Oakland Police Department
| Oakland Police Department | |
|---|---|
| Common name | Oakland P.D. |
| Abbreviation | OPD |
Patch of the Oakland Police Department
|
|
Badge of the Oakland Police Department
|
|
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1853 |
| Preceding agencies |
|
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | State of California, U.S. |
 |
|
| Jurisdiction of the OPD. | |
| Legal jurisdiction | Oakland, California |
| General nature |
|
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | 250 Frank H Ogawa Plaza Oakland, CA 94612 |
| Police Officers | 771 |
| Chief responsible | Anne Kirkpatrick |
| Website | |
| www |
|
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
The Oakland Police Department (OPD) is a civilian law enforcement agency responsible for policing the city of Oakland, California. Since a 2003 incident involving alleged police misconduct, the Oakland Police Department has been under federal oversight. Ever since, the department has struggled with a potential federal takeover.
The Oakland Police Department was formed in 1853. It succeeded law enforcement duties for Oakland, California, from the Alameda County Sheriff's Office. Beginning with World War II thousands of poor rural Southern African Americans migrated into Oakland to work in the shipyards. During this same period the Oakland Police Department began to heavily recruit white police officers from the Deep South. In the years that followed incidents of police brutality increased.
In the mid-1960s, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was formed in Oakland largely to organize armed violent resistance to police brutality. During their "Patrolling the Pigs" operation, Black Panthers wearing a uniform of black clothes, black leather jackets, and black berets would follow Oakland police patrols while openly carrying statute books and firearms. In October 1967, Black Panther founder Huey Newton shot and killed an Oakland police officer during a traffic stop. Prosecutors failed to secure a conviction against Newton after three separate trials.
Oakland encountered major funding challenges in the years following and the police department became understaffed. Additionally, community activists say too many OPD officers live outside the city and commute, thus separating themselves from Oakland's daily life. By 2012, over 90% of Oakland police officers resided outside of Oakland. In an attempt to increase community involvement and address police officer under-staffing the people of Oakland in 2004 passed a major tax increase known as Measure Y. Some have viewed the measure as unsuccessful. Oakland is currently the third-most dangerous city in the United States.
In July 2000, evidence emerged that the respected veteran police officers known as the "Riders" had over the past four years made false arrests, planted evidence, used excessive force, and falsified police reports. Scores of drug cases were dropped because of tainted evidence. The alleged leader of the Riders, Frank Vazquez, fled to Mexico shortly after his criminal indictment and remains a fugitive from justice. The Riders' actions resulted in Oakland settling a federal civil rights case, Allen v. City of Oakland, for nearly $11 million. As part of the Negotiated Settlement Agreement, the Oakland Police Department is required to make major reforms to ensure constitutional policing. The court appointed an independent monitor to oversee implementation of these reforms.
...
Wikipedia