The Riders Come Out At Night: Brutality, Corruption and Cover-Up in Oakland

Please join KPFA at The Back Room on Tuesday, February 7th at 7:00 PM when we welcome the dynamic duo of Ali Winston and Darwin BondGraham to celebrate the release of their ferocious work of long-form investigative journalism, The Riders Come Out At Night: Brutality, Corruption and Cover-Up in Oakland. This live and in-person event will feature Ali Winston and Darwin BondGraham in conversation with KPFA’s Davey D, host of Hard Knock Radio.

From the Polk Award–winning investigative duo comes a critical look at the systematic corruption and brutality within the Oakland Police Department, and the more than two-decades-long saga of attempted reforms and explosive scandals.

Reporters Winston and BondGraham debut with a comprehensive look at why the Oakland, Calif., police department has been under federal oversight for two decades, longer than any other department in the country… this impressive work of reportage highlights the challenges of changing police culture. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

A fiercely argued case that the police can’t be trusted to police themselves—and that such policing is essential. KIRKUS REVIEWS

No municipality has been under court oversight to reform its police department as long as the city of Oakland. It is, quite simply, the edge case in American law enforcement.

The Riders Come Out at Night is the culmination of over twenty-one years of fearless reporting. Ali Winston and Darwin BondGraham shine a light on the jackbooted police culture, lack of political will, and misguided leadership that have conspired to stymie meaningful reform. The authors trace the history of Oakland since its inception through the lens of the city’s police department, through the Palmer Raids, McCarthyism, and the Civil Rights struggle, the Black Panthers and crack eras, to Oakland’s present-day revival.

Readers will be introduced to a group of sadistic cops known as “The Riders,” whose disregard for the oath they took to protect and serve is on full, tragic, infuriating display. They will also meet Keith Batt, a wide-eyed rookie cop turned whistleblower, who was unwittingly partnered with the leader of the Riders. Other compelling characters include Jim Chanin and John Burris, two civil rights attorneys determined to see reform through, in spite of all obstacles. And Oakland’s deep history of law enforcement corruption, reactionary politics, and social movement organizing is retold through historical figures like Black Panther Huey Newton, drug kingpin Felix Mitchell, district attorney and future Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren, and Mayor Jerry Brown.

The Riders Come Out at Night is the story of one city and its police department, but it’s also the story of American policing—and where it’s headed.

Ali Winston is an independent reporter covering criminal justice, privacy, and surveillance. His work has been rewarded with several awards, including the George Polk Award for local reporting in 2017. Ali is a graduate of the University of Chicago and the University of California, Berkeley. He lives in New York.

Darwin BondGraham has reported on gun violence for The Guardian and was an enterprise reporter for the East Bay Express. BondGraham’s work has also appeared with ProPublica and other leading national and local outlets. He holds a doctorate in sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and was the co-recipient of the George Polk Award for local reporting in 2017. He lives in Oakland, California.

Davey D is multi-media journalist, professor, hip-hop historian, radio show host, dj, activist, speaker, and commentator with a long history of playing and reporting on hip hop, fostering community awareness and involvement, and questioning structures of power and is the host of KPFA’s long-running show, Hard Knock Radio.

DETAILS:

Ali Winston and Darwin BondGraham for The Riders Come Out at Night

Date: Tuesday, February 7th at 7:00 PM

Location: The Back Room 1984 Bonita Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704

Admission: $20 with a limited number of discounted tickets available for students and fiscally challenged.

Media Contact: Kevin Hunsanger, KPFA Radio: [email protected] 510-684-3401

Host or Publisher KPFA Radio 94.1 FM