Maxwell Park Residents: Oakland Needs 1,100 Police

Residents of Maxwell Park, scene of a thug war that is spraying bullets around the neighborhood, told the public safety committee of the city council that Oakland must set a goal of at least 1,100 police.

Within eight days, two homicides were followed up by yet a third retaliatory incident. A shooter opened fire in plain view with an automatic weapon at Brookdale Park at 3:20 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon. (For residents' letters on the crisis and a photo of the thugs' shrine to one of the dead, click here).

Residents want the open-air drug market on Fairfax Avenue shut down. At the July 10 committee meeting, they testified to attacks on themselves and slashed tires and broken windows in retaliation for serving as the "eyes and ears" for a police department too understaffed to take "hands on" action. They spoke of youth brandishing Uzis in front of their home.

Most important, a number of residents put forward the key step for solving these problems: Oakland needs at least 1,100 police. Today the crisis is in Maxwell Park. Before that it was Rockridge. Before that it was Grand-Lake (remember the Guardian Angels?); Glenview; Dimond; and on and on. The problem is citywide. The solution is staffing up a police department that currently has only 18 officers per 10,000 residents, half of what Atlanta (35), Boston (37), Cleveland (38), Detroit (44), St. Louis (43) and most major cities have.

As resident Kurt Schumacher noted, the council must "acknowledge that 803 officers is not nearly enough and that 1,100 is a short term goal (say within three years.) Perhaps we could also convince the council that audits of social programs and retirement of those that are clearly non-effective would be in the best interest of the residents?"

Councilmembers on the public safety committee were unhappy and unwilling to hear the residents' message. One councilmember lectured the KTOP audience, spinning recruitment numbers as an excuse. Councilmember Quan distorted the provisions of Measure Y, confusing the kinds of officers it authorizes with the number of officers it calls for.

The audience did not buy it. When perennial commentator Sanjiv Handa observed that we have had fewer police after Measure Y than before the measure passed for every single month since Y went into effect, he received a round of applause. We don't need to pay more taxes for fewer police; we can have fewer police for free.

In Congress we are used to seeing opposition between Democrats and Republicans. At the committee meeting, though, the overwhelming atmosphere was one of the council versus the people of Oakland. Many residents obviously see councilmembers as an obstacle, not a partner, in making public safety priority one. Schumacher even wondered about recalling them.

The next day, a staff person for councilmember Quan emailed a list of Maxwell Park residents with her summary of the events. It is astounding that a councilmember's staff person would presume to provide an evaluation of the residents' views. In particular, she wrote, "This [meeting] was a great example of how and why Measure Y passed. Some people want more police, some people want more outreach, but ultimately both are needed to address crime." That may be councilmember Quan's opinion, but it is by no means the general view of Maxwell Park residents.

Schumacher replied, "I was disappointed to see that none of the council members at the public safety meeting could do more than say 'we understand your frustration.' It's nice to know, but not enough. Not nearly enough. Some of the council members were clearly frustrated at being forced to listen to residents insisting that they, the council, shift money from social programs to hire more police. They have heard it all before, and we could tell just by watching their faces as we spoke to them. If they have heard it all from us before... we have heard it from them, the council, just as many times."

Fairfax Avenue in the Morning It's morning, before the open-air drug market opens. The two-story apartment complex, 4516 Fairfax Avenue, houses some of the dealers. The Oakland Housing Authority owns and operates this building!

Councilmember Orders Sanitized Report to Residents

One of councilmember Jean Quan's aides posted a day-after "quick summary on what happened" at the Maxwell Park residents' protest to the council.

Quan's aide wrote to an email group for residents, "Everyone expressed their interests which ranged from more police are needed to more prevention and youth outreach is needed. This was a great example of how and why Measure Y passed. Some people want more police, some people want more outreach, but ultimately both are needed to address crime."

Sounds fair and balanced, doesn't it? The reader would never know that the audience applauded the speaker who denounced Measure Y.

Since Quan's aide was not in Oakland until a few months ago, since she was in San Diego for much of the time since 2004, Quan or one of her other staff most likely briefed the aide on the required fantasy story about Measure Y.

The very switching of attention to this miserable measure contradicts the importance of the protest at the council committee meeting. Residents called for at least 1,100 police to reclaim peace on our streets in this city of 400,000 people. The city council has used Measure Y to impose a budget ceiling of 803 officers, while maintaining in reality only 700-some officers at most.

Particularly bizarre was the tone of the aide's report that we are all working together for peaceful neighborhoods. That attitude was implicit in the slightly patronizing congratulations, advising residents that "coming out to meetings is both incredibly helpful in attaining accurate information and also helps in building community relationships."

Sounds cozy, doesn't it? The reader gets no sense of the anger of residents, who even raised to councilmembers' face whether they should be recalled from office.