Crime
Oakland police officials said that the department would be reviewing its policies after a routine call to an Oakland home resulted in the shooting death of a dog—the second shooting in five months involving animals. The incident happened Tuesday when officers responded to a burglar alarm at a house on the 9000 block of Burgos Avenue in the Oakland hills. One of the officers, while checking the house for suspects, encountered a Labrador coming out the rear door, and shot…
Members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), a national support group for victims of sexual abuse by religious authority figures, came together Tuesday outside the Cathedral of Christ the Light in support of a newly filed sexual battery and negligence lawsuit against Father Stephen Kiesle and the Diocese of Oakland.
On Saturday, Youth Uprising, a not-for-profit organization that develops young leaders, celebrated its third annual For A Safe Town (FAST) festival in East Oakland in an effort to promote peace. Bounce houses, basketball tournaments, skating demos, DJs, and the savory smells of a free BBQ chicken lunch attracted a couple hundred people from the community.
Laughter, prayer, song and tears marked Saturday night’s third annual PURPLE Fundraising Gala for the families and friends of those who have lost their lives to violence. The event, organized by the Oakland-based advocacy group 1,000 Mothers to Prevent Violence, recognized two Oakland police investigators and a retired schoolteacher for having gone “beyond the call of duty to bring healing to surviving families.”
McCullum Youth Court, a student-run justice system in Oakland for first-time middle and high school-age offenders, turns 17 this Friday. That makes it older than many of the young people who serve as its lawyers, bailiffs, and clerks. But instead of a birthday party, Youth Court organizers are scrambling to invite as many people as possible to a different type of event—a fundraiser.
Police chief Anthony Batts did his best to positively portray the state of the city’s law enforcement capacity in a presentation of the Oakland Police Department’s strategic plan at Tuesday night’s city council meeting, but it was a difficult task.
The Berkeley Police Department followed three male suspects fleeing the scene of a residential burglary in Berkeley southbound into North Oakland on September 20. Two of the three suspects were caught in the area of 63rd Street and San Pablo Ave and were later identified by community members as having burglarized the residence on Alcatraz Avenue. The third suspect remains outstanding.
A new report on Latino boys and men in Oakland finds low test scores, a high dropout rate and poor preparation for the workforce. Says the lead researcher: “The gang issue is a symptom of this, not the cause.”
On Wednesday, Don Perata, former senator and mayoral candidate, hosted a breakfast with more than 50 of Oakland’s most influential religious leaders to solicit their help in addressing school truancy, one of the city’s most pressing challenges.