A press conference and rally was held in Oakland early Tuesday night and is just one in series of rallies held by the Blueford family, attorneys, and supporters held in recent weeks. It comes nearly two weeks after a report from the district attorney's office that concluded the police officer who shot the 18-year-old Blueford did so while reasonably fearing for his life. Therefore, District Attorney Nancy O'Malley stated she would not pursue criminal charges against Officer Miguel Masso.
This report from O'Malley's office also found that Blueford had pointed a gun at police during a foot chase. Now, attorneys for Blueford's family have now completed their own eight-page study which calls the district attorney's report "shoddy" and questions both the officer's use of deadly force and his effort to detain Blueford in the first place.
"We find that the district attorney's report is shoddy, unprofessional and we think it's a disgrace that the district attorney and Alameda County would come out with such a report that is so clearly biased. A conclusion seems to have been reached before they wrote up the report and they selected a few bits of evidence to support that conclusion," said Walter Riley, an attorney for Blueford's family.
Blueford's mother, Jaralynn, and his father, Adam Blueford, was at the rally Tuesday night. The family and the attorneys maintain Blueford did not have a gun when he was shot by Officer Masso, although a gun was found at the scene according to police.
Blueford's supporters hand-delivered their report to O'Malley's office and they want the district attorney to reconsider her decision not to charge the police officer. We spoke with a representative of her office and that person said O'Malley's Oct. 3rd report is her last word on the matter.
