On Saturday, 21 March 2009, Oakland saw one of the worst days in its history. Four Police officers shot, three dead, one on life support.
All four officers were shot by Lovelle Mixon, 26, of Oakland, a parolee who fled after shooting the first two officers following a routine traffic stop, then shot two more after a SWAT team entered an apartment in which he was hiding. Mixon was killed during the standoff.
Those were the facts reported by the numerous news sources but the emotions taking place here in the SF Bay Area happen to be more telling the facts itself.
This morning while going to work, I decided to listen to Ronn Owens at KGO. He talks about issues of the day and I knew that he would be talking about the Oakland Police Massacre. Rightly so, lines were jam packed, people were calling in to let others know how they felt. Unfortunately, most African-Americans who called in defended Mixon, a parolee who shot two police officers because they pulled him over during a routine traffic stop.
It was totally ridiculous the way they compared this issue to Oscar Grant story and complained about the lack of trust between police and the community. They showed no sensitivity towards the police officers who are now dead because someone, somewhere, decided to let a man convicted of assault with a deadly weapon during an armed robbery free. This person who let Maxim free gave him a CHANCE to change his life, thought maybe he would have learned something and won’t destroy the rest of his life. Isn’t this a chance enough for someone to turn around their life?
But that doesn’t matter to people in Oakland, who didn’t even want to tell the cops where Mixon was after he shot two cops. That’s just insane. To snitch in Oakland is like betraying the community even if it involves a brutal crime?
Callers to Ronn Owens show complained that the police is in the business of harassing their kids, they can’t live normal lives and police should do more community outreach. I mean, seriously? Outreach? During a routine traffic stop a parolee ends up taking lives of 4 people and Oakland residents want to talk about outreach?
Pingback: Zahid