Police

A group of 100 students, lawyers and community organizers rallied in front of Oakland City Hall Wednesday afternoon to demonstrate their opposition to the proposed Fruitvale gang injunction which would limit the activities of 40 alleged Norteño gang members.

This morning, the Oakland Police Department released new details about the January 26 shooting of Martin Flenaugh, 19, by police. According to an OPD press release, police were investigating reports of gunshots fired near the 7600 block of Lockwood late Wednesday afternoon by two men in a red Infinity.  The police pursued a car matching that description, which ran a red light, crashed into another vehicle, spun out and burst into flames near the 8500 block of San Leandro. Jereme Brown,…

Teachers in Oakland can expect a 2 percent raise next year, but that was the only positive budget news from Wednesday night’s school board meeting. The district is expecting to lose more of its state funding this year, is running low on much of its one-time-use federal funding and continues to struggle with low enrollment.

Public school students in Oakland now have one more way to let authorities know if something is making them feel unsafe on campus: texting. Beginning last Thursday, a new program at the six major high school campuses in town—Oakland Tech, Skyline, McClymonds, Fremont, Castlemont and Oakland High—allows students to send anonymous text messages to Oakland Unified School District police about anything that worries them, from rumors of a fight on campus to concerns that a weapon has been brought to…

After community policing positions in the Oakland police department were temporarily cut last summer due to city budget constraints, nearly all 57 problem-solving officers (PSOs) have returned to duty, working their first shift on January 15.

Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts is being considered for the job of San Jose’s new police chief, after just more than a year of service in Oakland. Oakland Police Department spokeswoman Holly Joshi confirmed that Batts is one of two finalists for the position, but said that neither Batts nor the San Jose Police Department have made any decisions yet.

As activists and residents lined up to make dozens of complaints Tuesday, city leaders promised to schedule a review of Oakland’s gang injunctions. About 60 of people showed up at the city’s public safety committee meeting, many with signs that read “Stop the injunctions now” in English and Spanish. “We are here to ask Oakland to re-prioritize its efforts,” said Aurra Lopez, who called the gang injunctions “ineffective and actually counter-productive.”

The Oakland Police Department wants to hold information sessions in 2011 to help the public better understand its policies and practices. What subjects would you like them to address?