Rosebud Denovo
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Rosebud Abigail Denovo (born Laura Marie Miller) (? - d. August 25, 1992) was a 20 year old street activist who had previously been involved during the 1991 riots at People's Park in Berkeley, California. She was arrested and released after police allegedly found gunpowder at a campsite she shared with a boyfriend in the Berkeley hills. These charges were never proven.
On August 25, 1992, Denovo allegedly broke into the residence of Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien on the UC Berkeley campus at 5:50 am, triggering a silent alarm that summoned the University of California Police Department (UCPD), who escorted Tien and his wife safely off the premises. The UCPD then sent five Oakland Police Department officers and dogs into an otherwise empty house, and a recently injured officer with an extensive history of excessive force complaints[citation needed] shot and killed the 5'1", 95 pound Denovo after she allegedly lunged at him with a hunting knife. The police version remains highly controversial,[citation needed] as the autopsy indicates at least one of the bullets that killed Denovo entered her from the back.
The activist's killing triggered further protests since some saw the police entry as contrary to customary police procedure. (Normal procedure when an armed, disturbed person is in a house, but not endangering anyone, is to negotiate with the person from the outside). People also criticized the UCPD and the OPD because the officer who shot Denovo had been the subject of previous citizen complaints alleging excessive force.[citation needed]
