CommentsRANTZ AND RAVEZ-When I joined the LAPD in 1968, the world existed just fine without the Internet, electric cars, Amazon, Costco, the delivery of fast foods to your home or business and a host of other current conveniences that we can’t seem to live without. Today, here in LA, along with other major cities throughout the state and the nation, we face the challenges of high taxes, seven days-a-week gridlock, andincreasing numbers of homelesspeople in our neighborhoods, as well as many other obstacles.
I remember starting patrol after roll call back in the B/W radio car days when we would immediately drive to a donut shop to get a cup of coffee and a donut before beginning our patrol in the West Los Angeles Division. In those quiet days, we did not have restaurants,markets or many other business operations open 24-hours a day. We would work an 8 hour and 45-minute shift, patrolling the streets of West LA, looking for a variety of suspects including burglars, robbers, DUI motorists, car thieves, drug users and a host of others inclined to commit a variety of crimes.
We were well liked by the majority of the populationin West LA – people who owned nice homes, drove late-model cars and for the most part respected the law by acting in a civil and responsible manner. There were some jerks we ran into from time to time; however, they were the exception rather than the rule of positive police community relations.
How could wehave come so far afield from the Good Old Days that, on March 9,Gregory Casillas,a 30-year-olduniform Pomona police officer, amarried father of two, wasshot andkilled and his partner shot as well, while chasing areckless driving suspect into an apartment?At the same time, we saw a news story about an Oakland coffee shop called Hasta Muerte (located at 2701 Fruitvale Ave, Oakland, CA 94601)which posted a noticesaying that they REFUSE TO PROVIDE SERVICE TO UNIFORM POLICE OFFICERS.
Noel Gallo, an Oakland City Council Member, believes that the policy is legal. With that in mind, why would any officer want to visit a place with such distain for uniform police officers who risk their lives to protect the public? What if the coffee shop established a policy refusing service to White People or Latinos or Asians or African Americans or Christians? I am sure there would be protests and marches and civil actions against the establishment. We will see what kind of support the Oakland police officers receive from their community members. It is nice to feel appreciated by the public you serve. So how must the Oakland police feel whilebeing pushed aside by this type of blatant discrimination?
If you visit Oakland, please avoid doingbusiness atHasta MuerteCoffee Shop. Hopefully this situation does notbecome a trend inother American communities.
If you travel to Oakland, be aware of the following statistics I discovered when researching this column:
Oakland is 77.86 square miles compared to San Francisco at 231.9 and Los Angeles at 503.
Crime in Oakland is one of the highest in America. They record a large number ofmurders, robberies, rapes,assaults and ADW. In fact, Oakland has a crime index of 1 when 100 is safest.
Your chances of becoming a victim of a property crime in Oakland is 1 in 17. That compares to 1 in 39 in California.
Oakland reports 514 crimes per square mile while California reports 89.
In comparing violent crime per 1,000 residents, Oakland ranks 14.55 while California is at 4.45.
Your chances of becoming a victim of violent crime in Oakland is 1 in 69 compared to 1 in 225 in California. There are 544 crimes per square mile in Oakland and 89 in California.
Oakland reported 88 homicides in 2016, 76 homicides in 2017, and 15 homicides so far this year.
In conclusion, it’s obvious that Oakland is not a safe place to live, run a business or visit. Business owners like those at the Hasta Muerte Coffee Shop should be welcoming uniformed officers with a red carpet rather than chasing them away.
(Dennis P. Zine is a former and retired LAPD Supervisor, former and retired 12-year Los Angeles City Councilman and current General Manager at Bell Canyon in Ventura County. He is a candidate for the upcoming Assembly District 45 election.) Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.
Tags: Dennis P. Zine, RantZ and RaveZ, Oakland Police, Hasta Muerte Coffee Shop, LAPD, Oakland crime statistics,
