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Oakland Chinatown has been hit by a series of attacks and thefts that have left the community stranded.
Surveillance camera video captures a Jan.31 attack on an elderly man. The footage, taken from a camera at the corner of Harrison and 8th Street and time stamped just after noon, shows a man in a hoodie forcibly pushing his target, who is walking on the sidewalk. The old man falls head first into the sidewalk, narrowly missing a metal bicycle rack, as his attacker walks past.
Police announced on Saturday night that she had identified a person of interest who has been in their custody since February 1 for other reasons.
Carl Chan, president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, said the videotaped assault was part of a series of attacks and thefts targeting the community.
Oakland Police Department Captain Bobby Hookfin said police have seen an increase in robberies in the area since the start of the year. The ministry did not respond to a request from The Times asking how many similar reports it has received in recent weeks, or how those numbers compare to previous months or years or other places.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Chan called for the city to bring back foot patrols, especially around the Lunar New Year, and additional surveillance cameras. Chan also requested that parking regulations be adjusted so that visitors can park at street meters closer to businesses.
Mayor Libby Schaaf, responding to questions, said she would not re-establish foot patrols and would “bring additional resources to this community, if necessary”. She encouraged business owners to buy their own security cameras.
Schaaf also honored Oakland City Council Chairman Nikki Fortunato Bas and Deputy Mayor Rebecca Kaplan for their summer proposal to cut the police budget by $ 25 million. Had the proposal been passed, Schaaf said: “These ambulants would have been gone a long time ago.
That proposal didn’t move forward, but the Schaaf administration introduced a $ 15 million budget cut in December that would affect programs like Ceasefire, in which community groups, clergy and social workers work with. police to reduce gun violence.
Bas, whose voters include those in Chinatown, replied to Schaaf that evening on Facebook that his proposal would have reallocated police overtime funds to community safety programs. She said it was December’s budget cuts that ended city-wide foot patrols and council members were not consulted prior to the cut.
In another statement on Saturday, Bas said she was partnering with the Oakland Chinatown Coalition and city police to “maintain a community presence on the streets of Chinatown” and focus police resources to tackle violent crime. ” while redirecting other resources to alternative responses to mental health, homelessness ”and other forms of violence prevention.
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