Safety
Oakland Police Sgt. Lee French and his wife, Richmond Police Chief Bisa French, are on leave and under investigation, after a domestic violence restraining order was filed against them by a relative who claims they pinned her down and threatened her boyfriend and his family. The Oakland Police Department Thursday confirmed that Lee French was put on leave and said an internal investigation is underway into “criminal allegations.” In court documents, 18-year-old relative accused the Frenches of attacking her and…
A day after Indigenous Peoples Day, dozens of activists and others gathered outside the KTVU building in Jack London Square Tuesday to shed light on missing Indigenous women and the lack of media coverage for Black and brown women. They set up an altar, held up flags and banners, and gathered in a circle. The scent of sage filled the air as Lyla June Johnston shared a prayer, welcoming the ancestors to the circle. “We ask that you protect our…
Oakland City Council on Tuesday voted to add a fifth police academy in the next two years to recruit more officers and increase staffing, reversing a decision from three months earlier. The council approved the resolution a day after Oakland recorded its 100th homicide this year. It passed by a 6-2 vote, with Nikki Fortunato Bas and Carroll Fife voting no. In June, the council rejected the mayor’s request for six police academies over the next two years and budgeted…
Oakland is preparing to launch an 18-month pilot program that will direct some 911 calls to a team of trained civilian responders rather than to the Police Department. Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland will be run by the Fire Department on a limited basis, beginning later this year or early next year, depending on how quickly personnel can be hired and trained. MACRO will respond to calls regarding such things as mental health crises and public intoxication, according to…
Cycling has become safer on Telegraph Avenue over the years, thanks to protected bike lanes that impose a barrier between two-wheel and four-wheel traffic. In 2016, Oakland supported a pilot project that made the thoroughfare bike friendly from 20th to 29th streets. With the introduction of protected lanes came a dramatic decrease in car-bike collisions. Since then, the city has been working to bring the same safety measures to the corridor between 37th and 52nd streets. The advocacy group Bike…
The president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, who has spoken out against Anti-Asian hate crime, was recently attacked as he was on his way to visit another Asian assault victim. Carl Chan said he was walking on Broadway near Eighth Street on the afternoon of April 28 when someone hit him in the back of the head while spewing racial slurs. Chan was knocked to the ground and briefly blacked out, but got up and was able to…
While protests were cited as a key reason for high police overtime costs last year, several other factors escalated those costs.
Oakland Police Chief LeRonne L. Armstrong has established a special division to reduce violent crime.
On Nov. 25, one day before Thanksgiving, Squaw Valley in Lake Tahoe ushered in the first day of the snow season. At 9 a.m., the parking lot was already more than half full, with about 2,000 cars. People wearing their ski boots and helmets lined up in the 34-degree temperature to collect their season passes. It looks like any other snow season—except this year, everyone is standing six feet apart and wearing masks. Lake Tahoe offers world-class skiing and is…