Around 8 p.m. on Wednesday night, more than 200 police officers and FBI agents barricaded neighborhoods in Oakland, Calif., as part of an operation cracking down on a notorious West Oakland gang.
About 12 miles from San Francisco, Oakland is infamous for its high crime rate. During this week’s raid, which ended around 1 a.m. on Thursday morning, five suspects were arrested on drug and weapons charges; four weapons and large amounts of heroin, cocaine and marijuana were confiscated. No one was reported injured.
Johanna Watson is the Oakland Police Department (OPD) spokeswoman. She says SWAT teams served 16 search warrants in Oakland, Hayward, San Leandro and Antioch.
Thirteen of the 16 warrants were for searches in the same Acorn housing project complex, which was the center of the overall raid. This is also where all five people who were arrested — four adults and a juvenile — lived as well. The names of those arrested have not yet been released and it’s not known whether they will be prosecuted in state or federal court.
Oakland Lt. Tony Jones, with the OPD Gang Intelligence Task Force, said more arrests are expected and added that police would continue to monitor suspected gang activity vigilantly in the Acorn housing complex, so they would be “in a position to step in” if there is more violence.
Jones said the raids were not based on drug activity, but on the violence the gang has been linked to for many years, including killings and non-fatal shootings, mainly involving feuds with other gangs. He said residents in the area “had been afraid to come outside and walk in the neighborhood” and it is now hoped “people will feel safer when they come out of their homes.”
The investigation that led to this week’s raid began in February and spotlights police efforts to reduce crime in Oakland in every possible way, said Chief Howard Jordan. After the raid ended, some residents shook hands with officers to express their gratitude.
Many Acorn residents didn’t want to talk to local media on camera about the raid or give their names, as police say gang members have intimidated residents for years. One woman living in the Acorn complex says she saw a 12-year-old affiliated with the gang walk around with a gun hanging out of his pocket.
“Just walking through the neighborhood, you’re just on your tippy toes, basically,” she said.
According to Jones, some gang members escaped before the raid started and some weapons were moved to new hiding places. “We have information that before we came they were able to see us coming and move to different locations.” But still, Jones called the raid a success. “We do the best we can. I’m satisfied with the results.”
Other residents of nearby apartment complexes were more confused and frightened by the raid.
“When I got to the lobby there was so many police in the lobby they put me up against the wall and asked if I had any guns,” City Towers resident Chanel Moore said. “I said no, I was just looking for my kids. We don’t know what was going on, they never told us what was going on. They just got us standing here, it’s 10 o’clock. We’ve been standing out here since 7 o’clock.”
Once outside, residents saw several FBI agents in tactical gear with automatic weapons. Witnesses said that they saw police carry out a bag of evidence, but nothing was explained to them about what was going on.
While crime has not dropped off in Oakland in years, many of the city’s residents have lost faith in the OPD. Stretched thin thanks to budget cuts, many residents say they don’t even bother calling the police anymore — instead they try to solve and prevent crimes themselves.
“We don’t have a choice. Either die or we hire some security ourselves, because we can’t depend on the police department,” said Alaska Tarvins of the Arcadia Park Board of Directors.
According to counterpunch.org, the OPD had 541 police abuse lawsuits from January 2000 to Aug. 21, 2012. The city paid out $11,466,868 to resolve 20 of those cases.
In 2010, the reputed gang leader of the Acorn gang, Marc Candler, was sentenced to 48 years to life in prison for shooting a rival gang member. Before his sentencing, Candler said there were politics involved in his case and though he has done wrong things in his life, he swore on his grandmother’s life that he didn’t kill Jermel Holloway.
“[There’s] so much propaganda with the Oakland Police Department and the newspaper and the district attorney’s office,” he said.
This week’s raid wasn’t the first time police have targeted the Acorn housing complex, many of those residents knew a gang raid was taking place.
In 2008, FBI and other law enforcement officers made 54 arrests during “Operation Nutcracker.” It is not yet known whether or not any of the individuals arrested this week were arrested in the 2008 raid.
Oakland has been riddled with gangs for decades, and local police say they have played a “cat and mouse” game with gang members for years. Police say part of the problem with ending the violence is that when one leader is arrested, another member takes over. So this time, the OPD decided to team up with the FBI.
“It’s a very active and violent criminal street gang that’s involved in a lot of shootings, robberies in West Oakland, and even some in East Oakland as well,” Jones said. “I think the solution is to have strong community partnerships.”
Gerald Bessette, assistant special agent in charge of the San Francisco office of the FBI, said his agency would continue to work with Oakland police to target gangs and reduce violence in the city.