Posts Tagged ‘Oakland Police Department’
Pepper spray and alarms: Chinatown clinic teaches personal safety
Chinatown residents are concerned for their safety after instances of assault and robbery against seniors. The Oakland Chinatown Safety Committee hosted a personal safety and pepper spray clinic to train community members on how to be more aware of their surroundings and defend themselves.
Read MoreOakland Police Department renews contract with controversial forensic data company
Last Tuesday, Oakland City Council renewed the Police Department’s contract with the cloud-based software company Forensic Logic for use of its data-sharing platform COPLINK. COPLINK, which has been used by OPD since 2012, allows officers to search and analyze data shared by “several thousand law enforcement agencies across the United States.” The contract costs the…
Read MoreFour finalists being considered for top position at Oakland Police Department
The Oakland Police Commission announced four finalists under consideration for the role of Oakland’s next Chief of Police. The position has remained open since Chief Anne Kirkpatrick was fired by Mayor Libby Schaaf last February.
Read MoreOrganizing for change: How some activists are responding to police violence
At a boarded up Oakland City Hall, 20-year-old Mara Coleman sits with paint, brushes, markers and white poster board. With a steady hand and careful strokes, Coleman concentrates as she paints the name Breonna Taylor in red paint. This is the location where Coleman met with fellow youth organizers from Abolitionist Movement SF to paint…
Read MoreOakland to vote on stronger police oversight
The measure represents a turning point for the Oakland Police Commission, the civilian body that oversees the Oakland Police Department.
Read MoreNew mental health emergency response system provides alternative to 911
Mental Health First Oakland is a new alternative to calling 911 for mental health emergencies.
Read MoreOakland Police Commission votes to adopt new use of force policy
Commissioner Tara Anderson described the policy as “one of the most progressive use of force policies in the country.” But some advocates say the policy does not go far enough to change the department’s practices.
Read MoreCombining clinicians and cops, Oakland’s response program helps those in mental crisis
The Mobile Evaluation Team (MET), an expanding crisis response unit in Oakland, is one example of fledgling efforts to meet the city’s rising need for mental health crisis services.
Read MorePolicing watchdog groups push for changes to Oakland’s Police Commission
Members of local police accountability and activist groups say that conflicts of interest, unaccountable staff and lack of transparency prevent the Oakland Police Commission from being able to police the police.
Read MoreAdvocates skeptical new police use of force law will save lives
Some Oakland experts wonder if AB 392, a new law that will limit police use of lethal force, can actually save lives.
Read MoreOakland police prepare to crack down on sideshows
The Oakland Police Department (OPD) has increased its response following recent sideshow activity. Last Sunday, a large contingent of law enforcement officers took the streets to combat the illegal gatherings, which are informal demonstrations of automotive stunts, often held in vacant lots or in public intersections. This weekend, they will do the same. Officers will…
Read MoreWife files suit in Oakland police tasering death of Marcellus Toney
In the September, 2017, death of Marcellus Toney, there is one thing that is undeniable: He died in police custody after he was hit by a Taser. But exactly why he died and who is liable for his death is still unclear.
Read MoreWest Oakland residents express little trust in police
Residents of West Oakland continue to have little trust in the Oakland Police Department.
Read MoreOakland City Council calls on federal government to protect immigrants
A number of community groups spoke at Tuesday’s Oakland City Council meeting in support of a resolution calling on the federal government to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to immigrants, and to create a path to permanent residency for those protected by the program that was recently eliminated by the Trump administration. TPS provides temporary…
Read MoreFamily of man shot by BART police protest citizen review board meeting
Tensions ran high at the BART Police Citizen Review Board (BPCRB) meeting on Monday as the family of a slain Oakland man attended to protest the involved BART Police officer’s return to active duty. On January 3, Shaleem Tindle died after being shot outside of the West Oakland BART station by BART Police Officer Joseph…
Read MoreOakland officials and advocacy groups prepare for possible immigration raids
In Oakland, city officials and immigration advocacy groups are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best after an alarm was sounded earlier this month, notifying the Bay Area that federal immigration officials could be planning massive raids on undocumented immigrant communities in the coming weeks. On January 16, the San Francisco Chronicle reported…
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