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<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/08/12/state//cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/08/12/state/n090034D87.DTL">
No charges in 1970 killing of Berkeley officer</a> <br>
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<dd><font size=1>- By BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press Writer<br>
<dd>Friday, August 12, 2005 <br><br>
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<dd><font size=3>(08-12) 09:00 PDT Berkeley, Calif. (AP) -- <br><br>
<dd>A retired teacher and a state prison inmate arrested in the 1970
killing of a Berkeley police officer that was linked to the Black
Panthers will not be charged, authorities said.<br><br>
<dd>Police said they don't have enough evidence to charge former teacher
Styles Price, 56, as the triggerman and Don Juan Graphenreed, serving
time in state prison on drug charges, as the getaway driver.<br><br>
<dd>Berkeley police spokesman Joe Okies said the Alameda County district
attorney declined to bring charges because of a "lack of
corroborating evidence," according to the Oakland Tribune.<br><br>
<dd>The duo were arrested Wednesday after police said they had discovered
additional evidence using new technology.<br><br>
<dd>Price's lawyer, William Du Bois, told The Associated Press on Friday
that a prosecutor called him Thursday and said charges would not be
brought and that his client would be released.<br><br>
<dd>"This is consistent with my client's position from the beginning
that he is categorically not responsible or in any way connected to this
crime," Du Bois said.<br><br>
<dd>In a jailhouse interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, the former
high school social studies teacher described himself as being politically
active in 1970 but denied any involvement in killing rookie officer
Ronald Tsukamoto.<br><br>
<dd>He said he had been framed by Graphenreed, a longtime friend whom he
called "a notorious fabricator."<br><br>
<dd>"I am innocent, OK?" Price, a married father who taught
history only a few miles from where the brazen slaying took place, said
during an interview from Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. "I am not a
monster. I am not a cop killer."<br><br>
<dd>Tsukamoto, 28, was the first Berkeley officer killed in the line of
duty.<br><br>
<dd>The arrests marked the second effort by police to bring charges in a
killing authorities have said in the past was carried out by Black
Panthers hoping to raise their stature in the militant group.<br><br>
<dd>Graphenreed, 56, was also arrested in the case last year, but Alameda
County District Attorney Tom Orloff did not file charges because
prosecutors didn't have enough evidence.<br><br>
<dd>Tsukamoto was shot in the head at close range while he was chatting
with a motorcyclist he had pulled over. Born in an internment camp during
World War II, he had been on the force less than a year when he was
gunned down on August 20, 1970.<br><br>
<dd>The case was reopened three years ago after authorities received new
leads.<br><br>
<dd>During his interview with the Chronicle, Price repeated that he never
was a member of the Black Panthers and described himself as a libertarian
socialist.<br><br>
<dd>"I was militant but I was nonviolent," said Price. "I
swear on the souls of my mother and father."<br><br>
<dd>David Hilliard, who was the Black Panthers' chief of staff, said the
suspects weren't members of the movement and that his group had nothing
to do with the killing.<br><br>
<dd>Price said he has known Graphenreed since they were teenagers. In
early 1970, he and Graphenreed went to Cuba as part of the Venceremos (We
Shall Overcome) Brigade to challenge U.S. policies toward Cuba.<br><br>
<dd>Berkeley police served a search warrant at Price's home several
months ago, taking with them numerous boxes of items, including
photographs, all of which were returned, Du Bois said.<br><br>
<dd>"He's been living a very peaceful, calm, law-abiding life,"
Du Bois said, noting that police have made numerous arrests in recent
years but no one has been prosecuted in the case.<br><br>
<dd>___<br><br>
<dd>Associated Press Writer Garance Burke contributed to this
report.<br><br>
<br>
<dd>URL:
<a href="http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/08/12/state/n090034D87.DTL" eudora="autourl">
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/08/12/state/n090034D87.DTL</a>
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