Straight Outta The Gang Database: Challenging Gang Allegations through the RJA

Editor's Note: San Mateo County Participatory Defense Organizer Jamilah Rosales-Webb writes about a major prima facie win in her hometown of East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park. Chris Echols, through his attorney Roscoe Elliot, won a major hurdle to challenge the entire infrastructure of the Menlo Park Police gang database that has criminalized Black and Brown individuals in the community for years. This is a a breakthrough for CRJA claims in San Mateo County!

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Since the California Racial Justice Act (CRJA)  passed in 2020, San Mateo County has seen very few cases move in the interest of justice, meaning, we have not seen any case move past the prima facie stage. Historically, San Mateo County has been one of the more “law and order” jurisdictions in California, and RJA claims have often been placed in a black hole, with constant denials that racial bias occurs in the criminal justice system. Today, we sat before Judge Holt and witnessed her finding that a prima facie has been met, a massive breakthrough in San Mateo County. 

The Background: From Speeding to a “Gang Member”

Christopher Echols’ case began in 2022 where he was pulled over by two police officers in an unmarked vehicle for a speeding violation, but in fact, the police did not pull him over for how he was driving, but because of who they decided he was from the moment they saw him at a gas station pumping gas.  The police saw him, a Black man,  wearing camouflage pants, an alleged indicator of "Taliban" gang membership, and verified his status with their dispatch.  It was only after their identification did the police begin to follow him, prompting Chris to call 911 because he feared he was being targeted. The sequence of events is the textbook definition of a pretextual stop, and what began as a “traffic stop” quickly escalated into a gang investigation.  

Challenging Policing Tactics and the Gang Database

Roscoe Elliot, Chris Echols’ defense attorney, requested criteria from Menlo Park Police of what they used to determine how Chris was validated as Taliban.  When Menlo Park refused to give the criteria, Menlo Park then said they were removing Chris off the database.  Further records obtained by Roscoe showed that there are 123 individuals labeled as Taliban in the database, and out of the 123, 115 (93%) are Black. In court, Roscoe attacked the Menlo Park Police Department's gang database, arguing against its validity, as it isn’t a reliable record of gang activity. Roscoe’s argument addressed the collection of unverified Taliban associations that disproportionately targets Black and Brown East Palo Alto and Menlo Park community members.  Roscoe presented clear evidence that there is enough criteria to violate the Racial Justice Act.

Every day, hundreds of commuters pass through the corner of Willow Road and Newbridge in East Menlo Park just to get to either side of this small strip of the city. But to residents like Duon Williams and Jamilah Rosales Webb, this street corner embodies Menlo and EPA - their community built on a long history of Black and Brown organizing yet is criminalized by law enforcement for their culture, neighborhood, music, dress, and lifestyle. Photo by Charisse Domingo

Reflecting on this Small but Big Win

I am particularly ecstatic for Chris, his attorney, Roscoe and everyone who played a role in authoring the Racial Justice Act and its amendments. I am, above all, excited to see if this will pave the way for dismantling the Taliban gang database and its reputation that has haunted my neighborhood.  For over 20 years, East Palo Alto and Menlo Park police have used “Taliban” labeling as a permanent weapon against my community. San Mateo County prosecutors have transformed Black and Brown community members into what they are calling local terrorists.  Chris Echols' hearing wasn’t just about a pretextual stop, it was a challenging step to end the narrative that has violated the legal rights of an entire community for decades.   Since the early 2000s, the “Taliban” narrative has given law enforcement the green light to accuse, charge and convict my friends and family members. It has to end, they must move on, and perhaps, accept the fact that East Palo Alto and Menlo Park are thriving despite their biased stigmas about us. It is feasible, necessary, that we can finally dismantle these databases and replace them with supportive systems that actually help community members. 

At the hearing, the California Participatory Defense Network was in full swing as we witnessed a major move in the direction we’ve been fighting for all of our ancestors' lives.  As the hearing closed, Chris appeared to be beaming with gratitude for all of the organizers from different locations in California that showed up to support him and to show the agents with the legal power that they can no longer ignore the law. He was especially proud that he could be an example for other families to challenge and fight the system, and was moved to learn that one of the organizers, Ms. Cheryl, a mother, was fighting the same kind of fight for her son who is also challenging gang allegations in San Diego. 

This hearing was for Chris Echols, for the mothers who had to explain to their children why an unmarked was following them, and the grandmothers who were roughed up during home raids based on “database” entries. It is for the many years stolen from people who are serving time for gang enhancements and for their children who have missed them. In the beginning of 2026, in a Redwood City courtroom, we finally saw a blink of justice pierce the oblivion that has masked racial justice claims throughout the county for far too long, and it's about time.