Why did an Alameda County deputy play a Taylor Swift song while arguing with protesters?
An Alameda County sheriffs sergeant who pulled out his phone and started playing a Taylor Swift song in the middle of an argument with protesters is being investigated for allegedly using the tactic to keep a video of him from being posted on social media because it contained copyrighted music. Sgt. Ray Kelly, a spokesperson for the Alameda County Sheriffs Office, said the incident is being investigated after the video was, nevertheless, posted on YouTube and Twitter by the Anti Police-Terror Project. The group was protesting outside the Alameda County Superior Court Ren C. Davidson Courthouse in Oakland this week. Obviously its problematic, Kelly said. This is not something that is acceptable. It has triggered some concerns in community and its being investigated.  Kelly said the sergeant involved in the incident was spoken to and that all deputies will be advised during pre-shift meetings against employing the tactic. It doesnt work, by the way, he said. Its on YouTube and its had thousands of hits.  The protesters were supporting the family of Steven Taylor who was killed by San Leandro Police Officer Jason Fletcher in April 2020 while holding a baseball bat inside a Walmart store. Protesters were gathered on the rear steps of the courthouse, clustered with Taylors family members, around a speaker broadcasting testimony in the trial. They had hung banners on the walls, but sheriffs deputies made them take them down. When they told them they couldnt place the banners on the steps, four deputies approached and one, identified in the video as Sgt. David Shelby, started arguing with James Burch, policy director for the project, over the banners. When Shelby realized the dispute is being recorded, he takes out his cell phone, taps it a couple of times, places it in his chest pocket and the Taylor Swifts pop hit Blank Space blasts out. Are we having a dance party now? Burch asked. Another protester asked if Shelby was trying to drown out the conversation. He says no, then explains his motivation. You can record all you want, he said in the video. I just know it cant be posted on YouTube.  Shelby may have been following the lead of a Beverly Hills police officer who, in February, was accused by an activist of playing Sublimes Santeria during a conversation to prevent the video from appearing on YouTube or Instagram, both of which have policies against the posting of copyrighted material without permission. The tactic has been castigated by police-reform advocates, who say its intended to help law enforcement officers avoid public accountability. Burch told The Chronicle that the incident was confusing at first but said the quickness with which Taylor Swifts melodies poured forth from the phone in Shelbys chest pocket persuaded him that the sergeant had planned the tactic. The Anti-Police Terror Project also planned its response, he said, making sure to get Shelby on camera acknowledging his unsuccessful plan to keep the whole affair off social media. We know that accountability on law enforcement is forged by public pressure, Burch said. Our approach was to gain a response through the court of public opinion.  Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan