Working to Bridge the Town-Gown Divide
Josh Cayetano was just about to start college in 2014 when teenager Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri. The tragedy — and the protests it sparked, which were met with a massive armed response from law enforcement — exposed him to a side of the police he hadn’t seen before.
Nine years later, with a strong record of activism and advocacy, Cayetano was recently appointed to the Berkeley Police Accountability Board (PAB) by the Berkeley City Council.
“I chose Berkeley Law largely because of the opportunity to make an impact as a student,” he says. “I never thought that it would put me here, but I’m grateful that it did.”
After Ferguson, Cayetano dug in, reading the U.S. Department of Justice report about Brown’s killing and focusing his studies on race and policing in America. He became even more engaged during his graduate studies at Yale.
Working to Bridge the Town-Gown Divide
Nine years later, with a strong record of activism and advocacy, Cayetano was recently appointed to the Berkeley Police Accountability Board (PAB) by the Berkeley City Council.
“I chose Berkeley Law largely because of the opportunity to make an impact as a student,” he says. “I never thought that it would put me here, but I’m grateful that it did.”
After Ferguson, Cayetano dug in, reading the U.S. Department of Justice report about Brown’s killing and focusing his studies on race and policing in America. He became even more engaged during his graduate studies at Yale.
Drawn more to his activism than his schoolwork, Cayetano decided law school was the next logical step. As a 1L he jumped right into the Police Review Project, one of the school’s 40 Student-Initiated Legal Services Projects and a major draw for him as a prospective student.
The initiative has two branches: The first, which Cayetano worked with, pairs students with the ACLU Louisiana Justice Lab to help citizens — often low-income people of color — challenge racially discriminatory policing practices and violent tactics.
In the second branch, law students help represent civilians who file complaints against members of the Berkeley Police Department with the PAB, a nine-member civilian panel.
Former Berkeley City Council member Rigel Robinson was impressed with the students’ work and reached out to the group’s leaders, ultimately nominating Cayetano for the PAB. His background will make him an asset to the board, Robinson says.
Cayetano says he’s thankful for how much he learned working with ACLU Louisiana, particularly how difficult it is for an average citizen — particularly one with few resources — to assert their constitutional rights. Trying to translate their experiences into legal claims takes a lot more work than it should, he adds, and that’s visible in Berkeley, too.
He also hopes to encourage other UC Berkeley students, at the law school and around campus, to engage with the city.
“We’re transient, but we’re also living here, in this liminal space,” Cayetano says. “I really hope Berkeley students can find ways they can give back to the community instead of simply extracting knowledge.” — Gwyneth K. Shaw