Acorn housing project raid reaction

Acorn housing project raid reaction

By Sean Maher and Jeanetta Bradley, The Oakland Tribune
Article Created: 06/17/2008 08:45:46 PM PDT


OAKLAND — Many residents of the Acorn housing project awoke Tuesday morning to the sounds of police smashing in suspected gang members' doors, as part of a major bust officials said was the culmination of a two-month investigation.

Although neighbors around Eighth Street in West Oakland said they want a safer community, the bust elicited a variety of opinions. All sources requested to remain anonymous for fear of their safety.

A grandmother who works at the St. Vincent Day Home, a child day care home across the street from City Towers high rise, said that the school encourages the police effort.

"Whatever it takes to make this neighborhood safe, we support," she said. She added the prevalence of shootings in the neighborhood have forced staff members to teach the children a safety "drop drill" in preparation.

A man who lives in the apartment complex was not present at the time of the raid but quickly heard about it from neighbors and is hopeful of the outcome.

"I don't know if this will help, but I hope so," he said. "So many people are afraid, but we're used to being afraid, so it's become a part of life. But this is a positive move, and maybe now there can be some peace."

Not all community members are happy about the bust.

"Police think we're a gang out here, and that's not it," said a neighbor and mother of two. "It's just projects. We're just people, and there are people who do bad things, and innocent

lives were ruined because of this."

More frequent police patrols, she said, would be more productive for the neighborhood.

"Last week, out of seven days, four or five days they was shooting," she said. "Then, when you do call the police, they take forever and a day."

Another resident argued the arrests were a good start, but not enough to provide a solution to the crime problem.

"What we need are some workshops, some job training, but bring them down here to the neighborhood," she said. "Let (delinquent youths) train for school or to get a job. Let it be part of their probation or parole. It needs to be a requirement, not an option.

"They need parenting training, too, and to bring in some mentors," she added. "Kids are basically raising their selves. So we need some mentoring."

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34 youth and older offenders napped in this bust. The area where this occured is very near the old hotel on which I write about here. I wouldn't be surprise if these guys were partly behind all this.