Oakland Mayor Jean Quan On Ferguson Decision

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Oakland Mayor Jean Quan On Ferguson Decision

OAKLAND – Mayor Quan this morning issued the following statement:

My prayers remain with Michael Brown and his family, and with all Oakland families that have been touched by violence. My thoughts keep coming back to the Brown family’s statement: their pain and loss, their campaign to ensure that police officers wear body cameras, and most importantly their call for peaceful protest.

For several hours the protest in Oakland Monday night was peaceful. It’s unfortunate that some demonstrators then decided to close down the freeway, placing themselves, our officers and many uninvolved motorists at great risk. A smaller group of people then caused vandalism and broke into businesses around a four-block area downtown, breaking windows, painting graffiti and setting garbage cans on fire.

This property destruction and violence was completely unacceptable. However, thanks to the remarkable dedication and professionalism of our police, few people were injured and nobody was seriously hurt. Oakland Police Department officers showed tremendous restraint in the face of hundreds of demonstrators throwing bottles and rocks at them and provoking them for hours. OPD’s tactics prevented people from being hurt and helped us arrest more than 40 of the vandals. We will work diligently today and in the coming weeks to ensure that we keep our highway entrances safer and prevent further harm to people and property.

We are in an important moment. Michael Brown’s tragic death and everything that has followed it demand that we work for equality and peace with renewed determination and urgency. Oakland police have improved their crowd management policies and made meaningful strides to improve their relationships with the communities they serve — in fact, we were a leading city in requiring officers to wear body cameras, as the Brown family has asked all cities to do. But we still have more work ahead. I am grateful for the passion with which so many Oaklanders are helping lead that important work. And I call on everyone to respect Oakland and help keep its people safe.

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