Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Like so many parts of the Bay Area, Oakland’s Chinatown has seen a sharp spike in criminal activity over the last year. Residents and business owners have been the targets of robberies and assaults that have many of them understandably on edge.
Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley is one of the plague of Soros-backed prosecutors in large urban areas (Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, among many more) around the country who value “social justice” over prosecuting criminals and preserving law and order. As a result, criminals increasingly operate with impunity, knowing they’re unlikely to ever be prosecuted, let alone jailed for their crimes.
Monday evening an Oakland liquor store owner saw a woman being robbed outside his store. He came to her rescue carrying a gun.
From KPIX . . .
At about 5:30 p.m., a liquor store owner saw a woman being robbed of her camera at the corner of Ninth and Franklin. After seeing the woman knocked to the ground, the owner ran out with a gun, ordering the assailant to stop and reportedly firing four shots.
The suspect fled in a vehicle, but when police arrived, they took the business owner into custody.
Police no doubt decided that the Good Samaritan liquor store owner was not himself in any immediate danger of death or grievous bodily harm, the usual criteria for determining whether a defensive gun use was justified.
“When I talk to the entire community they feel sad that someone is trying to help others and ends up to be the one arrested or being in custody,” said Carl Chan.
As head of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, Chan has been working to calm nerves at the same time he is appealing for more police presence in the area. Armed security guards are already patrolling the streets, funded by donations from the public. Chan worries that without more cops, other business owners — like the man who was arrested Monday — will seek to deal with the problem themselves.
“So, I think many of the people feel strongly that we should be supporting the store owner,” Chan said.
Don’t look for any of that support to come from the Oakland Police Department. Chief LeRonne Armstrong has made it known that the OPD doesn’t want Oaklanders to arm themselves…no matter how bad the crime problem gets.
He had this to say in a press conference after the robbery and shooting . . .
We would really prefer [victims] to be good witnesses and, you know, give them the observations that they have, share that information, call law enforcement immediately and let OPD respond and follow up. What we really don’t want to do is bring any additional issues into the equation that threaten safety.
The Chief hates to see citizens do anything rash like trying to protect themselves or others from feral criminals. He’d much prefer that Oaklanders — assuming they’re still alive after their victimization — call the OPD and let them clean up the mess later.
The 36-year-old store owner has since been released on bail. What do you suppose the odds are of DA O’Malley prosecuting him?