Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley has dropped criminal charges against 14 Black Lives Matter protesters who stopped a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train on Black Friday 2014, disrupting transit and stranding thousands of shoppers for hours. The Black Friday protest was part of nationwide actions protesting the refusal of grand juries to indict police officers for the murders of unarmed African Americans.
Bay Area faith leaders held a rally and ritual for the group this past November, calling on O’Malley to drop the charges against the group. Organized labor in the Bay Area also lent its support. A delegation of union leaders sat in at O’Malley’s office the same day as nationwide “Fight for 15” activities were being held in support of a $15 an hour minimum wage.
A press release from the district attorney’s office stated in part that the decision to drop the charges against the 14 participants who were arrested was due in part to their willingness to engage in a “restorative justice process:”
Throughout the year, the District Attorney has sought to come to a satisfactory and meaningful resolution that would accomplish several goals:
- That the “Black Friday Protests” would not interfere with BART service over the 2015 Thanksgiving Holiday
- That the protesters acknowledge that the method in which they carried out their protest impacted the Bay Area and was a violation of the statute governing the safe and efficient operation of public transportation
- That the protesters engage in a meaningful restorative justice process focusing on the impact their conduct had on other individuals and the escalated threat to public safety. At the same time, the process would include a substantive dialogue about the issues raised by Black Lives Matter
According to a statement posted on Facebook, the district attorney had sought to have the Black Friday 14 pay $70,000 in restitution to BART. The statement also said the group would continue to bring attention to the plight of Black lives:
Our criminal case is over, but the war on Black lives remains. There can be no business as usual while young Black men and women, cis and trans, young and old are murdered with impunity by police officers, security guards, and vigilantes. The police remain an occupying force in our communities.