FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 2019
(DailyCal.org)
AUDREY MCNAMARA/FILE
BY BEN KLEIN | STAFF LAST UPDATED APRIL 5, 2019
On Tuesday, District Attorney of Alameda County Nancy O’Malley declined to charge a driver who ran over a person lying on the sidewalk during a protest near People’s Park on Jan. 22, as first reported by Berkeleyside.
According to a January email from Berkeley Police Department spokesperson Officer Byron White, during a march against the development of People’s Park in January, a car was surrounded by a crowd that began “pushing/banging on the vehicle.” According to the email, the car drove onto the sidewalk on Durant Avenue, running over a bicycle and a person lying on the sidewalk.
According to White’s email, the person lying on the sidewalk, confirmed to be a 55-year-old homeless man, was taken to a local hospital for an injured leg, and the driver, a 21-year-old Berkeley man, was contacted and cooperated with investigators.
On Tuesday, the DA’s office decided not to charge the driver with a hit-and-run, citing lack of evidence, according to Berkeleyside.
James McFadden, a researcher at UC Berkeley, said there was a recording of the event and said he had concerns regarding the decision to not charge the driver.
“Why is there insufficient evidence when there’s a video of it?” McFadden said.
When asked about the incident, Assistant District Attorney Teresa Drenick said in an email that in order to charge a person with a criminal offense, the office has to believe that they can “prove the offense beyond a reasonable doubt.”
“In this matter, we conducted a thorough review of the evidence and declined to file charges,” Drenick said in an email.
BPD declined to provide further comment on the incident.
Contact Ben Klein at bklein@dailycal.org and follow him on Twitter at @BenKlein_dc.
Note from Mike Zint:
Poor and black hit by rich and white. I generally stay off the racism, but not this time. Tony is blind. Tony was asleep on the sidewalk. Tony did nothing. Tony got hit by a car on the sidewalk. The driver gets a pass. The city and county “rich people’s justice” system did what they do. They protect the haves at the expense and suffering of the have nots.
And the people of the city and county let them.
