OAKLAND REACTS TO SCANDAL VERDICT

Many Residents Split on Whether Ex-Officers Were Good or Bad Guys

OAKLAND -- From Lower Bottom to Ghost Town, there was surprise and
disgust aplenty in West Oakland Tuesday after a jury acquitted the
"The Riders," three ex-cops who used to patrol those neighborhoods, on
charges they conspired to plant drugs, beat and threaten suspects and
falsify police reports.

"Somebody got a lot of money somewhere," said Ben, 40, a 10-year
resident of 13th Street who did not want his last name used. "If I had
been on that jury they'd be guilty. I see what they do on the streets.

"The funniest part of those Riders, there'd be a group of guys selling
they want and African American citizens have "no recourse."

"It's just kind of sad," Jackson said. "It's another incident driving
a wedge between the police department and the African-American community."

NAACP President Shannon Reeves said the fallout from the verdicts will
be felt two-fold.

"When you bring in jurors who have no context of experience relative
to the relationship between the police and the African-American
community and what actual happens (on the street), that means it was
hard for them to believe cops plant evidence," Reeves said. "They
can't fathom it -- they don't live in that environment."

More importantly, Reeves said, these jurors have not only done a
disservice to the black community, but also to the many fine officers
who uphold the law and behave in a professional way.

"From a standpoint of community-based organizing, this is a big blow,
Reeves said. "We have got to have law enforcement. We have got to
partner with them because the crime rates are high in our
neighborhoods."