Oakland Police officer (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, Calif. — Advocates and impacted family members gathered outside Oakland Police Department headquarters Thursday, demanding the release of body camera footage and other records following the city’s third fatal police shooting of the year, according to the Anti Police-Terror Project (APTP).
A report published by NBC Bay Area staff said the shooting took place Monday, July 13, after the California Highway Patrol (CHP) encountered an unhoused man who was “armed with a knife.”
“Police said the man lunged at officers with a knife after officers attempted to de-escalate the situation by giving commands, but he refused to comply,” the report said.
According to APTP, this framing is one of several narratives presented by the Oakland Police Department (OPD) to shift blame, with authorities “first saying the man lunged at officers, then saying he attacked officers, and now stating he had a bladed object.”
Advocates are pushing for the immediate release of body camera footage, a comprehensive timeline, dispatch audio and “all information related to what led to this man’s death,” according to the announcement.
APTP expressed these concerns during a press conference following the demonstration. Cat Brooks, co-founder and executive director of APTP, said at the conference that OPD has killed three people this year.
“This year alone, OPD has already killed three people,” Brooks stated, according to the press release. “That is not reform. That is not progress. That is a department moving backward at the exact moment Oakland is being told OPD is ready to police itself without federal oversight.”
Following the shooting, members of the community questioned why CHP “continues to engage in dangerous pursuits through Oakland neighborhoods” after a CHP operation led to the death of Dr. Marvin Boomer, an innocent Oakland educator.
According to Jose Fermoso of The Oaklandside, OPD officials reportedly left East Oakland resident Marvin Boomer “bleeding and disoriented” after a collision, sparking outrage among the deceased’s friends and family.
“This is about public accountability,” Saabir Lockett, deputy director of civic engagement at EBASE, said. “When police agencies kill someone, the burden should not be on the community to piece together what happened.”
Speakers at the press conference also raised concerns about OPD’s history of violence, corruption and public oversight, saying those issues continue to undermine public trust following incidents such as the July 13 shooting.
“Our young people are watching this city continue to choose policing over care, punishment over prevention and silence over accountability,” Bria Woodland, program coordinator of All Youth Are Sacred, said. “If this man was in crisis, if he was unhoused, if he needed help, why was the response armed police and not care?”
According to the press release, OPD has been under federal oversight for more than 20 years following the Riders scandal, a police misconduct case involving four veteran officers.
Community members questioned whether OPD is prepared to operate without that monitoring, which is scheduled to end later this year.
“OPD has shifted its story, the public still has not seen the footage and we still do not know whether this man posed an immediate deadly threat,” Brooks said. “Oakland deserves the truth, the family deserves answers and every agency involved must be held accountable.”
APTP is a Black-led coalition that seeks to protect at-risk communities from police misconduct and violence, according to the organization’s website. The group works to support survivors of police violence, document alleged abuses of power, connect impacted people with available resources and provide legal referrals.
“Oakland deserves answers,” Brooks said. “The family deserves the truth. And our communities deserve more than another police cover-up.”
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Categories: Breaking News Everyday Injustice Tags: Anti Police-Terror Project California Highway Patrol fatal police shooting Oakland Oakland police department Police Accountability