OAKLAND (KPIX) — A day after Oakland hit the grim milestone of its 100th homicide so far this year, city council members who voted to reduce resources to the police force reversed course. In a 6-to-2 vote the council voted to increase the number of new police recruits.

Tuesday’s late-night vote will fund two new police academies over the next two years.

Councilmember Sheng Thao introduced the proposal to add the new police academies. It was a move that Mayor Libby Schaaf has been advocating for months.

The department has shrunk to 694 sworn officers—the fewest since 2014.

“Good policing requires officers that are not just running from 911 call to 911 call or are exhausted because they’re working too much overtime,” said Schaaf. “Oakland has the lowest per violent crime staffing of any department in America.”

The city’s 100th murder victim of 2021 was a man found shot to death Monday morning outside the Coliseum BART station. On Tuesday afternoon, Oakland officers were called to another shooting as a man was rushed to a hospital after gunfire near Bond and High Streets.

One concern facing the city council is that if the number of officers falls below 678, Oakland could lose Measure Z funding, which goes to various purposes including firefighting and violence prevention.

But some feel the city could get an exemption from that. Much of the public comment at the council meeting reflected a lack of support among residents for the police department.

“I want to advocate against the creation of more police academies that we know don’t keep us safe,” said one caller to the virtual meeting.