By Alex Gronke 
December 16, 2008 ken ott Looking forward to the "real deal."
Where is Chief Tucker now?
I would love to help you out with this...but get some basic facts straight first. It has not been proven that officers lied to get search warrants. In your video, you say that there is up to a 30% daily absentee rate, that officers just aren't there. There are a variety of reasons...sick, injured, training, vacation, comp time. Don't just make it seem like they just don't show up. Yes, morale is in the cellar. What are the biggest problems? Interference from city hall, promoting commanders who are more concerned about furthering their own careers as opposed to making OPD and the city of Oakland better. Beat officers are looked down upon and treated poorly by command...look who's working 12 hour shifts. The chief is despised and not respected by the majority of the department. He has no experience working as a police officer in Oakland...he is a political puppet, looking to increase his already large retirement. Interference from city council members. I'm sorry, it's not OPD's fault that Ignacio's son raped several women. Maybe he should have been a better father and raised his son with morals. I could go on and on, but get your basic facts straight first...OPD's address is 455 7th St., not 445 7th St.
There are always two sides to every story.
I don't think Alex wants to just slam the OPD. The intensity in your comment just goes to show that indeed this is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. We need to get (on the record, not just with a pseudonym comment) the other side of the story.
NOTE: There is a good chance the incorrect address was my fault (David the creator of Spot.Us). I am not an expert on Oakland P.D. - but I do think that this is something that needs to be reported on in a fair and earnest effort. But that is why we are calling on concerned Oakland natives (like yourself) to help us fund and tell this story.
Update from Alex (who is having trouble logging in which I will take care of).
Concerned Oakland Native - The mistake about the address was all mine. as for the debacle about the search warrants, OPD admits that officers claimed substances had been tested and found to be drugs on search warrant affidavits, when in truth no such testing had taken place. You are correct, there are many reasons why a police officer would not show up for work - many of them legitimate. What interests me is why OPD has an absenteeism rate more than double the average for other departments. Alex
Congratulations on getting the funding. Good luck with the work.
It's clear that Oakland city government is dysfunctional, and that this has adversely affected the OPD. OPD is also clearly dysfunctional, but that doesn't mean there aren't good people there.
It's also clear that there are many dedicated good cops that deserve better than a corrupt or unethical framework to operate in.
I can't imagine how bad it is to be an OPD cop right now. Getting it from above and below, no moral high ground, ineffectual because you can't rely on others to do their jobs.
I'm hopeful that this story will shed light on the situation and move towards real reform to restore OPD to a functional state.
It's like antiseptic, it stings but it's better in the long run.
Hi Alex,
I'm curious to find out how this pitch will address last Wednesday's events, esp. the relationship between BART police and Oakland police. Excited to read the story!
Alex
On Spot.Us we funded a story about the Oscar Grant shooting: http://spot.us/pitches/101
I'm sure the two are related to some degree - but technically it wasn't the Oakland PD involved in that shooting.
Oakland Police Chief Wayne Tucker's last day is supposed to be Saturday. On Wednesday, Tucker is scheduled to deliver a summary of his accomplishments at City Hall. He will no doubt cite the department's shift to an area command deployment structure in November 2007 as a signal achievement of his tenure. He will also tout the change to a 12-hour shift for Oakland cops that same month. What he won't be able to say is that he is leaving Oakland with a lower crime rate than when he started four years ago, or that a year of those innovations made Oakland residents any safer. Violent crime in Oakland was up four percent in 2008 over the previous year. As Tucker's stint ends, Oakland police officers are waiting. They are waiting to see if Tucker really will resign on February 28, or if his squealing that his lost confidence in the City Council when he announced his resignation marked a desire to fight for his job behind the scenes. If he does resign, who will replace him? His assistant chief David Kozicki wants the job. There have also been rumors that Ron Davis, who used to be with OPD and is now the chief of police in East Palo Alto has been spotted in City Hall recently. Oakland police officers are waiting for leadership that will make them proud of being a cop in Okaland again.
It's been a while since the last post on this story, can we get a progress report, or better yet, the story?
Looking forward to seeing it.
-J
Bryon
There have been a few updates made in the blog attached to this pitch (see the middle coloumn).
Alex has been looking for a way to push the conversation forward rather than rehash reporting that is already out there. From my observations he takes the original donations you made very seriously and is looking for a way to return that investment rather than hash something together quickly.
I know the waiting goes against the normal way things go on the internet. Sorry :(
But I've spoken with Alex and he has been on the job!
I'm starting to round up to a full year in my head when I talk about this story. What is the deal?
