[INDEX |
NATIONAL
|
WORLD
|
PERSPECTIVE
|
COLUMNS
|
MONEY
|
ENTERTAINMENT
|
HEALTH
|
TECH
|
LETTERS
|
SUBSCRIBE]
FinalCall.com News
National News
Operation Nutcracker: L.A. apartheid regime?
By Melanie Muhammad
Updated Jul 27, 2005 - 11:26:00 AM
LOS ANGELES (FinalCall.com) - The Community Call To Action and Accountability (CCTAA), Bethel A.M.E. Church and the Nation of Islam’s (NOI) Western Region Headquarters held a unity press conference July 11 to voice their concerns about a federal crime program called Operation Nutcracker.
The press conference took place at the intersection of 89th and Western where, just over five months ago, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Officer Stephen Garcia fatally shot 13-year-old Devin Brown in one of the city’s most contentious shootings. The community was so outraged that it formed the CCTAA, a grassroots organization known for its rallying efforts in support of the rights of disenfranchised populations, and its local organizing for the Millions More Movement, which will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the historic 1995 Million Man March on October 15.
“Our being here is not symbolic, but substantive of what we are here to discuss, to dramatize, highlight and underscore that we are concerned that we will disproportionately suffer as a result of Operation Nutcracker,” stated Rev. Dr. Lewis Logan II, Bethel’s head pastor.
Purportedly sponsored by a group dubbed the “First Greater Los Angeles Neighborhood Stabilization Council” (1st G.L.A.N.S.C.), Operation Nutcracker would allegedly stabilize neighborhoods by identifying, extracting and detaining any gang members, or alleged gang members, as domestic terrorists. At a recent community town hall meeting, 1st G.L.A.N.S.C. members informed that such persons would be carted off to undisclosed military camps or bases for discipline training.
1st G.L.A.N.S.C. continued that any identified domestic terrorist would be issued code red, orange or yellow status, and would be disallowed any visitations from family members. In fact, the group informed, the only way to receive phone calls or visitation with a detainee would be if the parent or guardian volunteered them for the stabilization program due to difficulties with their behavior, school attendance or any other problems.
And that is not all. It is alleged that, under Operation Nutcracker, there would be a total media blackout, meaning the operating agencies would not be required to inform society of its operations. Operation Nutcracker would accomplish all of this through the joint efforts of the LAPD, County Sheriff Department, and federal agencies, including the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearm (ATF) agency, Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
“Under this policy, anyone who has a tattoo could be labeled a domestic terrorist. Those detained would have no right to an attorney or to a speedy trial,” said Western Regional Minister Tony Muhammad. “This sounds like an apartheid regime.”
CCTAA organizers say another alarming element of Operation Nutcracker is that any parent whose juvenile has been identified as a gang member would face eviction from public housing projects and the loss of any other form of government assistance, hence rendering them homeless without resources to survive. The potential impact could affect more than 60 large complexes that house over 20,000 individuals and families throughout the Los Angeles area.
“Don’t penalize mothers whose children have been socially engineered to join gangs. Black people already make up the majority of the homeless here in Los Angeles and, if true, this policy would create a permanent underclass and create a permanent class of crime,” Min. Tony contended.
Although attempts to validate any policies under the moniker “Operation Nutcracker” have been unsuccessful, community activists say that recent police activities lend credence to their concerns. A letter dated June 28 from LAPD Chief William Bratton was distributed to some residents of the 77th Precinct. The document claims an invite from “residents and community members” wherein the LAPD, the city attorney’s office and federal agencies would use “all of the resources of the Department, undercover officers and uniformed officers to address the issues of street crime, narcotics and gang violence.”
There have also been a series of raids resulting in arrests throughout several housing projects. Carol Brown, a 35-year resident of the Jordan Downs Housing Project, spoke of how her nephew was arrested and ultimately convicted for a murder the family says he did not commit. “They [the police] had no evidence. They found a photo of my nephew holding a gun, and said he was capable of committing the murder,” Ms. Brown maintained.
Her sister, who was also a resident of Jordan Downs, was subsequently evicted from the housing project because of her son and is still without a permanent home. “I’m here to support the action against Operation Nutcracker and to support the Nation of Islam. I see the truth that they teach is coming into a deep reality for Blacks and Latinos,” she said.
Pastor Logan said that public trust in law enforcement is in serious jeopardy right now, and that the CCTAA, approaching its 24th weekly meeting since young Devin’s murder, is taking action, rather than continuing to let things just happen to them.
Leannette Hill mirrored that frustration, saying, “It’s outrageous that, in 2005, we are dealing with a very fascist form of law enforcement in the Black community. Yet, we pay taxes for substandard service to the point where our children are being killed.”
