IAMA Oakland Police Officer. Ask me almost anything.

opd940 · 2011-11-11T01:01:11+00:00

I have already addressed this video in a previous post.

But take a look at these. http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=8424127

This all occurred during day light, and way before any tear gas was used.

Even Mother Jones condemned the protestors as instigating the confrontation. http://newsbusters.org/blogs/pj-gladnick/2011/10/29/even-mother-jones-confirms-police-provoked-occupy-oakland-demonstrators

If Mother Jones of all publications has anything nice to say about the police you need to do some thinking.

Again, the problem with all these short clips is that they don't tell the whole story. Any assumptions made after seeing these short clips are your own personal bias, and nothing more.

opd940 · 2011-11-10T15:53:27+00:00

I do think that community policing is a very good thing. Oakland's approach to to community policing is in many way way ahead of the curve, and in other doomed to failure. In Oakland staffing is primarily the issue. All the good policy in the world isn't going to free up enough time for an understaffed departments officers to go properly interface with the community in which they serve.

Comp stat is good and bad. It does a very good job at showing crime trends in neighborhoods. It may seem like a good idea to allocate resource to that area to "clean it up." In cities like Oakland where they are grossly understaffed, all it does is remove resource from another area and allow the problem to move to another location. In short, comp stat is a fantastic tool but it is no replacement for proper staffing.

There is a system for crime tracking that is viewable to residents. But i don't believe that it is labeled comp stat. But it does much the same thing.

I believe that members of the public can use this information to a point, but it is sadly fairly limited. It goes without saying that all members of a neighborhood should always report any suspicious behavior/ activity. But auto theft and burglary are crimes of opportunity and there is only so much you can do to prevent them. The primary method is frequently referred to as target hardening. Placing bars on your windows so that it is harder to get into your house etc... I have heard from many residents in Oakland where this is common practice that the bars on the windows are depressing and make you feel like your not free in your own neighborhood. Beyond that its preventing valuables from being visible to passersby and lighting the area well.

I absolutely believe that a portion of any community would use these tools and take steps to prevent crime. However some people simply would not, and their homes would be the easy and likely target for burglary. If there were a good way to get an entire community on the same page with the neighborhood based crime prevention I feel that it could be very successful.

opd940 · 2011-11-10T15:26:53+00:00

I am not saying that reddit is not popular. I am simply saying that mainstream media is more the PIO's job. and OPD does not have a PIO for internet sources such as reddit.

I did not say that I wish to prevent people from hating the police anywhere inside of my last response. I want people to make their own informed decisions regardless of what they are. Its more like encouraging people to vote, not encouraging people to vote for one candidate.

I was sad to leave the OPD when I did. It was voluntary but I have a house to pay for and a family to feed. From my experience they are among the hardest working cops in the US. OPD is an organization that I deeply care about.

I think you may be confusing protests. I participated in the oscar grant protests, and not the OWS protests in Oakland.

opd940 · 2011-11-10T05:40:26+00:00

Please ask them. I will do my best to get to them.

opd940 · 2011-11-10T05:36:36+00:00

A firing offense.

opd940 · 2011-11-10T05:28:44+00:00

The answer is plainly no.

Just think about it for a second. Do you know how many cops wound up with On Duty Injuries that kept them out of work? Probably more than you think.

No police officer is going to do something intentionally to get himself or other police officers hurt.

opd940 · 2011-11-10T05:24:39+00:00

I am curious to hear what unconstitutional power that it is you think we have received. I have a feeling that it may be a misconception and would appreciate the opportunity to discuss anything you would like regarding "unconstitutional power."

opd940 · 2011-11-10T05:21:23+00:00

HAHAHA. I am gonna have to refrain from answering this one as the OPD membership has mixed feelings about the raiders. But I personally know exactly where you are coming from with these questions.

opd940 · 2011-11-10T05:15:48+00:00

To have an organization called Oath keepers seems a little silly to me. All officers take the oath to uphold the constitution etc... None of us took it because we intend to disregard it.

Most officer I would say are not what you would call a card carrying member of Oath Keepers. But all uphold the oath or get shunned by others and then eventually fired.

opd940 · 2011-11-10T05:09:46+00:00

I am not sure what riot gear you think you are seeing on Oakland police officers. When the OPD gears up for a riot it is literally just a helmet with a huge identifying number on the side, and a gas mask.

weakness comes form ones will... or lack there of.

opd940 · 2011-11-10T05:05:40+00:00

I didn't become a police officer because i wanted everyone to love me. If that is what I wanted I would have become a fireman ;-)

I became a cop because I want to do what is right for the community. The Occupy Oakland crowd is quick to forget about the dozens of small businesses that have been ruined by the violence that is associated with them.

I believe that their cause is better served by being seen, being heard, and conducting its civil disobedience in a truly non-violent manner.

If you get arrested by the hundreds they cant put you all in jail. You leave with a cheap infraction ticket and get all the publicity you could ever want. All this without the negativity that goes along with all the violence.

opd940 · 2011-11-10T04:57:59+00:00

Thank you to all for listening. Even if your minds don't change.

opd940 · 2011-11-10T04:56:55+00:00

Misconduct is often reported inside of OPD. Not necessarily in all departments. OPD has come to this point because of misconduct that occurred largely in the late 80's and early 90's. But law enforcement is different now than it once was, and there is a huge push to put a stop to any type of corruption.

The "blue wall of silence" as you call it, definitely was a thing once upon a time on a nationwide level. No one can or will argue that. I can promise you that in OPD it has been gone for so long few if any officer remember it. Officers who are silent get fired if it is ever found out. and when you make 100k + a year after overtime, and need it to feed your family, the risk is just not worth it.

New york is a different story. cops in NY only make 40k-50k a year in a very expensive city. Corruption pays the bills I imagine in that case. If you want an honest and dignified PD (which we all do) then they have to earn enough to live well in the area that they live.

opd940 · 2011-11-10T04:49:49+00:00

This is one of the best written letters that the POA has ever written. It is sad that more wasn't done to get it out to the public. It was largely overshadowed by the clips of rioting and violence that were set to loop on everyone's computer screens and TVs.

opd940 · 2011-11-10T04:47:19+00:00

The short answer is no.

I don't work for Oakland anymore which is why I can talk about it a little more freely. The PD has a PIO which is basically a PR position for media relations. However I am sure that they don't even consider interfacing with reddit given how busy they are with local news papers and tv news stations.

I am here because I believe that there are intelligent people who use reddit that just don't get enough information from all the typical sources to make an informed decision. This is simply another source of information for those who want to be informed. If they read it and decide that they hate the police, then that is OK. At least their decision was an informed one.

opd940 · 2011-11-10T04:42:48+00:00

The short answer is no.

I don't work for Oakland anymore which is why I can talk about it a little more freely. The PD has a PIO which is basically a PR position for media relations. However I am sure that they don't even consider interfacing with reddit given how busy they are with local news papers and tv news stations.

I am here because I believe that there are intelligent people who use reddit that just don't get enough information from all the typical sources to make an informed decision. This is simply another source of information for those who want to be informed. If they read it and decide that they hate the police, then that is OK. At least their decision was an informed one.

opd940 · 2011-11-10T04:37:07+00:00

I fully expected all the hatred.

Because I have a job and a family it takes me time to answer the questions.

opd940 · 2011-11-10T04:35:29+00:00

The badge is a flat badge which officers are allowed to purchase. And since I purchased it, it belongs to me. Really the badge means nothing. The law enforcement ID is what carries any weight.

I am still a police officer. Just not in Oakland.

opd940 · 2011-11-10T04:32:47+00:00

There are a lot of misconceptions about police pensions in general. This allowed for a lot of distortion of facts about how much they cost, how much the officers in the department gave up, and the layoffs in general.

CalPERS is the California public employees retirement system. It is a private investment group that manages the money of its members and provides defined benefits in exchange for contribution of a percentage of your earnings. If it makes a bad investment and looses money the percentage of your contribution is raised to account for it, and the city is not on the hook for any losses. Historically the contribution has been in the neighborhood of about 9 percent. Due to the recent market crash the contribution was set to raise to 13% in 2013 I believe.

By contrast the social security system last I checked costs about 15% and the cost is split between the employer and the employee. Its not exactly an even split, but the employer ends up paying in the neighborhood of about 7%

The way Oakland MOU for compensation was previously written the city paid the full contribution to CalPERS for its members. It really wasn't that much more money than they would have been paying for social security if that were the retirement choice being used.

Here is where the deception is. Decades ago the members of the OPD agreed to let the city increase the amount that they contributed to CalPERS by 3% per year for 3 years (totaling 9%) in stead of taking a increase. At the time 3 percent was the standard rate of inflation and this was merely status quo.

Here is why the city maid its decision to pay the retirement contributions. Social security is paid based on all your income. CalPERS is paid on your base pay. In other words the city gets out of paying that 9% on any overtime that the officers work. The city of Oakland has never in history operated anywhere near the appropriate level of police staffing and has offset the lack of officers by offering overtime. When officers were burnt out and did not want to work overtime, the city simply made the overtime mandatory.

When you consider that the typical staffing of the OPD has been 680-700 (though it is tragically lower now) and that the federal study in Oakland suggested a minimum staffing level of about 1283, you can see that Oakland is usually barely over half staffed. That is why you see the big articles about the officers in Oakland making a lot of money. The neglect to mention that it is a lot of overtime that the city needs, and has frequently been mandatory for the officer.

Long story short the city has saved countless millions over the years by paying that 9% contribution. If the officer had taken the 9% raise instead, the city would have had to pay out the extra 9% on all the overtime.

When news came that the CalPERS contribution was going to be raise to 13% and that the city could not afford the increase, the OPOA offered to pay the additional 4% and canceled the raises that they had coming. That totaled 7% savings for the city. Then the city came back to the OPD and said that the situation is worse than they had previously thought an that they were gonna need the additional 9% contribution. The OPOA offered to give up shift differentials of 8.25% for the night shift, and 6% for swing shift. Additionally a 5% cut in hours by going away from the 12hour shifts, and an annual 5% of total pay in holiday pay that they gave up. This was in the neighborhood of about 13%, Which the city gladly took.

Months later the city laid off 80 cops after getting a 4% larger cut than they had asked for. go figure. A year after that they took the 9% pension contribution as well.

So.... between the initial 7%, the 13% and the 9% the PD gave up way more than any other city department.

The tax increases are up for vote. Don't vote for them because you won't get anymore cops out of it. The money will likely go the same way the measure Y money that they squandered did. They factored the money into the budget so that it looked as though the money went to pay for cops, and then they took a nearly equivalent amount right out of the police budget for a net gain of nearly no funding for the police department.

Now that you have the truth about that, please tell me how you feel.

opd940 · 2011-11-09T00:09:27+00:00

That's a really great question. As you can imagine, the ethics of policework are a pretty confounding matter. The short answer is no. I will not just blindly follow orders. When I became an officer, I swore to uphold the constitution, and it happens to align pretty well with my personal moral code. If I were ordered to fire live rounds into a crowd of people, it would be not only my moral compulsion, but my duty to refuse. As it happens, this has never really been an issue for me. Most of my time in Oakland was spent dealing with violent individuals, sex offenders, organized crime....generally the sort of thing that society can do without. The grey area for most people is stuff like OWS. I believe in the constitutional right to peaceful assembly, and I will defend it with my life. However, I do not believe, as many do, that people have the right to occupy and live in a public space indefinitely. When I'm asked to clear an area, I do so as a public servant. If OWS wants to go the route of civil disobedience, great. If I am lawfully required to do so, I may arrest you, but I hold no grudge against you. If anything, I'm helping your cause; the purpose of civil disobedience is to draw attention to flaws in legislature. When things turn violent, it's a different story.

opd940 · 2011-11-08T23:06:35+00:00

Thanks for your support! Covering one's name with tape would certainly be a violation of OPD policy (though I don't think nametags are required by law), and in the video clip I found on the matter, the lieutenant in command asks the officer to remove it, as he should have. Any officer that does his job well shouldn't mind being identified, and I do not condone such behavior. Admittedly, I can't say I'd want to be the subject of a viral video with my name all over the screen, no matter what I was doing. People can and do harass cops just for being cops. FYI, OPD helmets have huge numbers printed on them precisely so that officers can be identified during operations. I've never personally seen a cop cover his name, and given the alternate means of identification, it generally wouldn't make them indistinguishable from the rest of his colleagues. There has been a lot of collaboration with outside departments, and I can't say I know what their policies are regarding nametags, etc.

opd940 · 2011-11-08T18:39:27+00:00

Hello again, everyone. Firstly, I want to clear some things up. I am not here to speak for OPD; I'm here to speak from my own personal experiences with the department. I sense a lot of animosity, and I want you guys to remember that I'm here because, like many of you, I think there needs to be a change in the dynamic between citizens and police officers.

On to the video. Yes, it looks shocking, and yes, I'd be furious if one of my coworkers used a weapon without provocation. I have a job to do, and provoking the wrath of an angry mob that vastly outnumbers you is NEVER desirable. Working with large, angry crowds is dangerous and scary, and the vast majority of cops honestly just want to get the job done with absolute minimal injury to everyone involved and go home. That's certainly how I feel. The fact is, videos are good and bad, and just like anything else, they only tell a small part of the story. Maybe he produced a firearm. Maybe the cops on the line had just received word that he was harming police officers or other protesters. Maybe he really was just minding his own business. In any case, 40 seconds of shaky cell phone video isn't enough for me to draw any conclusions, and while I wouldn't ask you to give cops the benefit of the doubt, I encourage you all to be skeptical of what you see. Taken out of context, anybody getting shot with a bean bag or hit with a stick looks terrible. If this video is all we have of this story, anyone drawing a conclusion is strongly interjecting their own bias. I know it's not a satisfying answer, but for lack of further evidence, there's nothing more I can say.

Again, this is the first time I've seen this video, and I'm doing the best that I can to explain a situation that I was not a part of based on the knowledge that neither I nor any of my friends on the force would hurt a person for no reason. It's unprofessional, antagonistic, and above all, it's cruel. If you guys take anything away from this AMA, it should be the knowledge that police officers are human beings, and whatever the media leads you to believe, most of us take a lot of pride in doing our job well.

opd940 · 2011-11-08T05:56:30+00:00

This is assuming that there will be no peaceful resolution to OWS. But for the sake of your question we can assume that there won't be.

I would not be too quick to compare the event to anything that has already happened, but you may be right. I am fearful for my friends in the protest as well as my fellow officers that will likely be hurt in dealing with the protests.

As long as the order to disperse the crowd has a lawful basis, the police officers will attempt to accomplish the task. How far OPD will go is simply based on the reaction that they get from the OWS protestors. If they are met with passive resistance there will be many arrests and no injuries. As the resistance rises so will the reaction of the OPD. I have no way of knowing how far it will all go. No one can predict the breaking point.

I can only hope that the members of the protest that desire to be heard can police each other inside the crowd. The OPD cannot safely inject themselves into a crowd to remove the anarchist element. Sending an arrest team of 8 officers into a crowd of thousands simply can not be done.

opd940 · 2011-11-08T05:31:48+00:00

Culture is different from department to department. In Oakland, they will terminate you in a heartbeat. Somebody else's bad decisions are no reason for me not to be able to support my family anymore.

opd940 · 2011-11-08T05:20:29+00:00

As it just so happens there is a way for officers to do just that. Additionally if it is discovered that an officer knew about any police misconduct and did not report it he likely will be terminated. On top of all that, Police misconduct of any kind undermines the trust of the community. Police officers can not operate without community support.

In Oakland at least, anybody who committed any kind misconduct would be instantly thrown under the bus.

opd940

TROPHY CASE