Oakland Police Chief Jane Kirkpatrick delivered an encouraging message of respect, hope and an apology for law enforcement misdeeds to more than 200 San Quentin prisoners looking forward to freedom.
“We have a future and hope together,” Kirkpatrick said. “You will be given an opportunity for restoration and you will be welcomed home.
“When you come home, you will be home and you will have a police department that, as long as I am their chief, will address you with respect by your name.”
Lt. Bobby Hookfin, a native of Oakland, talked about the “historic mistrust” between the community and the police — mistrust rooted in “enforcing unjust laws.”
“We know that — but we’re establishing trust across the nation,” Hookfin said. “We want to recognize that there’s no finish line to public trust. It doesn’t end here, once you’re released, it continues to build to make our community better – did you hear, our community better.”
Kirkpatrick and Hookfin spoke July 26 at the second Barbershop Dialogue held at San Quentin. There have been more than a dozen dialogues held in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Barbershop Dialogues came about after a BART police officer killed Oscar Grant on New Year’s Eve, 2009.
One of those attending was Jack Bryson, whose two sons were with Grant when he was shot. Bryson said he wanted to take action about the strained relationship between the police and the Bay Area community. He teamed up with Oakland police officers Captain Michael Carroll and Hookfin to provide spaces for conversations about how policing affect communities.
A couple of years into the dialogues, television reporter Paul Chambers (KTVU) began airing the meetings. District attorneys, police officers, criminal justice reform advocates, formerly incarcerated, as well as incarcerated individuals, sat together and talked.
“It is my great honor to be here and thank each of you,” Kirkpatrick told the audience. She turned to Bryson, adding, “Jack, on behalf of police, I want to say I’m sorry and I want your forgiveness.” There was immediately a hush, followed by a collective, “Wow!”
Chambers asked Kirkpatrick why she apologized to Jack and told the prison- ers they would be welcomed home.
“We have caused some hurt and harm,” Kirkpatrick said. “Everybody in this room has hurt someone. I don’t want to forget that there are victims that we hurt and we need to learn to say we’re sorry. Then we need to make amends through actions and not cheap words. Many of you have never heard, ‘We’re sorry.’ It matters. That’s why it’s important.”
Several San Quentin prisoners responded to Kirkpatrick’s apology.
“I had no respect for law enforcement until that lady got up there and said what she said,” Troy “Talib” Young said. “At 7-years-old, I watched my father being beat up by LAPD. Her apology changed my life.”
Timothy Hicks said, “I’m from Oakland. To know that she’s the chief of Oakland, my community, and to get a verbal apology – to have been harmed – to hear that from someone of such high ranking is humbling.”
Paul Salseda commented, “That was very profound because you can’t begin a healing process without an apology. We can’t even begin to move forward in our lives until we come to some type of repentance in our hearts and say ‘I’m sorry’ to our communities, our families. For someone at the top to express that is huge. We have the chief to say that and say when you come home; we have a spot for you in the community.”
Kevin Neang gave an apol- ogy to the victims of his crime and all the people that he hurt.
“It’s not the title that made it powerful,” Neang said. “She removed the chief label and just reminded us that we’re all human. The whole world — the system — wants us to be accountable and to hold your- self accountable; you have to see yourself as a human.”
Kirkpatrick responded, “My heart and soul is to heal all of us together. I do recog- nize that I’m in a chapel and I want us to have a future and hope. I want to be a part of the change.”
She added, “I know a fake. I can smell them from afar. I have no time or energy for cheap talk. We need to heal. Thank you, Kevin, for saying, ‘I’m sorry.’”
working with returned residents through Developing Impacted Lives (DIL).” She said she would accept suggestions from “anywhere and anyone” that would help pre- vent the youth from going to prison.
Benoit said he tells incarcerated youngsters who are struggling, “There’s a differ- ent path and a different way. You don’t have to wait; check out SQUIRES and KidCAT.”
Chambers asked, “What about the hard-headed kids. How could you get in their head?”
Benoit responded, “The only people who talked to me then were still doing wrong. So, the real issue is getting them talking to former or incarcerated people.”
Kenneth Vernon, 47, proposed teaching young people “emotional intelligence.”
He said he came to prison at age 23.
“At that time, nothing would have impacted my choice,” Vernon said.
He said emotional intelligence allows individuals to “recognize what you’re feeling in your body. If I would have had something like that in school, it would have been a great help.”
Also present was former San Quentin News staffer Miguel Quezada, who paroled almost two years ago.
“It’s going to get great out there,” said Quezada to the audience that included several men who did time with him. “It’s important for people to hear your voices and understand what you’re doing to get out of here.”
After Chambers observed there were “a lot of district attorneys in here,” the conversa- tion shifted to preventing the youth from coming to prison.
Isaiah Caldwell, a father of three, asked if someone like him, who is serving a life sentence, could collaborate with programs geared to serving at-risk youth.
“Can we talk to the youth and tell them what they’re facing?” Caldwell asked. “They would listen to us because our fathers were missing, too — they’ll listen to us.”
Troy Young got up again to talk about being a reformed gang member from Los Ange- les. He offered his life experience to share the realities of prison.
“We have to stop them out there,” Young said. He turned to the district attorneys and asked,“How can we work together?”
Jill Klinge, a top district attorney for Alameda County said, “In our office, we’re working with returned residents through Developing Impacted Lives (DIL).” She said she would accept suggestions from “anywhere and anyone” that would help prevent the youth from going to prison.
Kling spoke about SQUIRES, a program where troubled youth come into San Quentin for candid conversations and intense listening sessions with selected prisoners.
“But, the first thing is getting yourself established, and then come to us to help.” Klinge said to the men.
Some prisoners asked the district attorneys about pending legislation that would encourage younger prisoners to take an active role in rehabilitation.
“This bill can change the perspective from despair to hope,” said Romeo Baca about the California Senate Bill, which would give prison time reduction to individuals who committed their crime at a young age.
Baca said he came to prison at age 16.
“It was very frightening, but I acted like it wasn’t,” Baca said. “KidCAT helped me deal with prison. When you give kids opportunities, they won’t let you down.”
KidCAT (Creating Awareness Together) is a support community for men who committed their crimes at a young age, often as teenagers, and sentenced as adults to life terms. The group’s mission is to inspire humanity through education, mentorship and restorative practices.
Chase Benoit said he came to prison at age 19.
Benoit said he tells incarcerated youngsters who are struggling, “There’s a differ- ent path and a different way. You don’t have to wait; check out SQUIRES and KidCAT.”
Chambers asked, “What about the hard-headed kids. How could you get in their head?”
Benoit responded, “The only people who talked to me then were still doing wrong. So, the real issue is getting them talking to former or incarcerated people.”
Kenneth Vernon, 47, proposed teaching young people “emotional intelligence.”
He said he came to prison at age 23.
“At that time, nothing would have impacted my choice,” Vernon said.
He said emotional intelligence allows individuals to “recognize what you’re feel- ing in your body. If I would have had something like that in school, it would have been a great help.”
Also present was former San Quentin News staffer Miguel Quezada, who paroled almost two years ago.
“It’s going to get great out there,” said Quezada to the audience that included several men who did time with him. “It’s important for people to hear your voices and understand what you’re doing to get out of here.”
