On June 6th, 2015, Oakland Police responded to a call of 30 year-old Demouria Hogg asleep in his car near Lakeshore Avenue. After over an hour of trying unsuccessfully to wake him, the officers broke the driver‘s side window—two tasers and a firearm pointed directly at the then unconscious Demouria—with half of the officers shouting "don't move" and the other half yelling "put your hands up."

While officer Nicole Rhodes later said it was difficult for her to see through the glare on the windshield, she initially claimed she saw Demouria reaching for a firearm and discharged her weapon into his chest, where a bullet lodged in his spine. They proceeded to pull Demouria's body through the window, where he was handcuffed before receiving any medical attention. 

Demouria was a beloved son, an older brother, and a father of three. His family waited over year for officer Rhodes' name to be released, and an additional two years for the body camera footage to become public-- well after a settlement had already been reached. 

We want officer Rhodes removed from the force, and charged with felony official misconduct and second degree murder. Nicole Rhodes is still an officer for the OPD, currently policing the protests in Oakland to address widespread police brutality. We need 22,000 signatures, which is 10% of the registered voters in Oakland, to pass ballot initiatives related to police defunding, abolition, and reform. However, we need as many signatures as possible to make Demouria’s name a name that our elected officials cannot ignore. It’s been five years since this negligence and misconduct from the OPD resulted in Demouria’s untimely death, but black lives never stop mattering.