From Piano Store to Taco Truck,
Depolicing Kills Oakland

By Charles Pine

Less than two weeks after an armed robber's bullet paralyzed a 10-year-old boy practicing piano, four robbers held up a man buying lunch at a taco truck, seriously wounding him and fleeing with no money. The victim died fourteen hours later.

Abel Martinez Mejia, 41-year-old father of three was shot several times just before noon at 85th Avenue and San Leandro Street, according to a report on the Oakland Tribune. (Jan. 23, 2008) He was a truck driver for four years at a nearby metal-working firm. Police say he may not have understood the robbers' demands in their English.

Noon shooting at a taco truck like this one

Mejia worked in gritty deep east Oakland. Ten-year-old Chris Rodriguez goes to school at Crocker Highlands Elementary School in an upscale part of town. Both are victims of the depolicing of Oakland. For years City Hall has maintained only half a police department compared to most cities. For years City Hall has tolerated and even praised the culture of disrespect practiced by a small, thuggish percentage of the population – as exemplified by the Bey clan that killed journalist Chauncey Bailey and the gutter rappers welcomed as "career counselors" at a City-funded youth center.

The thugs have figured out that the odds of getting caught are tiny. What else would we expect from the depolicing of Oakland?

(Update: This case eventually proved to be a happy exception. Police arrested Deandre Hill, 18, of east Oakland. He confessed and was charged on Feb. 11 with the murder of Mejia. The break in the case came because witnesses stepped forward, defying the "don't snitch" command that thugs continually warn people about.)

For years City officials have talked about a "balanced" approach of police and violence prevention programs. It is false talk. We have fewer police now, and in the three years since passing Measure Y taxes, than we had when the council wrote the ordinance. Meanwhile, millions of dollars have flowed like a wide open water tap to barely supervised violence prevention programs – some effective, some not; some accountable, some scams.

"Balance" hasn't worked. When the roof is so far gone that it leaks in fifteen different places during a rainstorm, you do not talk about buying a new sofa. You do not discuss what color carpet to get. You replace the roof! The first job of city government is to hire enough officers, ensuring the public safety enjoyed in an average city. Do that first; then we can talk about other programs.

Campaign as you see best for national and state programs funded by the wider federal and California tax bases – but in Oakland our job is to stop the depolicing of Oakland.

We need to commit to at least 1,100 police, up from the 700 or so employed today. We need to let everyone know that the culture of disrespect will not be tolerated.

Before the next outrageous attack.