After months of community outcry and protests in Davis, Ca., the Picnic Day 5 – five young people of color who were attacked by undercover police – have achieved a significant victory. The five victims of police brutality were facing multiple felonies, but now their records will be cleared following one year of informal probation. But as their police assailants have faced no consequences, the community is continuing to fight for justice.
The police attack occurred in April during Picnic Day, an annual open house event at University of California-Davis that attracts over 100,000 people. The Picnic Day 5 – Alex Craver, Antwoine Perry, Iszir Price, Angelica Reyes and Elijah Williams – had come to Davis to join in the festivities and were among a group gathered on a street corner, some of whom were dancing. Undercover cops – Sean Bellamy, Ryan Bellamy and Steve Ramos –drove an unmarked van into the group, nearly hitting several people, then jumped out and started throwing punches and putting several people into choke holds.
The victims did not know their attackers were cops, and tried to protect their friends from the unprovoked attack. Shortly after the attack, the police released a statement stating that the officers had been surrounded and attacked by a “mob.” Subsequent video evidence showed clearly that the youths were not blocking the traffic flow and that the police instigated the attack. Their lies exposed, the cops removed the press release from their website.
Distict Attorney Jeff Reisig charged the Picnic Day 5 with multiple felonies including “assaulting a peace officer” and “resisting an executive officer.” In addition to facing years in jail, the charges and publicity led to job loss, extreme anxiety and serious financial stress due to legal fees.
As is usual in the United States, despite clear injustice there have been no consequences whatsoever for the cops or for Davis Police Chief Pytel. Since late April, Justice 4 the Picnic Day 5, a coalition of community members and students, held demonstrations, collected petition signatures and spoke out at Davis City Council meetings to demand the District Attorney drop the charges against the Picnic Day 5 and instead try the officers for assault and fire Chief Pytel.
The rallies continued as the Picnic Day 5 appeared in court to fight against the false charges. At an August 10 hearing supporters gathered outside the Yolo County Courthouse and remained throughout the day for courtroom solidarity. That preliminary hearing continued on August 28 and 29, and again many supporters gathered to protest outside the courthouse
and show courtroom solidarity inside. With the public pressure mounting, Picnic Day 5 were offered the plea deal, and though it was a difficult decision because they hoped to win their case, they each decided to take it.
No prison time and the possibility of dropping all the felony charges was a victory for the Picnic Day 5 and the community. The victory was due to the resiliency of the Picnic Day 5, some of whom immediately contacted local media in the days after the attack to tell the truth about what happened to them.
The protests continued on September 12, as protesters gathered outside Davis City Hall during busy rush hour traffic, and spoke out at the City Council meeting to demand that Davis pay financial restitution to the Picnic Day 5. Speakers demanded the officers and Police Chief Pytel be fired. One member of UPTE, the Union of Professional and Technical Employees at the University of California, compared the attack to his experience walking picket lines. While on the line, hostile cars and trucks
several times have come dangerously close to picketers, and thrown projectiles. He said that had he been with the Picnic Day 5 that day, he would have joined them in self-defense against the racist attackers.
As the armed wing of the capitalist state, cops terrorize people of color daily without consequence. The Picnic Day 5 are five young people of color attacked when visiting Davis, a city notorious for racial profiling and racist policing. Anti-racist activists in Davis plan to continue to show that Davis is for all by continuing to demonstrate against the City of Davis and the Davis Police Department, to demand police accountability, and real justice for the Picnic Day 5 and all victims of racist police violence.
