A community meeting was held at the Oakwood Recreation Center the evening of February 19, 2008 to discuss the gang sweeps that took place in the early morning and the previous evening.

The community was upset and complained that warrants were used with names of people not even at the addresses. The Police crashed into the homes of senior citizens - breaking down the doors, terrorizing them, and leaving them unable to secure their homes. Guns were held to their heads. Officers screamed obscenities. An LAPD dog defecated in one family’s house and a baby was almost trampled. A fourteen-year-old boy said that two guns were on his head, but he has never been in trouble before. Homeless people - not gang members - made up part of the grand total of 19 people arrested.

Oakwood is a community with generations of African-American homeowners and families. For many years they have been dealing with the criminalization of their youth, police harassment, programs such as PACE that negatively impact many seniors, and increasing amounts of more affluent neighbors who refuse to fit in with the older community.

This recent so-called gang sweep was just a low blow, according many people in the community, in an on-going attempt to remove these black people from what is now a very high priced beach community.

I cannot tell you of the terror of the elderly people as so many different law enforcement agencies swept thru this community! It was terrible to break down doors @4:45am , awaken so many people in this fashion. If the individuals that they were looking for could have been arrested on the streets, would not this be the humane thing to do? We must come out and hold all entities who were responsible accountable for this type of treatment of our neighbors. We must put aside our differences and realize that we all are human beings living together in a great community by the sea. Civil rights have been violated and this must be addressed and tackled so it will not happen again.
The next meeting will be at Oakwood Recreation Center@6:00 February 28, 2008. Human Relations Board and many other LA City officials will be there. It will be hosted by Venice 2000.

laddie, you don't know what you are talking about

the neighborhood was plagued with drug dealers
now it's not

the pains the community faced are minor compared to the death and destruction caused by these few individuals

Its One thing to get rid of the problem and help solve the problem. the drug dealers and PURCHASERS[not just african american, i've seen affluent white people buy] are the ungoing problem that needs to be helped. THE way the police are trying to get rid of the problem is very rude, racist, disrespectful, dangerous, and harmful to bystanders and innocent people, a lot of the homes they raided, were innocent people and didn;t deserve to have there doors knocked down rudely.and to be yelled at obscenely and even causing innocent families to potentionally get evicted. Its a shame.

Like laddie said we need to become one community, look out for each other. Also, to know 100% if some1 is causing a threat and harm to a community, report them and get them help. Lets Not racial profile-because a drug dealer and purchaser can be any color, race, or creed. Lets look at it-as BAD and GOOD, not BLACK, WHITE, LATINO.

thanks

drug abuse is one hell of a psychological and staining ,addicting habit that causes a lot of Pain and no one should have to see it, be it or let it continue to happen.

and like J0ohn said,the pains the community faced are minor compared to the death and destruction caused by these few individuals. VERY TRUe, but that doesn't solve ALL the problems, and we can;t move on-progress with/out solving all problems that are effecting a community as a whole.

your measuring problems and quantitatively selecting which is better or less important--but both things are equally important:The innocent bystanders wrongfully raided and the drug problem in Venice.