A San Francisco nonprofit allegedly targeted by a man who was arrested after a shootout with California Highway Patrol officers in Oakland in July will thank the CHP for its efforts at a ceremony tonight.
Tides, a nonprofit that advocates progressive social change through philanthropy, will be honoring 12 CHP officers and employees who helped apprehend Byron Williams on July 18 after a traffic stop and shootout on Interstate Highway 580.
CHP Officer Sam Morgan said the officers involved in the shootout will attend tonight, as will the dispatchers who handled the call and some command staff. Two officers suffered minor injuries in the gunfire exchange.
Williams, a resident of Groveland in Tuolumne County, told authorities after his arrest that he wanted to “start a revolution” by shooting high-ranking employees at Tides and the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, according to court documents.
Williams remains in Alameda County Jail and faces multiple felony charges, including attempted murder.
Tides spokeswoman Christine Coleman said tonight’s event is to give “extreme thanks for the fact that the CHP was able to thwart” Williams before he could reach Tides headquarters.
“We’re very thankful that they did their jobs,” Coleman said.
In addition to honoring the officers, Tides will present a $10,000 check to the CHP’s 11-99 Foundation, which supports CHP officers and their families in times of crisis.
Coleman said tonight’s ceremony also help the foundation’s employees “get some closure with all of this.”
Since the shootout, Tides has led a campaign against Fox News, saying that conservative media commentators on the channel incited Williams. Host Glenn Beck has mentioned the foundation in a negative light a number of times.
The foundation has sent letters to advertisers asking them to remove all their ads from the channel.
Today’s event is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. at the Thoreau Center for Sustainability in San Francisco’s Presidio.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
