Safety
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.
A quick look at a few of the numbers you should know before the city council deliberates the budget Thursday night, June 24.
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.
With Oakland’s fire season expected to begin within the next few weeks, Oakland North reporter Dara Kerr spoke with Fire Chief Gerald A. Simon about what it means to be the head of Oakland’s Fire Department, what led him to the job, and about Oakland’s unique fire and safety needs.
In April, Rebecca Kaplan, Oakland city councilmember at large, announced that she was considering running for mayor this fall. Oakland North reporter Ayako Mie sat down for an exclusive interview with Kaplan to talk about how she hopes to change the city.
Over one hundred students and parents gathered for the conference that was a collaboration between the Criminal Justice Department at Merritt College and the Oakland Police Activities League (PAL), a non-profit organization that aims to forge a relationship between kids and cops.