Wheeled protest: Caravan of demonstrators rolls into Danville, calling for reforms at home of Contra Costa County sheriff.
Caravan rolls into Danville demanding police reform
Michael Edwards stood in his driveway and watched as car after car honked their horns and waved signs calling for justice and defunding police, eventually parking in front of the house of his neighbor — Contra Costa County Sheriff Dave Livingston.
The noisy but peaceful Black Lives Matter protest didn’t bother 73yearold Edwards, who moved next door to the East Bay sheriff’s twostory home on a quiet Danville street about a year ago.
“Here in the middle of this protest we have another dead man in
Atlanta,” said Edwards, standing on his driveway and referring to the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks by an Atlanta police officer. “I think if anything is going to happen, we need a change of police union leadership.”
Dozens of protesters met in a parking lot in the affluent suburb Monday afternoon and a caravan slowly drove a few miles to Livingston’s quiet street. A sheriff ’s office helicopter circled, as well as three department drones, monitoring
the queue of cars that parked on the street. A few emus and goats watched from another neighbor’s small ranch.
“We can no longer wait on individuals like the sheriff to come to us, we need to go to them and make them feel uncomfortable,” said Tamisha Walker, a 38yearold Antioch resident who helped organize the event. “I think we need a new sheriff, a more progressive sheriff.”
Melvin Willis, a Richmond city councilman and protest organizer, said the sheriff ’s budget keeps ballooning, while important programs aren’t funded.
“We have been to the county board of supes, we’ve been to the streets of Martinez, we’ve been to his office before,” Willis said. “We feel like our voices are not being heard.”
Willis wants funding to be shifted to fight homelessness, youth programs, mental health and other community programs.
As protesters spoke outside the sheriff ’s home, Livingston was in his Martinez office, sheriff ’s spokesman Jimmy Lee said.
“I think today was a winwin,” Lee said, praising the peaceful protest.
“I think the only objection by the sheriff is it’s one thing to protest his role as the sheriff, but to take it to his home, it starts to affect his family, community and neighbors,” Lee said. “He felt that was offensive and wrong.”
Lee said a significant amount of sheriff funding goes to community programs, but the department is discussing policy changes internally — “It’s safe to say law enforcement is listening.”
Lee said he would look into the cost of dispatching the department helicopter to monitor Livingston’s house, but said the aircraft is often used during protests.
“It wouldn’t be any different than any other protest,” Lee said, comparing it to recent Walnut Creek protests.
No uniformed officers were visible at the protest, but the helicopter and drones were noticed by Walker.
“We’re highly surveilled already,” she said. “I expected that from law enforcement. The No. 1 priority is protecting property, not black people.”
Damon Owens, pastor of Genesis Church in Antioch, said the department needs to improve.
“I do have a problem with the lack of proper policing when it comes to people who look like me,” said Owens, who is black. “Change your behavior. Change your view with how you deal with people who look like me.”