OPD issues update on Rockridge officer-involved shooting
on January 30, 2011
This morning, the Oakland Police Department issued a statement giving details on Saturday’s officer-involved shooting in the Rockridge area.
According to the OPD press release, on Saturday morning a man who was carrying a replica assault weapon was harassing a resident on the 5500 block of Taft Street. Police responded at about 8:55 am and saw the man, later identified as Matthew Cicelski, flee on foot. Officers surrounded the block and Cicelski forced entry into the home of the person who had called the police. The home’s residents, who believed Cicelski to be armed, ran out of the house. According to the police, Cicelski then stepped out onto the front porch and pointed the fake assault weapon at the police officers, who fired and fatally wounded him.
This is the third officer-involved shooting reported in Oakland this January. On January 26, OPD officers shot and killed 19-year-old Martin Flenaugh, who confronted officers with multiple firearms after being involved in a car chase.
On January 22, an officer with the Oakland Unified School District police, which is separate from the Oakland Police Department, shot and killed 20-year-old Raheim Brown of San Francisco, after he allegedly attacked another officer with a screwdriver. Officers had approached Brown because he was sitting in an allegedly stolen car with the hazard lights on near Skyline High School, which was holding a dance.
Homicide Investigators and the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office both responded to Saturday’s incident in Rockridge and are conducting separate investigations. The Internal Affairs Division of the Oakland Police Department is conducting an administrative investigation.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Homicide Section at 510-238-3821.
4 Comments
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I am saddened to hear that Mr. Cicelski was going through some rough times and possibly chose to suicide by cop. None of the parties gain anything positive from these events. I support the officers who fired in self defense and hope they will be cleared soon.
Always remember that police officers do not have mind reading abilities nor are they trained to be able to shoot guns out of hands or the smaller areas of the body when given a millisecond to see if they will go home alive.
The truth will soon be known about the OPD murder cover-up of Matthew Cicelski…the power of video is an intense reminder that no man lives beyond the reach of justice.
[…] far there have been three officer-involved shootings in Oakland this year: the deaths of Brown, Matthew Cicelski, who was shot by police after allegedly forcing entry into a home while carrying a fake assault […]
[…] have been four other officer-involved shootings this year. On January 29, OPD officers shot and killed 39-year-old Matthew Cicelski, who was harassing a resident in the Rockridge area, and attempted to break into a home while […]