Despite there being video footage of an obvious assault with several punches landed on an 65-year-old, 88-pound woman at a laundromat near Lake Merritt, only one of the two suspects was cited for a misdemeanor, and police released them.
There is plenty of blame thrown around about skyrocketing crime in Oakland, with much of it going toward Mayor Shang Thao or Alameda County DA Pamela Price. Now the Oakland Police Department has surveillance footage explicitly showing a 65-year-old woman being punched three or four times, thrown to the ground at least twice, and grabbed by the neck. As KPIX reports, the Oakland PD merely cited one suspect for a misdemeanor and released them both, with the second suspect never charged with any crime.
The surveillance video of this harrowing attack is disturbing, but can be seen in the KPIX segment above. Two women enter Woody’s Laundromat near Lake Merritt shortly after 7 pm on the night of Saturday, March 16.
The signage clearly says “Last Wash 6:30 pm,” and laundromat attendant Ruth Wilde points out to them that it is too late to start a new load. The women leave with their laundry, but return 40 minutes later claiming that someone has stolen their clothes, even though security video shows that the two women left with their clothes.
And so the two suspects proceed to punch the 65-year-old, 88-pound Wilde, push her to the ground at least twice, and one of them grabs her by the neck. All of this is also captured on the security video.
"They punched me again and hard enough that my nose was bleeding. I saw stars and lights because they hit me so hard," Wilde told KPIX. "I was afraid that they were going to kill me or bash my head into the dryer."
Yet the system seemed to work, up until then, at least. Wilde called 911, at least five police officers arrived, several witnesses gave testimony, and the security video makes it very clear that assault did happen. To a normal person, this sure seems like elder abuse.
Yet only one of the two suspects was cited by police, merely with a misdemeanor, and she was promptly released. The Oakland Police Department would not release the suspect’s name, saying only that she would have to appear in court. It's not clear whether DA Price's office plans to file any further charges.
Wilde has worked at Woody’s laundromat for 27 years, and still suffers mouth pain from the punches, but says she is currently not going back in to work. "I'm afraid they're going to come back and do me in," Wilde told KPIX.
Image: Enriqua P via Yelp
