Crime
New Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts, at the first of a series of town hall meetings, told a West Oakland audience last night that he understood why some urban residents view police officers as “an occupying army.” Among the proposals he said he’s considered in the past: a citywide curfew aimed at bringing down youth violence.
Defense attorneys called on witnesses Monday to paint a sympathetic portrait of convicted double-murderer Christopher Evans, hoping to convince a jury to save the Oakland native from capital punishment.
Police dogs will be better protected after a local fund raising effort allowed the OPD to purchase bulletproof vests for the K-9 unit.
County D.A Nancy O’Malley and Assemblymember Sandre Swanson, who wrote the legislation, joined other officials yesterday to explain a new state law quadrupling penalties for sex trafficking of young people.
“What I have to do is take what I have and make that as efficient as I possibly can, ” new police chief Anthony Batts told reporters. “We can’t do twenty things. But we can do the top two or three or four or five that this city says it wants to do.”
Frustrated by the lack of clues into Hassani Campbell’s disappearance, organizers are holding a fundraiser to help pay for a private investigation.
October 22nd was a National Day of Protest Against Police Brutality, a nation-wide initiative to draw attention to the lives that have been lost at the hands of law enforcement officers.
Newly appointed Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, who comes from a Bay Area family of judges and prosecutors, steps into the job at a time of budget cuts and high-profile homicide cases. “It’s still looked at as one of the best D.A. offices in the country,” she said during an extensive interview last week. “I take the job very, very seriously.”
At 23rd and Telegraph, inside a storefront/gallery/craft space called Rock Paper Scissors, neatly hung canvas paintings and framed ink drawings lined the walls. Cards below each piece identified the artist: all are prisoners at San Quentin.