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Indybay Feature

Vigil for Yuvette Henderson, Gunned Down by Emeryville Police in Oakland, 2/3/15: photos

by Dave Id
Nearly a hundred people turned out for a vigil for Yuvette Henderson, a 38-year-old African American mother of two who was gunned down by Emeryville police on Hollis Street, just inside of Oakland city limits. A small memorial created shortly after her death grew with more candles and flowers as people began to arrive around 7:30pm for the vigil at 34th Street and Hollis. An hour later, perhaps two thirds of those gathered proceeded to march to the Home Depot and Pak N Save/Safeway in Emeryville before returning to the memorial. By that time, police had left the area and those remaining walked over to the ExtraSpace Storage facility where Yuvette was killed and inspected the scene of the shooting, finding bullet holes in a metal garage door and some blood and flesh left on the pavement.
800_yvettehenderson-emeryvillevigil_20150203_001.jpg
[“R.I.P. Yvette” sign at the memorial on the corner of 34th Street and Hollis. TRIGGER WARNING: Two final photos below depict flesh and blood remaining at the scene.]



The Anti-Police Terrorism Project (APTP) issued the call-out for the vigil to be held just hours after Yuvette was killed. The APTP recently initiated and helped organize the "Reclaim MLK" 96 hours of action in the Bay Area. Friends of Yuvette attended the vigil and said she carried a gun because she was in a domestic violence situation, but they couldn't imagine her pulling a gun outside.

<< FEB 4 UPDATE: Police are now accusing Yuvette of attempting to carjack three vehicles before they shot her down -- see details below photos. >>

The story of her death as told by police on the day Yuvette was killed is that at 12:35pm on February 3 someone called police to report a “combative” shoplifting suspect in Emeryville, then called police a second time to say the woman had a gun and had left the store. Police reportedly found the same woman a block away on the other side of Interstate 580 in Oakland and proceeded to gun her down. The police did not name the woman or her race, or the store involved in the incident, but they have said that two officers found the woman and shot her. Police have not specified whether both officers fired their weapons or said how many shots were fired, and they claimed not to know whether either of the officers were wearing video cameras. While police do say vaguely that a gun was supposedly found in the vicinity, they have not stated that Yuvette drew a gun or pointed it at officers. Most notably on the day of the shooting, police failed to offer any justification as to why Yuvette was executed. Normally, the post-shooting police script would require them to claim that Yuvette pointed a weapon at them, or appeared to have a gun in her hand, or that she was reaching for her waistband, etc.

One witness in a corporate media report described how Yuvette tried to wave down a passing bus: "The girl did not have no gun. She was waving her hands." Another witness named Russ Whitehead was almost killed by the hail of police fire that shattered his car windows with him inside, police only showing concern for his safety after they had killed Yuvette. That same witness reported five or six police officers shouting at Yuvette before she was gunned down.

Those present at the vigil were highly skeptical of the police version of events based on the regular lies so many police departments have told after shooting down African American men and women in the past. One point raised was that there is a video camera just above a garage door right next to the garage door that had the most bullet holes and markings, suggesting that the reason police have not claimed Yuvette pointed a gun at them is because they know she didn’t, and that the ExtraSpace Storage surveillance camera will bare that out if it was functioning and pointing in the right direction at the time.

The only clues to date about which specific officer or officers fired their weapons come from two witnesses to the immediate aftermath of the shooting. One witness at the vigil said that a female officer after the shooting was holding her hands to her face, seemingly shaken and aghast at what she had participated in. A report online shows a photograph of a female officer whose identity other officers were attempting to conceal as she left the scene.

After the vigil, upon inspecting the garage door showing the most bullet marks, it became apparent to those present that at least two weapons were fired at Yuvette, a shotgun and a handgun or rifle. (A witness at the vigil reported seeing an AR-15 or M15 held by police.) Numerous small holes and dimples in the door suggested they were the result of shotgun pellets. It appeared that two shotgun rounds had been fired based on separate groupings of the smaller markings. At least four or five notably larger holes were seen in the garage door #107 at ExtraSpace Storage. There were also similar small dimples in the door to the left and larger chips missing from the cinderblock walls surrounding the doors.

The Oakland fire department truck that backed into the garage alcove to hose down the scene of the killing did a haphazard job, leaving broken glass and grisly bits of blood and flesh in the garage alcove parking area and in the street gutter where the water from their “clean-up” flowed. It appeared that Emeryville police literally shot Yuvette to pieces. [WARNING: Final two photos below depict this.]

Separately, on the same afternoon, Contra Costa County sheriff’s deputies shot and killed an as yet unnamed man in Antioch and police in St. Louis, Missouri killed 23-year-old Ledarius D. Williams. The two Bay Area killings happened within minutes of each other. The killing in St. Louis is said to have happened at about 3:30pm CST.

At the vigil there were discussions about possible future demonstrations in and around Emeryville.

§Policing Execution Style
by Dave Id
800_yvettehenderson-emeryvillevigil_20150203_006.jpg
§Marching south on San Pablo
by Dave Id
800_yvettehenderson-emeryvillevigil_20150203_011.jpg
800_yvettehenderson-emeryvillevigil_20150203_013.jpg
There were other holes and markings on this door, chips on nearby walls, and marks on the door to the left not shown here, but this is the primary grouping.
In a press conference today at Emeryville police headquarters, police said they shot at Yuvette "at least" 12 times after she pointed a gun at them, according to corporate media reports. (The report was later updated to read "at least seven" shots.)

Police said one of the officers was indeed wearing a body camera but did not turn it on until after the killing.

Police also presented a new accusation against Yuvette, that she tried to carjack three cars. It's typical for police to build up a case against the people they kill after the fact. Happens all the time, probably almost every time. Sometimes it takes them a few days to really crank up the heat.

It's hard to figure how they can make such a declaration about multiple attempted carjackings, though, considering that the Home Depot is only a block from where Yuvette was gunned down.

At least one witness said Yuvette tried to wave down a bus but it didn't stop. Was that the first supposed carjacking?

The witness named Russ Whitehead who had his car windows shot out by police while he was inside the car said no such thing yesterday, only that he heard Yuvette yelling. In media interviews it sounded like he had a friend with him who had another car. Were those the second and third supposed carjackings?

Today, in a new interview published in another corporate outlet, Whitehead, who has been interviewed repeatedly by other outlets and didn't mentioned it before, says Yuvette pointed a gun at his partner before police killed her.

But Whitehead also said that as he returned to pick up his car from the storage facility, he was confronted by protesters, some of whom yelled threats and profanity at him and would not allow him to move his car. Others who witnessed Whitehead near the vigil say that is completely made up, not even close to true. Apparently, Whitehead approached the vigil and taunted people, saying that Yuvette was a thief and police did their job.

If Whitehead is lying about protesters not letting him move his car, what else is he lying about?
Add Your Comments

Comments (Hide Comments)
by Eric Clausen
I am Russ whiteheads friend Eric We grew up in Oakland and were here even before the freeways were built needless to say a long time. I saw more than anyone there and was at the homicide dept. in Oakland when all the media was there. The woman who was shot WAS holdionfg a gun and it was pointed at mewhen she tried to get in my truck the only saving grace for me was that I couldn't understand what she was yelling at me about and she thought she's be better off hiding by my friend Russ's car. When the police saw that Russ was in his car
they went to a different angle of attack to avoid hitting him he ducked thank god. This happened at around 12:45 at 9:30 we were able to get Russ's car that's when we passed several bikes on 40th st. they ended up at the crime scene after the fact. I asked them what was going on one of them said "a woman was killed here" I said" I know I was there so what are you doing?" "We are protesting the police" I said "that woman had a gun and she was hollering and pointing the gun at me, those police saved our lives" they were all young white kids in the early twenties not from that area they started yelling things at us like screw you and worse which I won't mention. Russ grabbed my shoulder and dragged me off.
by ntuit
Guess those young white kids don't know their place. They should only stay in their "area." Is that correct? Sad, sad comment on your part. Most of the police are not from the areas they invade but that's ok I guess.

Guess police did their job according to your mentality Eric. Since the fox guarding the chicken house is always the one who investigates the dead chickens, we never get the real story. Police practices seem to accelerate confrontation and end in needless tragedy. Do they ever step back and assess the situation or call for assistance and wait a while? They obviously don't have time to turn their cameras on. Police are also trained to kill when they could maim or disable a person. That's not too cool in my book.

America is a violent dystopia and the 1% are not doing anything to make it a place worth living for most of us. Police work for the 1%. I say no death at the hands of the police should go unchallenged by people. We sure as hell know our elected officials don't do anything or even seem to care. And we know that most illegal and unjustified police violence goes unchecked in our system.
by Doremus Jessup
Yet you're unwilling to entertain maybe in this case the police were not overreacting to someone threatening them with a gun. The person criticizing Eric Clausen probably wasn't there. Are you really saying the police are never justified using lethal force when threatened with lethal force? Because if you are that's sad.
by Eric Clausen
I'm just mentioning the young white kids from "privilege" (one of their cut downs yelled at me was "I smell privilege here") like "?" what's that all about? The one who smelt it delt it dude.
What I'm saying is one a skinny pencil neck geek has way oversize balls standing in a crowd of 100 and that they will go somewhere else to wreak havoc. For example: the place where I grew up in Oakland flat lands, people from Walnut creek would come to town and throw their trash evrywhere around our house one night I opened opened the door and a guy was pissing on our step. He wouldn't do that in his neighborhood.
by (a)
"Are you really saying the police are never justified using lethal force when threatened with lethal force?"

-Wow, smarty pants, you finally figured it out! Yes, that is exactly what we are saying. You can come up with all the hypotheticals you want: "man holding his domestic abuse victim hostage", "man shooting up elementary school", etc. NONE of those instances justify the use of force by the state. NONE.

RIP Yvette. FTP.
by ntuit
That I know of Yvette never fired a shot or killed anyone. "Eyewitness" is still around to tell his story and play his cop loving role. Yvette on the other hand is cut down in a hail of bullets by our "peace keepers".

The people from Walnut Creek have obviously left more than their trash in your "area" - they have left their mentality.

I'm curious what brought Eric to this site to post and it seems like his mentality is not in union with the people who use Indybay??? Not that I don't welcome debate and I respect that he went through a lot just being a part of all of this violence. Probably witnessing the extreme police violence put him in a state of PTSD where he knew that he had better get on board with the cops - after all...look what they do to troubled people.

Just another day in the American dystopia.
by (a)
"Yvette on the other hand is cut down in a hail of bullets by our "peace keepers". "

-That's exactly how it went down. She didn't shoot anyone. All she did was go into Home Depot and point a gun at people. How did they know it wasn't fake or wasn't defending herself from potential attack by one of the storeworkers? Did they bother to ask her if it was a real gun? Did they ask her politely to put her gun down or did they just start yelling at her right away in an intimidating fashion? Did they ask her if she had mental issues? Why did the passersby not let her borrow their car if she was scared by the police? Bourgeois "my property, not yours" mentality that is taking over the Bay Area these days.

So many questions about this story...
Yvette didn't shoot at anyone. She ran from the cops. And the cops blew her away.

About two weeks earlier not far from where Yvette was killed, a white guy chased down two plainclothes cops. He shot at them, they didn't shoot back, and he was later arrested.



Man accused of shooting at plainclothes deputies in Oakland
Bay City News
Thursday, January 29, 2015
http://abc7news.com/news/man-accused-of-shooting-at-detectives-in-oakland/496385/

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Alameda County sheriff's officials have identified a man who allegedly shot at two plainclothes deputies while they were conducting surveillance on a suspected marijuana grow in West Oakland Wednesday afternoon.

Sebastian Ledwick, a 33-year-old resident of Castro Valley, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and shooting into an occupied vehicle, according to sheriff's Sgt. Ray Kelly.

Around 3:15 p.m. Wednesday, two plainclothes detectives were conducting surveillance in the 1100 block of 28th Street near Adeline Street when Ledwick allegedly fired a shot into their unmarked vehicle, causing the deputies to flee the scene.

"The guy related to the grow chases them down, points a handgun at them and fires a bullet," Kelly said Wednesday afternoon. "It hits their car, they get out of the way into a safe area, then they come back and catch the guy."



Pot growing suspect held for allegedly shooting at deputies
By Henry Lee
Published 4:30 pm, Thursday, January 29, 2015
http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Pot-growing-suspect-held-for-allegedly-shooting-6049704.php

An suspected marijuana grower arrested for allegedly firing shots at undercover Alameda County sheriff’s deputies in West Oakland may not have realized he was targeting law-enforcement officers, authorities said Thursday.

But Sebastian Ledwick, 33, of Castro Valley was taken into custody for the attack on two plainclothes detectives who had been staking out a marijuana grow operation at a warehouse in West Oakland, said sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Kelly.

The incident on Wednesday began as the two undercover detectives were staking out the warehouse on the 1100 block of 28th Street. Ledwick spotted the two men and may have thought they were out to rob him, authorities said.

The two deputies left in their car, only to be chased by Ledwick in his car, Kelly said. The suspect pulled up to the deputies near 24th and Market streets and opened fire, authorities said. The bullet lodged into the passenger side of the car and didn’t hit the detectives, who did not return fire, Kelly said.

Ledwick returned to the warehouse and was arrested, Kelly said. The high-powered handgun he allegedly used in the shooting was recovered, authorities said.

Ledwick was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and drug and weapons violations. He was being held at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin in lieu of $150,000 bail.
by Eric Clausen
Well I've gotten back to work and PTS is getting better so I probably won't post any more since i seem to be the black sheep. I think the cops did what they did because she was very irrational and yelling out of her head. I couldn't understand what she was saying,it was like she was talking in tongues If she simply said "get out of your car" I would have.
I was held up at gunpoint a few years back when I used to swim at Temescal pool the guy was calm and said "give me all your money" I gave it to him he then had my wife and I lay face down in the street it felt like an execution we were scared but did what he said. This time ws different she was scary out of her mind. I just wish she'd thrown down that gun she'd possibly had a chance at a better life. That's all folks.
by APTP first response team (aptp.communityresponseteam [at] gmail.com)
The Anti Police-Terror Project first response team is looking for eyewitnesses of the killing of Yvette Henderson, for the purposes of independent people's investigation, family, and community support. If you have witnessed the shooting and are willing to provide a witness statement, please contact us.
by Henry Lee, Chron
Take police and corporate media statements with a huge grain of salt.


Emeryville officers in death of woman identified
By Henry K. Lee
Updated 2:10 pm, Saturday, February 7, 2015

Police officials have released the names of two Emeryville officers who shot and killed a woman after they say she pointed a gun at them after stealing from a store and trying to carjack three motorists.

On Friday, authorities also confirmed the identity of the slain woman as 38-year-old Yuvette Henderson of Oakland.

Officers Michelle Shepherd and Warren Williams, both seven-year veterans, opened fire on Henderson after police said she pointed a gun at them Tuesday in front of Extra Space Storage at 3406 Hollis St. in Oakland, just over the Emeryville border.

The shooting happened shortly after Henderson was caught stealing knives that she had hidden under her purse in a shopping cart at a Home Depot store, police said.

Two loss-prevention officers confronted Henderson outside the store at 3838 Hollis St., Chief Ken James said. She refused to come back with them, reached into her purse and pulled out what turned out to be a gun under a towel, authorities said. The loss-prevention officers let her go and called police.

Henderson fled south on Hollis and tried to carjack three motorists at gunpoint, police said. Shepherd and Williams found her near the storage center and opened fire after she brandished the gun, police said. She died at the scene. A loaded revolver was found nearby, James said.

The woman didn’t fire any shots. Police gunfire struck at least one vehicle, the chief said.

Shepherd fired one shot that apparently didn’t strike Henderson, while Williams fired six shots from an AR-15 rifle, said the officers’ attorney, Steven Betz. Williams believed the gunfire struck Henderson in the head and arm, Betz said.

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