OUCH!!!!

That's the sound you make when you get spanked, most times by the TRUTH!

Contributor Mike Ali has written an excellent piece today in light of yesterday's very violent events.

At the urgung of many (including The Tazer's good common sense), that commentary is being posted below.
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THE KILLING FIELDS OF RICHMOND & BRING ON THE CLOWNS FROM THE CITY HALL

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I direct a question to all of you, please? How much longer will our COMMUNITY SIT IN SILENCE and while the wholesale slaughter of youth and young adults continues in the KILLING FIELDS OF RICHMOND!?

The Mayor's Office and certain members think that the Violence Prevention Movement is "one big joke" according to City Hall insiders. So they think our youth and young adults dying is" one big joke" and the Violence Prevention Boycott is "one big joke". Come on City Hall, keep making the community laugh and laugh some more! Just keep on keeping us entertained with your political humor! So come on you CLOWNS AND BUFFONS IN THE CITY HALL just keep to the script of what your doing, and your gonna see it's mighty ugly outside on the real killing fields of the mean streets of Richmond.

The stark reality is that the City Government of Richmond is OUT OF TOUCH and OUT OF CONTROL!!! I mean to sit back in SILENCE, while our kids are killing each other. THIS CURRENT ADMINISTRATION IS JUST DAMN WRONG FOR THIS STANCE and their approach to the 'war on violence' has gone from failing.....TO LOST!

The Violence Prevention Movement is more united on a common front than we have been before! Soon the second phase of the Boycott will be put into effect, and what a wonderful day that will be in a short time coming. So let the CLOWNS in the City Hall keep on keepin' on, because the Community will NO LONGER PLAY 'THE CRYING GAME!'

'Yours in the Struggle for Human and Civil Rights in Richmond,

MIke Ali,
Committee of Families for the Safety of Our Children
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Sweet Merciful Budda...That hurt The Tazer it was so much truth!

Seriously, thank you brother Ali and everyone who continues to work towards solutions...we are going to be successful in this struggle!

Dark Days Continue...

Good morning Tazer faithful...

The Tazer held off until this morning to update, as we were waiting for accurate info regarding yesterday's bloodshed in our city: (Credit Karl Fischer CC Times)

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Spate of shootings keeps Richmond police busy

By Karl Fischer
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

A man died and another survived in critical condition Thursday after a pair of unrelated shootings in central Richmond, one of them in front of a courthouse.

Someone on the 600 block of Harbour Way waved over a patrolling police officer at 3:57 p.m. to point out a shooting that happened moments earlier on the block.

A gunman had walked up and shot 33-year-old Bert Mascarenas many times in the back as he stood on the sidewalk in front of a house, beside his blue Chevrolet Tahoe.

"Several shots were fired. We believe the (gunman) was ... on foot," police Lt. Alec Griffin said.
Paramedics took Mascarenas to Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo, where he was pronounced dead.

The homicide was the second this month in Richmond's Iron Triangle neighborhood, after more than four months without a killing there.

TAZER NOTE: The Tazer would like to give credit the numerous organizations that have worked so hard to keep the Iron Triangle safe...unfortunately, this shows that the city's support is vital to sustaining these efforts. These good folks can't fight this battle on their own forever.

Earlier Thursday, a 27-year-old Richmond man went to a local hospital after a shooting in front of the Contra Costa Superior Court on the 3800 block of Bissell Avenue.

The victim, Mister Jamerson, was waiting to appear for a hearing in traffic court about 8:50 a.m. when a dark- or burgundy-colored sport utility vehicle drove past and a man inside fired several rounds.

Two of the shots passed through Jamerson's upper torso, critically wounding him. He may have been sitting on his car, drinking coffee or a bottled drink before the attack, said police Sgt. Enos Johnson.

The busy corridor in the North and East neighborhood includes the court building, a county social services building, the public defender's office and the offices of a community organization.
Police found no evidence connecting the shootings during the early investigation. The homicide was the 11th reported in Richmond this year, and the second in two days.

TAZER COMMENTARY: City Hall? Mayor's Office? Anyone listening? Or, do you like being named the most dangerous city in California?

Police ask anyone with information about either shooting to call 510-620-6643.

Reach Karl Fischer at 510-262-2728 or kfischer@cctimes.com.
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The Tazer's observation here is that this level of violence is going to come to a boiling point as we move into the summer months, and may resemble flat out revolt and anarchy by the people of this city...The Tazer knows that anarchy is a VERY STRONG word, but when people get to the point that they feel the system has failed them, they begin to descend into chaos, looking for their own version of "justice"...do we remember what happen during Katrina? Not trying to stir the pot here, but something had to be learned from the meltdown of 2003...or at least we hope so.

Lots of people, some of them rather prominent in our community, have made commitments to contribute to this blog...The Tazer begs of those people now: PLEASE START DOING IT. WE NEED TO FIND SOLUTIONS!

The Tazer also understands (from reliable sources) that the angle being played by The City in regard to The Tazer is to "write it off as a joke". That's rich guys, seeing as the bulk of our content continues to point out your incompetence...who's the joke on? You can keep trying to run guys, but you can't hide from the truth!

In other news, The Tazer is famous again! Well, sort of...The Tazer appears in contributor Mike Ali's letter to the editor in today's West County Times:

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Grassroots boycott

Since March 27, the grassroots violence prevention movement of Richmond has imposed boycott sanctions on the mayor's office, City Council, and all city boards and commissions. The violence prevention movement shall not participate with or attend any city meetings.

Why? The city of Richmond has declared a "war on violence" that it knows it is losing. The movement has never been invited to the conference table as equal partners and stakeholders to help the city to formulate and implement real policies that could help contain and reduce violence in the community.

To demonstrate our displeasure, the movement called for the boycott! During the April 24 meeting of the city's Human Relations Commission, six of the nine commissioners were "absent." The boycott is slowly being felt inside and outside of City Hall.

During the current mayor's administration, there have been more than 120 homicides in Richmond. Their war on violence is failing and the boycott will continue until the Violence Prevention Movement is brought to the conference table. To learn more go to www.richmondtruth.blogspot.com.

Mike Ali
Richmond

Not That We Want To Get Ahead Of Ourselves...

But this looks like another murder in our city: (Credit Karl Fischer CC Times)
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Body of woman found in Richmond may be a homicide

RICHMOND - Police say a dead woman found in a garage apartment Wednesday is likely a homicide victim.

The victim's daughter called 911 to report the death about 11:50 a.m., Richmond police Lt. Alec Griffin said. Ramona Johnson, 42, was found on a couch in a converted garage apartment in the 1300 block of Monterey Street, in Richmond's Southwest Annex neighborhood.

Johnson, who lived in the apartment, had been dead for several days. The cause of her death was not immediately apparent because of the condition of the body, Griffin said, but about 5 p.m. police noticed a head injury that looked like a gunshot wound.

Johnson's husband has not been seen since May 2, Griffin said. There were no signs of struggle or robbery, he added.

Contra Costa coroner's deputies said the cause of death has not been determined.

Police ask anyone with information about the case to call Detective Eric Smith at 510-307-8106.

-- Karl Fischer
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If this turns out not being ruled a murder, The Tazer will repost with revised information as soon as it's available from the Corner's office.

All quiet for the most part at City Hall and with the City Council lately when it comes to Violence Prevention...is this good or bad? By all accounts reported to The Tazer, most of those who will make an attempt to hang on to their positions or seats are getting in gear to start slinging a little mud...

The Tazer ponders: Will the people of Richmond actually re-elect some of the people that are incumbents running for office? If this turns out to be the case, The Tazer also ponders how many people will put houses up for sale, pack their bags and move somewhere else...something to think about.

Tuesday Tazer Updater

Good evening Tazer Faithful!

Let's start off with a recap of Richmond's Cinco De Mayo Celebration...The Tazer is pleased everything went peacefully for the most part. (Article credit: Karl Fischer CC Times):
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By Karl Fischer

CONTRA COSTA TIMES

The audience arrived early, but the parade never came.

For the first time in several years, the Cinco de Mayo celebration in Richmond featured no smashed windows, sideshows or massive fights on 23rd Street.

Several hundred teens and young adults began lining 23rd Street about 4 p.m., many draped in Mexican flags, shouting and waving at passing cars.

But after more than 100 police officers closed the road to traffic between Barrett and Rheem avenues to the Richmond city limit, the crowds spent the rest of the evening peering quietly at police vehicles parked in the middle of the street.

The closure was intended to stop the cruising that has attracted violent crowds in recent years. Young people normally drive the length of 23rd Street waving flags and interacting with pedestrians, who pack the sidewalks.

But during the past four years, the fun activity devolved after the sun went down and families went home. Fights broke out, cruisers drove too quickly or recklessly, and in some cases vehicular sideshows took place.

Police would then attempt to disperse the crowd by closing 23rd Street and moving people to side streets. Some took umbrage and used the move as an opportunity to lash back against the police and the community.

Police feared a similar scenario heading into a weekend-night Cinco de Mayo this year, particularly given the widespread sense of anger and cultural solidarity expressed by thousands of local Latinos earlier this week during protests against federal immigration legislation.

But with police closing the street early on Friday night, the mood remained generally mellow and nobody lingered for long.

A boisterous but generally well-behaved crowd waved flags, danced in the street, and yelled "Viva Mexico!"

Police Chief Chris Magnus spent his time traveling along 23rd Street and talking with people, at one point politely declining a crowd's exhortation to "spin 'em" -- a reference to spinning tire doughnuts with his police vehicle.

"We're very pleased at how things have worked out," Magnus said about 8:30 p.m. "Really what we have are a couple hundred young people who began coming out about 5 o'clock looking for something to do. They've generally been well-behaved, and we hope things continue this way."

Many onlookers, such as 22-year-old Ismael Gomez, arrived in hopes of seeing cruising cars. Most went away disappointed.

"We were hoping they were going to be cruising. They always have in the past," said Gomez, who brought along his 18-month-old son, Ismael Nicholas. "We'll probably hang around here for a little while."

Meanwhile, dozens of yellow-shirted volunteers distributed fliers advertising today's city-sanctioned parade and festivities at a local Catholic church.

The flavor of the gathering changed as the evening wore on.

A minor fistfight occurred about 6 p.m., and there were a couple of smashed bottles. Later there was a non-injury fight at 23rd and Gaynor Avenue. And near McBryde Avenue, a fist-sized chunk of concrete and several rocks were thrown at police officers.

As the sun went down, a small core of revelers remained defiant and saw the situation as a test of will between the crowd and police of who could remain longer.

"Everyone's playing chicken, but they're gonna lose," 21-year-old Tushay Williams said of the police. "This is a public street and we happen to be the public."

At one point, Richmond City Councilman John Marquez spoke in Spanish over a patrol car loudspeaker, urging the crowd to go home. His comments were met with jeers and profanity.>>>See Tazer Note Below<<<

About 9 p.m., two dozen Richmond police officers donning helmets formed a line at 23rd and Visalia Avenue to disperse any unruly pedestrians if needed.

But the confrontation fell far short of the violence that ensued last year when police tried to close 23rd Street after thousands had already gathered there, resulting in thrown rocks and bottles, damaged cars and broken windows at nearby businesses.

Five arrests were made during the evening: Three for disturbing the peace, one for public drunkenness and one for suspicion of assault. There was some minor vandalism, police said.

Reach Karl Fischer at 510-262-2728 or kfischer@cctimes.com.
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TAZER NOTE: I suppose at this point, some progress is better than no progress. Kudos to the Chief and RPD for keeping things under control...as for Mr. Marquez...you might wanna quit while you're ahead...as with most issues dealing with city politicians, people don't wanna hear you babble :)

TAZER REMINDER:

Tazer Friend Charlene Harris and MASK are having a wonderful event this coming Saturday, May 13th:

MOTHERS AGAINST SENSELESS KILLINGSPRESENTSA “M.A.S.K. HEALING GARDEN DEDICATION CEREMONY” & 2 ND ANNUAL COMMUNITY CANDLE LIGHT VIGIL

THEME: “NO MORE RETALIATIONS”

PRESENTED BY: SURVIVOR EVANGELIST JACKIE THOMPSON.

WHEN: MAY 13, 2006

WHERE: BOOKER T. ANDERSO ANDERSON JR. COMMUNITY CENTER

TIME: 4:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

A LIVE BUTTERFLY RELEASE, CHILDREN’S EDUCATIONAL BOOK GIVEAWAYS, GOSPEL MUSIC, SURVIVORS POETRY SLAM, MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKERS AND DELICIOUS FOOD.

A DAY TO PROMOTE PEACE & HEALING WITHIN OUR HOMES,NEIGHBORHOODS & COMMUNITIES.

SPONSORED BY: THE OFFICE OF VICTIMS OF CRIME/DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, EAST BAY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, KAISER PERMANENTE, THE CITY OF RICHMOND PARKS & RECREATION, PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENTS, WORLD WALL FOR PEACE, THE BUTTERFLYGARDENERS ASSOCIATION AND MOTHERS AGAINST MURDERPLEASE RSVP:

CONTACT CAMMY: 510. 467.4241 or Email:Khadeyah1@sbcglobal sbcglobal.net
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Please Support MASK Tazer Faithful...they are one of the many local groups providing a great service!

TAZER ACTION: Lots of rumors floating around as it pertains to the boycott and the Violence Prevention movement. The Tazer is monitoring the climate of the situation, and if any news breaks, we will update it right away.