A police union representing officers in Oakland, California, is calling for Mayor Sheng Thao to resign “immediately,” citing a lack of resources for police to respond to reports of criminal activity.
Oakland Police Officer’s Association president Huy Nguyen said at a news conference on Tuesday the union is asking Thao to resign 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,” according to KTVU.
“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 continued.
Nguyen said officers are unable to respond to every emergency call or that they have slower response times because the police department is understaffed.
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“We don’t have the resources,” he said.
Thao released a video statement later on Tuesday in response to Nguyen’s comments, in which she said crime in Oakland has declined.
“It’s unfortunate that the POA is obviously playing politics,” Thao said. “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.”
The mayor emphasized that Thao’s budget prioritized public safety, funded new police academies and saved 80 police jobs, but the police union said that is not sufficient.
“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,” Oakland POA vice president Tim Dolan said.
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A recall effort to remove Thao from office is underway, although the police union said she should go ahead and step down to save the time and resources the recall would require.
“If she resigns by this week, the election will take place in November, versus waiting through the recall,” Nguyen said. “Then it will happen in April and the process drags out longer when we need to work into the new budget immediately.”
This comes after recent shootings in the past couple of days, including a shooting on Sunday at a sideshow near Fruitvale Ave. and MacArthur Blvd. that left five people wounded.
A separate shooting on Monday in West Oakland hospitalized two teenagers and one adult.
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