After the latest outbreak of gang warfare in Oakland claimed four dead in the span of six hours Friday, with 11 more non-fatal shootings over the weekend, columnist Tammerlin Drummond of the Merc’s Oakland Tribune edition asks if it’s time to declare a state of emergency in Oakland. An excerpt:
At what point do we say that we have crossed a threshold, the violence in our city is so out of control that we cannot expect our police department on its own to stop it? That 15 deputies from Alameda County, though welcome, aren't going to cut it. That we don't have the luxury of waiting around for years' worth of police academies to get more police on the street.
She says Vice Mayor Larry Reid is on the right track in calling on Mayor Jean Quan to convene a special meeting to consider a formal request to Gov. Brown for aid to help quell the violence.
Image: KTVU 2
