Police
Updated 11:40 pm: After a day of peaceful protests, on Thursday night a small group of protesters turned violent in downtown Oakland, looting and damaging downtown businesses in the wake of the Johannes Mehserle verdict. Earlier that day, a Los Angeles jury found the former BART police officer guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the January, 2009, death of Oscar Grant.
Tensions are high as former BART Police Office Johannes Mehserle’s murder trial comes to an end in Los Angeles. Mehserle faces a possible second-degree murder charge for killing unarmed 22-year-old Oscar Grant on New Year’s Day in 2009. Riots broke out during the weeks following the shooting and now as a verdict nears Oakland non-profits, government agencies, volunteer organizations and the Oakland Police Department are preparing for more possible violence if people are upset with the jury’s decision.
The Oakland City Council voted Thursday night to lay off 80 police officers to help close the city’s $30.5 million budget gap. Various city government departments—including the City Administrator’s office, City Council, the Fire Department, and Information Technology Department also had their budgets cut, by a total of $18.7 million, as part of the fix.
With the Oakland City Council set to start deliberating its fiscal year 2010-11 budget during a special meeting Thursday night, Mayor Ron Dellums called a press conference Tuesday morning to introduce his latest version of the budget for the council to consider. But instead of focusing all his time on the budget, thanks to a story that ran on a local television station Monday night, Dellums spent a good portion of the conference defending his record as mayor and his involvement in the budget process.
On Monday morning, Oakland police officers and community leaders gathered at the site of a recent murder in West Oakland to warn of what could follow if Oakland’s police force is drastically cut to help close the city’s $31.5 million budget gap. “This is a dangerous city,” Dominique Arotzarena, president of the Oakland Police Officer’s Association, told a small group composed mostly of journalists. Laying off one quarter of the police staff, he said, “sends the wrong message.”
In a community meeting that was often spirited and at one point even led to a physical altercation, city officials met with Oakland residents Thursday night for the last of three sessions to share ideas about how to close the city’s budget gap.
In a preview of what is likely to be a contentious budget meeting June 24, the Oakland City Council Tuesday night heard residents’ complaints about potentially laying off up to 200 police officers and staff in an attempt to balance the city’s fiscal year 2010 – 11 budget, which starts July 1.
Many North Oakland residents said they were in disbelief after learning Tuesday afternoon that the jury in the Johannes Mehserle trial won’t include any African Americans. “It’s a slap to the face of people with color,” said Oakland resident Audra Robinson at the MacArthur BART station Wednesday.
If you are arrested in Oakland, prepare to have your immigration history checked. Alameda County is now participating in a federal immigration enforcement program that mandates fingerprint checks of everyone booked at local jails to determine whether they are subject to deportation.