Today Oakland residents’ shelter in place. Sadly, some Oakland citizens and Police Officers are battling COVID-19 infections. Two Oakland Police Officers are recovering from serious injuries sustained in a gun battle with a kidnapping and attempted murder suspect. And, every Oakland Police Officer risks their health as they do their part to keep Oakland safe during this pandemic. Meanwhile, Oakland’s City Council President, safe in her home and behind a computer screen does a power grab for Oakland’s unelected and unaccountable Police Commission.

Even the Oakland Chamber of Commerce has taken the dramatic step of issuing a stark and immediate rebuke to Rebecca Kaplan for attempting to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic and ram through major policy changes with a complete lack of transparency. The men and women who work to keep Oakland safe applaud the Chamber of Commerce and join their efforts to urge an open and democratic approach to police oversight.

Oakland Police Officers President Barry Donelan stated. “With Oakland’s first responders straining to serve a City on lockdown, President Kaplan is using the cover of a pandemic to ram through huge structural change with no transparency, debate or scrutiny. Kaplan’s behavior is disgraceful and has nothing to do with addressing the immediate needs of Oakland’s working families, the unemployed or those who are food insecure. This is just a political power grab by Kaplan taking advantage of the coronavirus crisis for political opportunism.”

About the Oakland Police Officers’ Association: The Oakland Police Officers’ Association (OPOA) represents all sworn members at all ranks within the Oakland Police Department. Representing the hardest working Police Officers in America. The OPOA can be found on the Web at www.opoa.org.

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