Oakland leaders, residents meet to discuss how to make The Town safe
OAKLAND -- At a public safety town hall on Saturday afternoon, East Bay law enforcement officials, prosecutors and public defenders addressed concerns and questions from community members.
Alameda County supervisor Keith Carson and the East Bay Black Men's Network hosted the event at Beebe Memorial Cathedral in west Oakland.
Oakland native Javarte Bobino and his 11-year-old son Zayden attended the town hall.
Bobino was worried because he and his son recently witnessed the Skyline High School graduation shooting that injured three people.
"I want my son to feel safe so he can thrive, so our community can thrive and excel as well," Bobino said. "There's not enough love being spread around. It's too much hate," Zayden Bobino-Seuell said.
They wanted to hear how Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez, Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell, the district attorney's office and other panelists plan to stop the violence.
"It takes all of us to solve some of the community's problems. It's not just law enforcement. It's the public defender's office, it's probation. We all have to be good partners, work together but also involve our community," said Sheriff Sanchez.
Police said they can't arrest their way out of the problem and they can't do it alone. They need to partner with the community.
"We can't always just push the problems off on law enforcement," said Oakland rapper Stanley Cox.
Cox, better known as Mistah F.A.B., has expanded beyond his role as an entertainer. In recent years, he started non-profit programs to work on violence prevention and address mental health.
"It's important that communities must come together from all different walks of life. The clergy, the artists, the politicians, the people, the juduicial system, law enforcement, governing officials," Cox said.
"We want our youth to get educated, not incarcerated," said Zirl Wilson, with the non-profit Lu Lu's House.
"If we have more programs and more stuff for us to do, we probably wouldn't be doing as much stuff that y'all caught us doing," said 19-year-old Oakland resident Ronald Grier.
While everybody admitted public safety is a complex issue, Bobino believes that, by talking to each other and working together, it gives them a better chance to improve the East Bay and Oakland.
"Events like this here in our community and connecting with our community make me more optimistic," Bobino said.
The challenge is always money. Oakland is facing a major budget deficit. A lot of people questioned who would fund the programs. Some people hoped private companies can fill the gap.