Oakland police union calls for Mayor Sheng Thao to resign
OAKLAND, Calif. - During a news conference meant for a "major announcement," the Oakland Police Officer's Association demanded Mayor Sheng Thao's resignation on Tuesday, citing severe understaffing and a lack of resources within the police force.
"Today we are asking Mayor Sheng Thao to recall as mayor immediately for a lot of the failures in this city, going from crime, the budget crisis, the distraction of the FBI raid that prevents our ability to function as a city," said union president Huy Nguyen. "Every day, our citizens feel the tragedies. That they cannot exit their own home or walk to the streets of Oakland, calling 911 and not getting the services they need."
Nguyen noted that officers can't respond to every emergency call or their response times are prolonged because the department does not have enough personnel.
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"We don't have the resources," he said.
Later that day, Thao released a video statement saying that crime was down.
"It's unfortunate that the POA is obviously playing politics. Right now, during this very sensitive time, we need to come together. We see that what we are working on in terms of the comprehensive approach for public safety is working," she said.
She added that her budget prioritized public safety, funded new police academies, and saved 80 police jobs.
The police union said that is not enough.
"This is a time to invest more in the city, hire more police officers, retain the police officers and fix the crime issue. And going forward, that's what we'd like to see from the next mayor," said Tim Dolan, vice president of the Oakland POA.
An effort to recall Thao is already underway. However, the police union believes a recall will take too long and be too expensive.
"If she resigns by this week, the election will take place in November, versus waiting through the recall. Then it will happen in April and the process drags out longer when we need to work into the new budget immediately," said Nguyen.
The union was supposed to make a statement about the mass shooting that took place over the weekend in Oakland. Although it was not the main topic of the press conference, Nguyen did address the city's crime wave.
On Sunday, a shooting at a sideshow near Fruitvale Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard left five people wounded.
A separate shooting incident on Monday in West Oakland sent two teenagers and one adult to the hospital. Then last week, Run Hua Kuang was shot in the head by a stray bullet while he was asleep in his home. He remains on life support.