Rosebud Denovo
Encyclopedia
Rosebud Abigail Denovo (born Laura Marie Miller) (? - d. August 25, 1992) was a 20 year old street activist who had previously been involved during the 1991 riots at People's Park
in Berkeley, California
. She was arrested and released after police allegedly found gunpowder at a campsite she shared with a boyfriend in the Berkeley hills. She was pending trial on those charges at the time of her death.
On August 25, 1992, Denovo broke into the residence of Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien
on the UC Berkeley campus
at 5:50 am, triggering a silent alarm that summoned the University of California Police Department
(UCPD), who escorted Tien and his wife safely off the premises. The UCPD then sent five Oakland Police Department officers and dogs into the house, and the officers shot and killed Denovo after she allegedly lunged at them with a machete. Though the machete was in her possession, the police version remains highly controversial. The autopsy indicated that at least one of the bullets entered her from the back, but that could have happened when she was trying to attack another officer.
Denovo's killing triggered further protests as some believed that the police entry was contrary to customary police procedure. Normal procedure when an armed, disturbed person is in a house, but not endangering anyone, is to negotiate with the person from the outside. Some felt that the police had to act because Denovo did not communicate after breaking into the house. People also criticized the UCPD and the OPD because the officer who shot Denovo had been the subject of previous citizen complaints alleging excessive force, but jurisprudence does not allow past actions to be used as evidence against current action. While many complained and protested, no one could ever prove police misconduct.
People's Park (Berkeley)
People's Park in Berkeley, California, USA, is a park off Telegraph Avenue, bounded by Haste and Bowditch streets and Dwight Way, near the University of California, Berkeley. The park was created during the radical political activism of the late 1960s....
in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
. She was arrested and released after police allegedly found gunpowder at a campsite she shared with a boyfriend in the Berkeley hills. She was pending trial on those charges at the time of her death.
On August 25, 1992, Denovo broke into the residence of Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien
Chang-Lin Tien
Chang-lin Tien was a Chinese American professor of mechanical engineering and university administrator. He was the seventh Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley , the first Asian to head a major university in the United States.-Early years:Born in Huangpi, Wuhan, China, Tien and...
on the UC Berkeley campus
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
at 5:50 am, triggering a silent alarm that summoned the University of California Police Department
University of California Police Department
The University of California Police Department is the police agency charged with providing law enforcement to the campuses of the University of California system.-History:...
(UCPD), who escorted Tien and his wife safely off the premises. The UCPD then sent five Oakland Police Department officers and dogs into the house, and the officers shot and killed Denovo after she allegedly lunged at them with a machete. Though the machete was in her possession, the police version remains highly controversial. The autopsy indicated that at least one of the bullets entered her from the back, but that could have happened when she was trying to attack another officer.
Denovo's killing triggered further protests as some believed that the police entry was contrary to customary police procedure. Normal procedure when an armed, disturbed person is in a house, but not endangering anyone, is to negotiate with the person from the outside. Some felt that the police had to act because Denovo did not communicate after breaking into the house. People also criticized the UCPD and the OPD because the officer who shot Denovo had been the subject of previous citizen complaints alleging excessive force, but jurisprudence does not allow past actions to be used as evidence against current action. While many complained and protested, no one could ever prove police misconduct.