Why Oakland Mayor Thao’s budget plan for more police hurts the community

By Olivia McHaney, Oakland | 6/18/2023

Regarding “Oakland council amends Mayor Thao’s budget with millions of additional spending” (East Bay, SFChronicle.com, June 12): Mayor Sheng Thao’s proposed budget is not looking out for the real people of Oakland — it’s betraying our community by bending to police interests at the expense of social programs. As someone who supported her election, it’s upsetting to see her neglect the needs of her constituents — we do not want more cops on our streets.

Oakland cannot sustain the cost of its police department’s extreme overtime and an ever-increasing number of police academies of sworn officers. Cutting police programs allows for increased investment in the departments of Violence Prevention, Cultural Affairs and other social programs. City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas’ plan to fund those programs is positive, but it isn’t enough. 

From 1968 through 2021, 102 people in Oakland were killed by officers from the Oakland Police Department, California Highway Patrol and BART police, according to the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project. 

The mayor should reconsider what it means to invest in Oakland and not put more money into a department that is literally killing members of our community. Cops don’t keep our communities safe — we keep us safe.