Police
An Alameda County judge ruled yesterday that the murder trial of Johannes Mehserle, the former BART police officer charged in the January 1 shooting of Oscar Grant, will take place in Los Angeles.
Christopher Evans, convicted this summer of a pair of 2001 East Oakland killings, will undoubtedly end his days in prison. What jurors must now decide is whether that end will come via capital punishment or of natural causes at the end of a life-without-parole sentence.
Three months ago on Tuesday, a search began for Fremont boy Hassani Campbell. Community activists marked the occasion at an evening vigil at College Avenue Presbyterian Church.
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.
Police dogs will be better protected after a local fund raising effort allowed the OPD to purchase bulletproof vests for the K-9 unit.
“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.
At Fruitvale BART station on Wednesday morning riders were reluctant to share their thoughts on the change of venue in the Mehserle trial. While many shared detailed and passionate opinions off-camera, most wouldn’t venture in front due to the touchy subject matter. Here are a few brave souls who decided to speak their minds.