Oakland Plans Cuts To Police Oversight Amid Budget Woes

When I think of models of public trust, I often think of the Oakland Police Department. These upstanding men and women are the same people that beat the shit out of Tupac Shakur for jaywalking. And as you may know, jaywalking is one of Oakland’s most pressing problems, so naturally, these brave warriors fighting on the front lines of pedestrian safety surely don’t need to be scrutinized in any capacity.

Thankfully, Oakland agrees because the city has planned cuts to its police oversight groups such as the Office of Inspector General and the Community Police Review Agency.

Sarcasm aside, this is a recipe for disaster. 

Oakland is financially in dire straits, but that isn’t an excuse for the city’s civic leaders to be dipshits. Oakland isn’t a normal city. Oakland faces challenges that most American cities have never even imagined of confronting. Everyone knows Oakland has a crime problem. Not a day goes by without a rightwinger on Nextdoor or X giving their hot takes, but Oakland also historically has a police brutality problem that goes back decades. 

The Riders Scandal:

Back in the ‘90s and early 2000s, there was a group of veteran Oakland Police officers known as ‘The Riders.’ These so-called ‘riders’ would essentially terrorize West Oakland. They were known for beatings, planting drugs on people to justify arrests. It wasn’t until a rookie cop resigned after only a few weeks on the job and sued the Oakland Police Department for its abuses. This lawsuit put OPD under federal oversight, which it is still under as the department as the department has failed to meet necessary reform requirements. 

The Celeste Guap Scandal:

You would think being under the watchful eye of Uncle Sam would create some sort of incentive for OPD to get its shit together, but apparently not. In 2016, the Oakland Police Department was embroiled in another scandal, this time due to officers being involved in an underaged sex ring. Officers allegedly took turns receiving sexual favors from a 17 year old who was the daughter of a 911 dispatcher. The case was settled for $989,000. Many of the police officers involved in the case were reprimanded, but not fired. That’s correct, the Oakland Police Department was involved in a pedophile ring, and the officers got off unscathed. The Oakland Police weren’t the only departments allegedly involved. This case also included officers from SFPD, Richmond PD and Livermore PD. 

This reduction in police oversight also couldn’t happen at a worse time. The Bay Area has shifted decidedly to the right as progressive District Attorneys have been recalled and right leaning figures have received funding to push historically democratic cities further to the right. And Donald Trump is the President. If there was a time when local police oversight and accountability was needed, it’s now. 

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