Police
A recall campaign targeting Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf faces an uphill battle to gather the 23,000 signatures it needs by mid-January to trigger a special recall election.
It was just after 6 o’clock on Saturday outside of Bows and Arrows in Berkeley when people started pulling up with bikes. First one, then two, then three—then over a dozen. They were there for T-Mack.
Moments after an officer pleaded not guilty to having sex with their client, attorneys for the woman identified as “Celeste Guap” in press reports announced they are seeking damages from four cities and two counties in which they allege police officers sexually exploited the former teenage sex worker.
Student safety and the role of the Oakland School Police Department were at the forefront of Wednesday’s Oakland Unified School Board meeting, as board members, parents and OSPD Chief Jeff Godown spoke emotionally of recent events which they say have damaged the security and wellbeing of Oakland’s young people.
Members of the Stop Urban Shield coalition met to discuss ways to carry momentum forward after a day of activism earlier this month.
Last Thursday residents gathered to celebrate the Ella Baker Center’s 20th Anniversary, present awards and discuss future plans to continue rebuilding communities of color in Oakland.
The teenager at the center of a sexual exploitation scandal involving multiple police departments has returned to the Bay Area, according to her attorneys. At a press conference Thursday morning, civil rights attorneys Charles Bonner and Pamela Price said they are planning to sue “everyone involved” in sending Guap to Florida and in her sexual exploitation.
The Alameda County District Attorney can proceed with charges against seven Bay Area officers involved in the “Celeste Guap” case as soon as Guap is released from a Florida jail—something a Florida prosecutor said “could be soon.”
The 10th annual Urban Shield training and equipment expo sparks a major debate about the militarization of first responders in Oakland.