting for. They are requesting that Bonta cease accepting political contributions from police unions, have monthly meetings with affected family members, and conduct inspections of all California jails and prisons.

When John Ramos started creating editorial cartoons and witty satire articles for the Bakersfield High School newspaper, he unintentionally started a career in journalism that would last a lifetime.