Oakland pastor: Anti-police coterie has ignited mayhem in our city

Along with local NAACP chapter president Cynthia Adams, Oakland's Bishop Bob Jackson wrote a letter demanding city gov't step up and end its raging crime epidemic. In the Daily Mail, Jackson reiterates: Despite Oakland DA Price's attacks, he'll keep advocating for consistent community policing—though defund activists want to “demonize” and estrange officers.

Unless you lived here yourself, you wouldn't believe it.

9-1-1 calls go unanswered. When they're picked up, callers are often put on hold for half an hour or longer. By that time, they may already be dead.

There are drag races through the streets, gunfights and innocent children are getting caught in the crossfire.

Criminals are getting away with murder because there's hardly any police to stop them, and our so-called leaders don't seem to care.

I've had enough.

My community is begging for help, but no one is listening.

That's why I and the president of the Oakland NAACP decided to speak out on behalf of the black, white, Asian and Hispanic people of Oakland, who deserve to be heard.

But after the NAACP's Cynthia Adams and I demanded our leaders declare a state of emergency over the crime crisis, the Oakland District Attorney's office attacked us.

Alameda County D.A. Pamela Price claimed we were spreading a 'false narrative.'

Well, the devil is a liar.

She's the one who's denying reality....

Like everyone else, I was horrified by the murder of George Floyd. The viciousness of that police officer, who kneeled on Floyd's neck, his hands in his pockets, was clear for everyone to see.

I wanted law enforcement to be punished. So, I joined the calls of the mostly white radical activists, who flooded our city council meetings to condemn the cops.

The more they shouted and hollered the more the politicians listened to them – whether it was good for the people of Oakland or not.

Only after the activists went back to their rich, safe neighborhoods and crime exploded in mine, did I see the 'Defund Movement' for what it was – a knee-jerk reaction.

This article originally appeared in the Daily Mail. Read the whole thing here.

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