Oakland Police Department

Oakland Assigns Just One Cop to Investigate 10,000 Robberies

Earlier this week, we probably shocked nobody with the news that Oakland was officially the robbery capital of America. But now we're going to tell you something that probably will shock you. According to news reports, Oakland police assigned only one part-time investigator last year to solve more ... More >>

Second Chief Resigns From Oakland Police Department in 48 Hours

Apparently, there is a less desirable job than being a newspaper reporter: running the Oakland Police Department. In less than 72 hours, two chiefs at the Oakland Police Department quit. Former Police Chief Howard Jordan resigned on Wednesday, citing medical reasons for his decision. However, hi ... More >>

Record Peddler: The Horrors of Suggesting a CD to a Vinyl Buyer

[Record Peddler is an occasional column by Sam Lefebvre on life and music as viewed from behind the counter of an independent record store.] I've continuously worked in record stores since I was 16 years old. For nearly a year, I lived in the back of one record store while working in another, and w ... More >>

Blind Spot: A Motorcycle Death Raises Unanswerable Questions

San Francisco Man Gunned Down in Oakland

Oakland police are investigating a shooting death involving one of our own San Francisco residents. Officer J. Moore told us this morning that police were called to the intersection of Ninth and Clay streets, just a few blocks from the 12th Street BART station, at about 3 a.m. Sunday where they fo ... More >>

Smoked Out: Will Puffing Pot at Concerts Get You in Trouble?

Oakland Police Department Dodges Federal Receivership -- For Now

Remember when we told you that the Oakland Police Department was on the verge of a federal takeover after its mishandling of internal affairs investigations? Turns out, the cops have dodged that bullet this time. The OPD is being given one last chance to reform. If it fails, it will become the fir ... More >>

Gary Steven Atkinson, S.F. Man, Charged With Kidnapping and Raping Severely Autistic Teen

A San Francisco man arrested earlier this week on suspicion of attacking a 16-year-old autistic girl who walked away from her Oakland group home was charged with kidnapping her, holding her in his home, and raping her repeatedly before she managed to escape. Gary Steven Atkinson, 36, was arraigned ... More >>

Cops Arrest Man on Suspicion of Beating, Sexually Assaulting Autistic Teen on Muni Bus

Oakland police confirmed they arrested a 36-year-old man in connection to the tragic assault of a 16-year-old autistic girl.As the Chron reports today, the cops arrested someone in the beating and sexual assault of the teen who walked away from her group home last Tuesday in Oakland. She was found t ... More >>

Shyanne White, Missing Autistic Teen, Found Badly Beaten, Sexually Assaulted on Bus in S.F.

Good News: San Francisco authorities say that found the severely autistic Oakland girl who had been missing for two days. Sadly, the 16-year-old had been badly beaten and sexually assaulted. Shyanne White, 16, was found on a bus in San Francisco about 8 p.m. on Thursday, according to her mother, Sh ... More >>

Dumb Teen Unwittingly Attempts to Rob S.F. Cop, Gets Shot

A 17-year-old kid targeted the wrong couple when he reportedly tried rob an off-duty San Francisco sheriff's deputy in Oakland -- only to wind up getting shot. The teen, an Alameda resident whose name was not released because he's a minor, was still in the hospital as of last night, but remains in s ... More >>

Occupy Protester Is Convicted for Trashing Parts of Oakland, Faces Jail Time

Here's the thing about government: It governs you, which means you can't treat the community like your own personal playground.But like many Occupiers, Cesar Aguirre, 24, of Elk Grove, learned this the hard way today when a jury convicted him of trashing the Oakland Police Internal Affairs and Recr ... More >>

Fire Roaring at Chevron Refinery in Richmond (Update)

Update (9:45 p.m.): BART officials say all stations have been reopened except for Richmond.Update (9:35 p.m.): News outlets are reporting that tons of people are flooding emergency rooms complaining of breathing problems. Update (9:17 p.m.): Chevron officials just held a short news conference, sayin ... More >>

Oakland Police Department Has a Long Road to Reform, Feds Say

The Oakland Police Department is getting bad press -- again. Since January, the department has been operating under threat of federal receivership, and the latest report from the their federal monitor, Robert Warshaw, reveals that photos defaced in a "racist, insulting, and inappropriate" manner wer ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

Oakland Police Raid Sit-in at Elementary School, Two Arrested

Oakland Police stormed the sit-in at Lakeview Elementary early this morning, breaking up the three-week-old encampment and arresting two people. Authorities arrived on scene just after 4 a.m. and ordered protesters (a.k.a. teachers, parents, and probably some tutors) to disperse -- now. Like ob ... More >>

Unmasking the Anarchists: Occupy Oakland Returns

Occupy Oakland Brings Chaos to Downtown -- Again

Update 2:42 p.m.: Police have declared an unlawful assembly at 14th and Broadway, and are threatening to use more tear gas. Update 2:09 p.m.: The party has now moved to 14th and Broadway where occupiers are reportedly teaching people how to Dougie. Meanwhile, police have deployed tear gas on protest ... More >>

Transgender Woman Murdered in Oakland

Oakland police are investigating the shooting death of a 37-year-old transgender woman in downtown Oakland early Sunday morning.According to press reports, the woman, who has only been identified by friends and family as Brandy, was walking near 13th and Franklin streets at about 6 a.m. when she was ... More >>

Oakland Police Claim They Were the Real Victims of Occupy Raids

It's been six months since Oakland police raided the Occupy camp in downtown, breaking down tents, arresting protesters, and tear gassing others -- and finally, we are getting the OPD's side this PR nightmare.In essence, the riot-gear-clad, gun-toting cops claim they were the real victims of the Occ ... More >>

SFPD Help Look for Gun Used in Oikos University Shooting Spree

San Francisco police have dispatched a boat with an underwater camera to help Oakland police look for the missing gun used in yesterday's school shooting where seven people were killed and at least three were badly injured. According to SF Appeal, Oakland police have been searching the Oakland Estua ... More >>

One Goh Identified as Suspect in Deadly Oikos University Shooting; Seven Confirmed Dead

​(Update 5:15 p.m.): Police identified the suspect in today's shooting as 43-year-old One Goh, and Oakland resident and student at the private university. (Update 3:20 p.m.): Police told reporters that the death toll in the Oakland mass killing has now risen to seven. (Update 2 p.m): City Councilm ... More >>

Possible Gunman and Robbery in Northern Oakland CVS

Updated at 12:02 p.m.: Oakland police reports that the surveillance camera in CVS shows a masked man walking to the counter this morning, then leaving through the rear doors of the building before the police arrived to the scene. Oakland SWAT team has cleared the CVS building and ... More >>

Occupy Oakland to Hold "Anti-Police" Rally Today, Sans "Blood and Tear Gas"

​Occupy Oakland protesters are gathering in downtown today with plans for yet another momentous day of action. But don't everyone get too excited -- occupiers are striving to make this event completely tame. The day of action was scheduled to start with a noon rally in downtown Oakland at Frank O ... More >>

Occupy Oakland: Police Release Surveillance of City Hall Break-In

​Occupy Oakland and Oakland police have been playing the blame game with who's responsible for the chaos and violence that erupted in downtown Saturday night. And while it continues to be a chicken-or-the-egg debate, police can say with some certainty that occupiers are responsible for the break-i ... More >>

Newspaper Guild Blasts Mayor Jean Quan Over Arrest of Reporters at Occupy Oakland

​Plenty of people are unhappy all around about what happened in downtown Oakland Saturday evening -- journalists included. Hundreds of police in riot gear descended on a planned Occupy Oakland rally over the weekend, which escalated into another violent scene where more than 400 people were arrest ... More >>

Occupy Oakland Camp Dismantled by Police -- Again

​Well, that didn't last long. Less than 48 hours after Occupy Oakland had returned with a new camp, pitching more than a dozen tents in West Oakland, police dismantled the encampment, removing squatters who had just made themselves at home. According to the Chron, police were instructed by the pro ... More >>

Oakland Sexual Assault: SFPD Looking for Possible Connection to Mission District Rapes

Another sexual assault reported, but this one was in Oakland​San Francisco's Mission District has been on edge over two recent brutal rapes, which police believe involve the same suspect. With no real leads, police told SF Weekly they are now "looking into" possible similarities with an early-morn ... More >>

Granny Greenleaf's Pumpkin Harvest Delight Edibles: Pumpkin in the Hour of Chaos

Granny Greenleaf's "Lil Velvets." The Pumpkin Harvest Delight got scarfed before we could get a shot.​If you replaced the word "sailing" from Christopher Cross's 1980 easy listening tour de force with the word "Oaksterdam," it would tickle so good. Especially now, as the smells of autumn com ... More >>

After Shooting, Occupy Oakland General Assembly Announces "This is a Peaceful Revolution"

Updated at 6:49 p.m.: Conger reports that the scene in the camp is peaceful, with protesters discussing the events calmly with police officers. Still, some protesters are chanting "Tell the truth!" to reporters out of concern that the shooting will be tied to Occupy. Updated at 6:35 p.m.: Kate Co ... More >>

Occupy Oakland: Police Release Their Own Videos Detailing Chaotic Raid

Oakland Police were wearing video cameras the morning they raided the Occupy Oakland camp two weeks ago, which quickly degenerated into chaos and violence. And with their own surveillance, comes the officers' own perspective on what happened that morning. In the wake of massive criticism over police ... More >>

Ranger Noir: S.F. Park Patrol Run as Money-Making Machine

Alleged Meth Dealer Mad at Girlfriend for Letting Police Inside His Trailer

She's really bringing you down, man​Charlie Okigbo Jr. might have taken valuable life lessons from an Aug. 27 incident that brought Oakland Police officers to his home.For example, he might have reflected on the fact that cellphone cases are for carrying Nokias, Motorollas and HTCs -- not cry ... More >>

Woman Videos Man Who Raped Her

Caught on tape for the world to see​Technology truly came in handy for one woman who was smart enough to quickly record footage of the man who broke into her home and sexually assaulted her. Now that footage of the man has been released to media outlets. Sometime around 9:40 a.m. on Tuesday, the 2 ... More >>

UC Education Rally Targets State Cuts, Then Cops

Much to be against​SF Weekly readers have grown accustomed to the all-consuming education cuts -- and the protests, or what some might call mayhem, that go along with them. But here is another layer to the budget cut story: Protesters who publicly railed against the state cuts and tuition hikes la ... More >>

Jailhouse Phone Calls to Go Unmonitored -- Reach Out and Whack Someone

'Don't forget your silencer, Vito.'​Thanks to budget constraints, the San Francisco Sheriff's Department has cut back on monitoring prisoner phone calls, which, in the past, has helped prosecutors mount credible criminal cases. But now, that full-time government monitoring has gone away.The Sherif ... More >>

Oakland Police Shoot Dog -- Yes, Again

This is a 37-year-old magazine cover -- no dogs were harmed​Sometimes one gets the feeling that the Oakland Police didn't think the end of Old Yeller was sad at all. KTVU-TV is reporting the department's members are, once again, in hot water for shooting a dog. The condition of that pit bull is un ... More >>

Baylinks: American Idol, Haight, iSex

chemistryland.com​A year later, Oakland police hold press conference about missing child [Oakland North]American Idol asks the city to shut down an intersection [SF Examiner]Muni-inspired woven craft [Muni Diaries]

George Huggins Charged with Murdering Jinghong Kang for $17, Could Face Death

Oakland Police DepartmentGeorge Huggins may face the death penalty if convicted of Jinghong Kang's killing​George Huggins -- the 24-year-old Oakland man accused of pulling the trigger in a murder that sickened the nation -- may face the death penalty if found guilty. Huggiins, along with his 33-ye ... More >>

Surveillance Footage Leads to Two Arrests in Killing of Jinghong Kang, Shot for $17

Oakland Police DepartmentThis surveillance footage led to a pair of arrests in the killing of Jinghong Kang​After being recognized in grainy surveillance footage, a couple have been arrested by Oakland Police in connection to the mugging and murder of 45-year-old Google job interviewee Jinghong Ka ... More >>

Would Manslaughter Conviction in Mehserle Case Stave Off Riot?

​In a massive development in Johannes Mehserle's murder trial, Judge Robert Perry today gave jurors the option of doing more than either convicting the former BART cop of cold-blooded murder or acquitting him outright for shooting dead unarmed passenger Oscar Grant. Perry tossed out the possibilit ... More >>

Reinventing the past

The head of the park patrol has some explaining to do.

Art of the Worlds

Jerry Brown Not the Man for "Independent" Police Probe

Dominatrix Blew Whistle on Bernie Ward

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Longitudes and latitudes

Asian directions in sound; heavenly lawlessness.

Rave On?

In the midst of increasing shutdowns and tension with authorities, Bay Area ravers are doing what they've always done -- adapting

The Grid

Letters