Oakland officials and police officers have been holding talks regarding a possible new round of rioting and looting in the upcoming sentencing of Johannes Meserle Nov 5th. The fear is that Meserle will get the lower term which will incite further tension between protestors and law enforcement.
Looters caused more than $800,000 in damage following Mersele's manslaughter conviction with rumors that there were too few police on the ground to maintain the violence. The Oakland Police Department was heavily criticized for not interfering with looters at a Sears store on Broadway. It is said that the police stood by and watched the vandals. The same conduct is alleged to have occurred at a small shoe store. 38 businesses were looted and vandalized in downtown Oakland that night, and 89 people arrested.
This time Oakland police will have a policy they call "end state goals." They are planning on "zero amounts" of property damage, arrests and injuries. Police insist they were successful in the first round of violence, despite the arrests and property damage.
Oakland's Chief of Police told reporters: "We constantly seek improvement and engage in relentless follow-through...We will assign people to those shortfalls and make sure they don't happen again."
The minimum term Meserle is facing is 4 years.
If you have been a victim of police abuse or are accused of a crime you need legal representation. Call the Law Offices of Erik Steven Johnson for a free consultation at (408) 246-3004. Know your rights!
