ZENNIE62MEDIA, Inc. received this “Action Alert” from the Office of Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. It’s great that she calls for funding for police academies, but she and the City Council fail to inact AB 464 to get billions to Oakland small business, and she has not stood alongside her police chief when he announces the deaths of Oaklanders at the hands of criminals. Libby must do what other big city mayors do: take on their hardest problems and not appear as if they’re leaving it to their, in this case, black police chief.
| ACTION ALERT Dear Oaklanders, Tomorrow the City Council will decide whether to add up to two new police academies, which would help keep our police department staffed at the minimum levels for the next year. We need your City Council representative to hear your voice and vote “yes” to add the academies — one right now, and a potential second academy next fiscal year. This summer we made great strides to reimagine public safety. Our budget provided $30 million for the City Council in a contingency fund, which they used to make historic investments in our Dept. of Violence Prevention and new initiatives like MACRO to reduce police response to non-violent 911 calls. But with a deeply under-staffed police department, OPD still struggles to deliver basic emergency response to all residents. As of today, Oakland has 694 sworn officers — the fewest since 2014. Additionally, OPD already has the lowest officer per-violent crime staffing of any department in America. |
 |
| I’m heartened that the City Council has decided to reconsider adding the academies and address the reality that our police department needs to invite new and diverse recruits, who are dedicated to serving a city that’s become a national leader in progressive, constitutional policing. We can do both: We can reimagine public safety and we can provide a basic level of public safety for our residents. Please contact your City Councilmember and tell them to vote “yes” on adding the police academies. You can email all Councilmembers [email protected] AND participate in their special meeting tomorrow, Sept. 21, at 1 p.m. at this Zoom link or through phone toll free: 877 853 5247 or 888 788 0099 or 833 548 0276: Meeting ID: 846 1487 2331. If asked for a participant ID or code, press #. With Oakland-love, Libby |
Stay tuned.