| San
Francisco Bay View
july
9, 2003
Arts leader
arrested at arraignment of driver who killed Malonga
by Malaika
Kambon
Oakland – The situation with the murder of Malonga Casquelourd,
world renowned and beloved founder of the drum and dance troupe Fua
Dia Congo, might turn into a much larger monster than it already
is. Malonga died on Father’s Day in a head-on collision
with a car being driven the wrong way on a one-way street
by a man who
boasted about being drunk.
At Thursday’s arraignment of the driver, Martin Burgermyer,
not only did he post $80,000 bail like it was bus fare, but there
is a suspicion that a white male who could have close ties to Burgermyer’s
family provoked an incident which resulted in the publicist
for the Alice Arts Center, Theo Williams, being captured
for assault.
Williams
is Afrikan.
The “assault,” which
was witnessed by at least three or four people, consisted of
Theo and the white male,
identified
by the Chronicle as Scott H., a bail bondsman, bumping
into each other in passing during the flow of foot
traffic into and out
of the courtroom. Theo
kept going. People bump into people every day.
Mr. H.,
however, immediately attempted to provoke a fight by pursuing
Mr. Williams through the flow
of
human traffic.
Failing
in his
efforts to provoke a fight, he went and got three
cops so that he could make
a citizen’s arrest. This guy was hostile
to the max, as was the Asian cop who jumped all
over
Mr. Williams.
I did not
see the actual bumping incident. But I did see the cop with
the brotha jacked up against
the wall
telling
him
that he “did
not have the right to disrespect people.” Well, cops do not
have a right to disrespect people either, and from where I was standing,
Mr. Williams’ rights were definitely being
disrespected.
The short
version is that Theo Williams was taken into custody - as were
his notes and
everything
he had on
him - except
that he managed
to give someone his car keys.
This is
a wake-up call: when in the house of the enemy, always be aware.
Know who is around
you.
Do not enter
into such
places with
big bags, backpacks etc. Situations can turn
volatile.
The beast
just loves to confiscate address and notebooks, pagers, cell
phones, any and
everything
it can to
be up on what people
may be thinking, doing and planning. Then
the next thing you know, they’re
posted at your house or job and coming
through your front door.
The prevailing
opinion was that Theo would be cited and released. Such was
not the
case. A
$1,500 ransom
and
over 24 hours
elapsed before he was on his way home.
Several people stayed up all
night and most of the next day to secure
his release. Luckily this occurred
before he could be whisked away to Santa
Rita.
Burgermyer,
who is being charged with vehicular manslaughter and felony
DUI,
entered a
plea of not guilty.
His actions
caused a death. He bragged about his drunkenness. He is out
on
bail. The mysterious
Mr. H. has, to this
reporter’s
mind, assaulted and tried to countercharge the Afrikan community
and one of its respected members with a suspiciously malicious “assault” for
being bumped into. Mr. Williams was
captured. His immediate physical
liberty had to be ransomed. He
now has a case.
People
were being quite calm until this happened. But there is a lot
of obvious
outrage simmering
right under
the surface.
The Casquelourd
family attorney, Phillip J. Kaplan of Los Angeles,
says that
he will prosecute
the
attack upon
Theo
Williams as
vigorously as he intends to prosecute
Martin Burgermyer for the vehicular
murder of Malonga Casquelourd.
I wanted
to get a good look at Burgermyer. I did. He acts as
if he is a total
space cadet. I looked
at Mr.
H. He
is exceptionally
hostile
and could be a serious racist.
A look
into both of their backgrounds seems in order. Martin Burgermyer
has a 1998
speeding conviction and seems
inclined to incidences of
braggadocio and inebriation
while driving.
It would
be interesting to learn, by way of something
similar to
a Pitchess
motion
for
obtaining discovery
of the personnel
records
of abusive police, if either
or both Messrs. H. and
Burgermyer have other
histories
of random violence,
abuse, violence
against Afrikan
people, alcoholism or vehicular
incidents.
Revoking
Burgermyer’s license indefinitely and freeing him
on bail seems light. He’s
graduated to the big
time: from speeding to
killing while bragging
and drinking. Rambo
in a car.
Triumphal
in the process of impaired
thinking while robbing
our international community
of one of its brightest
and most vibrant stars.
I would
like to know how Martin is getting
around
these days.
Logic says that anyone
who can easily
post $80,000
bail is
not in the habit
of taking the bus.
Is he driving on the under?
The leaflet
put out by Malonga’s family inviting people to
come to the arraignment specifically requested that “those
in attendance remain respectful and quiet.” People were quiet.
People were respectful. Yet as the courtroom filled with Malonga’s
friends, relatives and supporters, “keep your cell phones turned
off” morphed into “anyone causing a disturbance
will cause the future exclusion of the public as
well as the clearing
of the courtroom.”
People
spoke with Deputy District Attorney
Ann
Kenfield. Theo
Williams was standing
right next
to me, in front
of the DA,
asking questions
and taking notes.
Calmly. Respectfully.
Professionally.
Then suddenly
he was whisked away
and jailed
for “bumping into” -
and thereby “assaulting” -
a mysterious
white male. What
was respectful
about that?
The preliminary
hearing for
Burgermeyer is
set for Aug.
20 in the same
building and
courtroom.
Perhaps Judge
Allan Hymer
will again
preside. There
will likely
be more police.
Yet Thursday’s incidents, coupled with Malonga’s murder,
Mayor Jerry Brown’s recent attack upon the Alice Arts Center,
his police force’s attacks upon the Afrikan and Latino children
March 5 - and the SF Bay View in the persons of JR and Ra’shida,
his attacks upon the anti-war protesters and the union dockworkers
April 7, the Secret Service interrogations of Oakland High School
students, the jurors in the Oakland PD “Riders” police
corruption trial being admonished about using “vulgar comments” about
the “Riders,” and Brown’s
forcing out
of office
Oakland City
Manager Robert
Bobb and
Oakland
Parks and
Recreation
Director
Dr. Harry
Edwards,
tells me
that something
is going
on. The Oakland
and international
arts communities
and Afrikan
communities
are still
under attack.
Council
member Larry Reid,
representing
Elmhurst
and East
Oakland,
was livid
at Robert
Robb’s firing and accused Brown of repeatedly “disrespecting” Afrikan
people
and of
an inability
to handle
strong
Afrikan
men - particularly
when they
will not
sell their
souls.
Malonga
Casquelourd
was a
very strong
Afrikan
man.
He is
a very strong
egungun
(ancestor).
He did
not sell
his soul.
Jerry
could
not deal with
that.
Jerry
Brown
said
at
the church
service
during
Malonga’s funeral
that Malonga had given him “a piece of his mind” about
his attempts to take the Alice and that he should “leave the
Alice alone.” Jerry announced at the service that he had decided
to “leave the Alice Arts Center alone.”
I do
not
believe
that.
I
believe
that
Jerry
will
find
another
way
to
acquire
what
he
wants.
What
I
really want
to
know
is
why
Malonga
Casquelourd
had
to
die
before
Jerry
Brown
would
commit
to
leaving
the
Alice
Arts
Center
alone?
Email
Malaika at
kambonrb@pacbell.net.
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