Oakland City Leaders Call For More Protection After High-Profile Shootings
OAKLAND (KCBS) — Oakland city leaders joined residents in calling for the police and the mayor to provide more protection after the recent high-profile shooting deaths of a popular dog walker and a young girl attending a sleepover.
Speaking at a news conference in the 2400 block of Fern Street, where 66-year-old Judy Salamon was fatally shot in broad daylight Wednesday, City Councilman Noel Gallo said, "All leaders in this city, everyone from the police chief to the mayor to the City Council, should be ashamed of the poor job we are doing at protecting the residents of Oakland."
City Councilwoman Libby Schaaf, who represents the Fairfax district where Salamon lived and was killed, said, "Oaklanders shouldn't have to live like this, with bullets flying into their homes and cars."
In addition to Salamon's death, Schaaf said she was referring to the death of 8-year-old Alaysha Carradine, who was shot when she answered the door at an apartment at 3440 Wilson St. at about 11:15 p.m. on July 17. That location also is in Schaaf's district.
Schaaf said, "We need to raise children who are not capable of committing these acts and who don't remain silent in the face of these acts."
Bill Urban, a member of the Maxwell Park Neighborhood council, said that before Salamon's death, she was pushing for a private security patrol.
"It's been in the press for about a year, Judy was kind of an activist in the movement and was trying to get her neighbors signed up. There's already a fair amount of interest. More than 100 people have already signed contracts with this company. They already do airports and industrial complexes around the area."
Oakland City Leaders Call For More Protection After High-Profile Shootings
Many Oakland neighborhoods have turned to private patrols in light of the city's understaffed and overtaxed police department. Gallo points to last week's shooting death of 8-year-old Alaysha Carradine during a sleepover and then Wednesday's attack on Salamon, He said the police chief, mayor and even his own council colleagues should be ashamed of themselves for the lack of public protection.
Police have not said whether Salamon was targeted or the victim of a stray bullet but neighborhood leaders said her death is another reason they should hire private security patrols.
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