A few days after Oakland's progressive mayor bragged about a drop in crime in California's crime-plagued city, nearly 100 robbers ransacked a gas station in the middle of the night.
Owner Sam Mardaie said a large mob of people spent about 30 to 40 minutes cleaning out his 76 gas station store at the corner of Hegenberger Road and Edgewater Drive. Mardaie said the thieves came in waves. He estimates a total of 80 to 100 people took part in the theft. Aside from merchandise, he said they took his cash register and his ATM with roughly $22,000 inside.
The operation appeared to be well-planned with all hell breaking loose after a car was deliberately driven into the glass doors of the store. No sooner had the crash occurred, than the robbers were on the scene and ready to snatch anything they could, turning the place upside down in the process. In video footage, those taking part in the robbery could be heard laughing as they casually perused the aisles of the store looking for stuff to take. "Whatever they couldn't take, they destroyed," Mardaie said.
Meanwhile, the police were nowhere to be seen with the robbers seemingly taking their time. Mardaie said two workers called 911 but he claimed Oakland police showed up nine hours later. The owner also called Oakland Police Department (OPD) but he was allegedly told to "file a report online." He also attempted to contact the OPD Police Chief Floyd Mitchell only to be told that he had to make an appointment. But Oakland police disputed the timeline, saying they received the 911 call after the thieves had left so it was no longer a priority since officers were handling other active scenes.
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"Video evidence was later reported to OPD that made clear the scale and details of the incident, including a large number of suspects, and the incident was immediately elevated to a Priority 1 incident, which prompted an officer to go to the scene to make contact with the owner and investigators are now reviewing evidence and working directly with the gas station owner," OPD said in a statement.
"Whatever excuse you give me, it's not enough for me. I won't accept it," the gas station owner said.
Just days earlier, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao bragged about the crime rate drop in the crime-infested city. "Oakland is seeing positive results from new public safety strategies," the mayor said claiming that it was a "proven data-driven strategy that focuses law enforcement violence prevention and community resources on individuals in Oakland who are at highest risk to be involved in violence."
Thao said that since introducing "Operation Ceasefire, violent crime and overall crime have decreased in a significant and sustained manner."
Oakland voters are upset about soaring crime in the Bay Area city. They say Thao's progressive, soft-on-crime policies have emboldened criminals and driven away businesses. It is a familiar story in many progressive, Democrat cities across the country. (Related: Another night of Philly looting: Flash mob ransacks liquor store, robs lottery machine and makes off with safe.)
911 Responds late, advises Oakland crime victims to file complaints online
Emergency assistance service 911 not only responds in a delayed manner, but it also instructs Oakland crime victims to just file a complaint online. Victims in the California hellhole city are calling on city officials and the police department to do more to address long 911 response times and crimes reported online.
Members of the Chabad Center for Jewish Life in Oakland came in for worship Saturday to find the front window shattered by a vandal. "I called 911, they said these things happen all the time, you got to go online and file a vandalism report," the center's director, Rabbi Dovid Labkowski said. Security cameras captured the crime, showing a person throwing a large rock into the window just after midnight on July 6. The rabbi worries that this could be a hate crime as it has already been the second attack in two weeks. On June 21 at around 11:30 p.m., another person took a rock and threw it at the center.
"Since our menorah was dismembered on Hanukkah and the perpetrators were not found or not arrested, we feel like it's just almost like allowing people to do this knowing there will be no consequences," Labkowski said.
OPD sent members of the command staff to the center on the 3000 block of Lakeshore Avenue and released a statement saying they are investigating both incidents.
Labkowski said that they have been spending for their safety as they already installed special ballistic glass through a state security grant that costs as much as $10,000 for a window pane. However, due to their high deductible, their insurance will not cover the costs of replacement. They are hoping to raise enough money to replace the broken glass through their security fundraising effort.
Another incident reported on police taking too long to respond happened near the Oakland Airport to David Michael, who was visiting his mother in the Bay Area. He took video as he retrieved a backpack on Hegenberger Road that had been stolen from a tourist at the 76 gas station nearby.
"We met up, and he said his passport and work computer was missing and that he called the police," Michael said. According to him, the police never came and while they waited, he said another tourist was robbed at the same spot.
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