Oakland Housing Authority

The black-and-white videotape, at times blurred, shows a figure in shadow, on his back, arms loosely outstretched. A police officer with the Oakland Housing Authority steps out of his car, orders the man to roll over on the sidewalk, and, kicking him in the ribs, yells: "Don't you ever raise your hands to me again." The videotape--shot more than a year ago during an investigation by the Oakland Police Department--is at the center of a U. S.

Federal prosecutors this week quietly dropped plans to prosecute two of the six Oakland Housing Authority police officers accused of conspiring to violate the civil rights of housing project residents. U.S. District Judge Fern Smith dismissed outright the case against Dennis L. Carter, 47, and will dismiss the case against Antoine E. Fisher, 30, in the next few weeks, according to Karen Snell, Fisher's attorney.

Federal prosecutors this week quietly dropped plans to prosecute two of the six Oakland Housing Authority police officers accused of conspiring to violate the civil rights of housing project residents. U.S. District Judge Fern Smith dismissed outright the case against Dennis L. Carter, 47, and will dismiss the case against Antoine E. Fisher, 30, in the next few weeks, according to Karen Snell, Fisher's attorney.

A U. S. District Court jury on Friday found four former Oakland Housing Authority police officers guilty of conspiring to make false arrests and to beat and intimidate residents in a case that stemmed from the largest federal probe of a police agency in Northern California.

A U. S. District Court jury on Friday found four former Oakland Housing Authority police officers guilty of conspiring to make false arrests and to beat and intimidate residents in a case that stemmed from the largest federal probe of a police agency in Northern California.

An investigation into reports of brutality and corruption in a special police force that patrols Oakland's low-income housing projects has resulted in federal civil rights charges against a supervisor and five officers.

A U. S. District Court jury on Friday found four former Oakland Housing Authority police officers guilty of conspiring to make false arrests and to beat and intimidate residents in a case that stemmed from the largest federal probe of a police agency in Northern California.

To loud applause, the City Council unanimously approved an ordinance Tuesday that would require city departments that deal with the public to provide translators and translated materials in languages other than English. "It's the right thing to do," said council President Ignacio De La Fuente. "We are fulfilling our responsibility to provide equal access." "For people like us in the lower income levels, this is happy news," said resident Dong Hua Chen, speaking through a translator.

Stiff prison sentences were handed to two former Oakland Housing Authority officers Friday for beatings and corruption. One of them, Juan Dale Reese, 31, said they were being unfairly singled out. He agreed police brutality is a problem but said "making an example of us is not the cure." He was sentenced to 7 1/4 years in federal prison.

Public housing officials can no longer evict tenants simply because members of their household or guests illegally used drugs, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. The 7-4 decision by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an eviction policy announced by former President Bill Clinton in 1996.

The black-and-white videotape, at times blurred, shows a figure in shadow, on his back, arms loosely outstretched. A police officer with the Oakland Housing Authority steps out of his car, orders the man to roll over on the sidewalk, and, kicking him in the ribs, yells: "Don't you ever raise your hands to me again." The videotape--shot more than a year ago during an investigation by the Oakland Police Department--is at the center of a U. S.

From his cramped living room 13 floors above the midday growl of downtown traffic, 75-year-old Herman Walker wonders what he'll do if he's thrown out of his public housing apartment. Walker is one of millions of tenants subject to a federal "one-strike" drug law that can result in eviction for the wrongdoing of visitors or relatives. Officials say they found crack cocaine or crack pipes on three visits to Walker's apartment. His caretaker and a friend were arrested on drug charges.

Federal officials have announced plans to cut the operating budgets of hundreds of public housing agencies nationwide by 30%, a move that some say could force layoffs and a decline in services to residents of public housing. For the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, the cuts mean about a $7.8-million loss from a $26.1-million annual operating budget. The Los Angeles County Community Development Commission, which serves as the county's housing agency, could lose $1.