At a press conference in the police union hall on Tuesday, the Oakland Police Officers Association, blamed Mayor Sheng Thao for many of Oakland’s problems.
The main reason for the union's dissatisfaction with Thao is the level of police staffing. They blamed Thao for the recent decline in officer staffing levels at the Oakland Police Department.
They claimed that with only 35 patrol officers typically on duty citywide, the department can't keep up with the current volume of calls. Union president Huy Nguyen argued that Oakland should be hiring more police officers now, rather than letting staffing levels decrease.Nguyen said the mayor’s budget cuts reduced OPD’s sworn positions from 726 to 678, causing longer response times to 911 calls.
Although the cuts affected only vacant positions, many officers are on long-term leave, leaving actual staffing in the low 600s.
But Mayor Thao told The Oaklandside she is “absolutely not” going to resign. She said the police union’s press conference was a distraction from recent positive developments in the city.
The union also accused Thao of not hiring more police officers, but it's not just a matter of funding. The OPD struggles to fill its academies, the primary source for new recruits.. and many academies produce only a few graduates. Additionally, officers are frequently retiring or leaving the department for various reasons.
