A new internal report from the OPD casts the police department as victims who showed "a great deal of restraint while surrounded by an angry, assaultive crowd" during last October's melee with Occupy Oakland supporters. The report reveals that a lack of organization on the part of the police led to news of their October 25 raid on the encampment at Frank Ogawa Plaza being leaked to protesters, and that the department was short-staffed in the later part of the day as tensions rose in the streets of downtown Oakland. Also, they neglect to mention the Scott Olsen or Kayvan Sabehgi incidents at all, and paint a picture of policemen being attacked from all sides by angry protesters. more ›

The OPD has yet more blood on their hands — and another potentially disastrous PR problem to contend with — as news arrives today that the victim in an officer-involved shooting in East Oakland on Sunday is a cousin of the late, martyred Oscar Grant. As ABC 7 reports, not only does the victim, Tony Jones, claim he was unarmed at the time of the shooting, but he and his family say he is related to Grant, who was a resident of Hayward. more ›

As KTVU reported on Friday, their office obtained about 1,000 internal emails between Oakland City Hall and the Oakland Police Department discussing how the city should handle the Occupy Oakland encampment before and after the initial raid on October 25th that landed the city in the national spotlight more ›

After encountering several arrests at Frank Ogawa Plaza during the past few weeks, Occupy Oakland has turned the heat up a notch by organizing a "March Against Repression" Saturday night dubbed, "Fuck OPD." The organizers are demanding the release of their fellow activists who are currently in Santa Rita Jail, including Marcel Johnson, a homeless man who might be facing the three-strike law and was allegedly held in solitary confinement without his psychiatric medications for ten days. more ›

Approximately 60 Oakland police in riot gear entered Frank Ogawa Plaza around 11:30 p.m. last night and "made several indiscriminate arrests," as KRON4 is reporting. A dozen Occupy Oakland folk were arrested in total after they were marching in front of City Hall in protest of Tuesday's forced removal of their symbolic teepee. more ›

We're not sure what's worse: Spending millions of dollars to protect a concrete and grass plaza from a few dozen earnest hippies and ultimately brutalizing several protesters and launching a nationally vilified tear-gas attack on them, all the while complaining about how much it all cost; or spending weeks trying to decide if they should apologize or stay the course, and then deciding to drop six figures on a report by an independent investigator into the use of force by police and whether it was justified. This would be Oakland we're talking about, and City Administrator Deanna Santana has just announced they will be paying $100,000 for a report from a retired Baltimore cop and a few other consultants which may or may not result in some slaps on the wrists of police officers. more ›

At their meeting last night, the Oakland City Council rejected a proposed resolution — which we discussed yesterday — that would have authorized Oakland police to use "whatever lawful tools" necessary to prevent another shutdown of the Port. Though it took little debate for councilmembers to postpone the resolution, asking for further study before they consider anything similar, dozens of Occupy supporters and protesters used the opportunity to create a bit of mayhem in the Council chambers. more ›

Some new footage has surfaced, oddly via the UK Guardian, showing exactly what happened when 32-year-old Kayvan Sabehgi was beaten by a riot cop, lacerating his spleen after the General Strike day, November 2. The original reports stated that Sabehgi, a veteran of the Iraq War, had been protesting earlier in the day, but was simply trying to reason with cops who would not let him pass in order to get to his apartment, which was within sight of the intersection of 16th and Broadway where this incident took place. more ›

It looks like Oakland mayor and incessant flip-flopper Jean Quan is once again about to try to oust the dirty hippies from her front yard, and we can promise you this isn't gonna be pretty. Matier & Ross at the S.F. Chronicle cite an anonymous source in the Oakland Police Department who says that they've canceled all training exercises for next week, "which is a 'pretty good indication' that the cops are making plans once again to clear out the Occupy camp outside City Hall." more ›

Way back in 2003, current interim police chief for the Oakland Police Department Howard Jordan was recorded discussing the need to be "way ahead of the curve" when it comes to protests in his city. At the time, he was referring to the Port of Oakland protest, but here we are eight years later and his words, "if you put people in there from the beginning, I think we'll be able to gather the information and maybe even direct them to do something we want them to do," are causing some concern among East Bay Occupiers. As the video below shows, at least two officers have been spotted around Occupy Oakland, undercover as a fixie-riding hip-hop enthusiast and a Raiders fan: more ›

Last week's disturbing case of a burning female body that was dumped in the middle of a quiet Rockridge Street early one morning appears to be heading somewhere. First, the victim was identified as 21-year-old Monica Rodas-Alfaro, a mother of one. And police arrested two men yesterday in connection with the case who were spotted walking on the 4800 block of Macarthur Boulevard, who subsequently took off running. Cops gave chase, and the two men, whose names have not been released, were apprehended and taken into custody. more ›

Oakland police responded to a tip yesterday that an act of violent crime was going to take place on the 3000 block of Curran Way. When they arrived, they saw a blue van that had been described to them being pursued by a Lexus. Police aren't yet discussing what happened next, but gunfire erupted, and two men ended up dead. A third suspect fled on foot, and was later apprehended via infra-red, helicopter camera. more ›

21-year-old Walter Sayles went to speak with the Oakland police about being shot at around 5 a.m. yesterday morning. Cops started speaking with Sayles about some robberies that were happening in the area, and Sayles ended up admitting his involvement in over 30 of them, in Oakland, San Leandro, and elsewhere. more ›

The Oakland Police will have to answer to the public after fatally shooting an unarmed "popular store owner" on Monday. The man, identified as 37-year-old Derek Jones, was killed by officers after responding to a domestic violence call. more ›

We might want to chalk this up to some copycat anti-cop rage following on that major shootout with the CHP on 580, but last night around 11:30 p.m. the Oakland PD were detaining suspects in a car on suspicion of drug charges near 8th and Adeline in West Oakland when shots began coming at them from somewhere they couldn't see. They moved to shield themselves and the detainees, and a later investigation of a nearby high-rise led nowhere. They're now on the hunt for an apparent sniper. [NBC Bay Area] more ›

The International Boxing Association has banned the Oakland Police Department from future fights in the "Badge vs. Badge" police boxing series pending an investigation of the causes of an audience brawl Friday night at a Sacramento match. more ›

The new inquiry points the blame at several commanding officers in the Oakland Police Department for the shooting deaths of four cops by Lovelle Mixon in March 2009. more ›

Fuzz from "throughout California and from as far away as New York and Florida" showed up today to attend the funerals of Sgt. Mark Dunakin, Sgt, Ervin Romans, Sgt. Daniel Sakai, and Officer John Hege. While every Oakland police officer has the day off to attend the services (or play hooky), officers from outside the OPD will take their place for the day. Same goes for 911 dispatchers. In related news, "Interstate 880 near Oracle Arena and surrounding streets are gridlocked as police officers arrive for the slain OPD officers' funeral," according to CBS 5. Use caution (or BART) when traveling in the East Bay today, folks. more ›

While tomorrow's funeral for the four Oakland police officers is anticipated to draw 18,000 people to the Oracle Arena, almost every East Bay freeway will be affected as the bodies of Oakland Police officers Sgt. Mark Dunakin, Sgt. Ervin Romans, Sgt. Daniel Sakai, and Officer John Hege and their families make their way to and from the funeral. According to KNTV, "processions will come from Tracy, Danville, Concord and Castro Valley which will effect nearly every East Bay freeway. Specifically it] will impact Highway 880, Interstate Highway 980, state Highway 238, Interstate Highway 680, and Interstate Highway 580." more ›

Photographs of the makeshift memorial for Mark Dunakin, John Hege, Ervin Romans and Daniel Sakai, the four officers gunned down by Lovelle Mixon on Saturday, March 21. more ›

San Francisco resident and YouTuber Jacquelineveronique has posted a number of anti-gun videos on the site, and in the wake of the tragic murders of 4 Oakland police officers yesterday, she is renewing her call to our nations leaders to destroy the 2nd Amendment. more ›

Oh, Indybay.org, you know we like you. Why? Because you're so hot-headed and loopy; the flipside to zombietime, if you will. But this takes the soy-based vegan carrot cake. more ›

New information is coming out about Lovelle Mixon, the man accused of shooting four Oakland police officers during a routine traffic stop Saturday afternoon. The Oakland parolee, according to SF Chronicle, "was a wanted man and deliberately skipped out on a meeting as part of a feud he was having with his parole agent." more ›