Oakland police are doubling down on a tough-on-crime plan. Some activists are skeptical.
A small team of police officers in Oakland made up of “citizen liaisons” is making it their business to go undercover to find a man named “John Doe” and report him to the police. The “John Doe” who will be pulled off the street, according to department officials, will be arrested and charged with the murder of a homeless man. For the person pulled off the street to be arrested, there must be video, and they must have a witness to the murder. The police in Oakland are looking for a guy named “John Doe” who they think committed the murder of a homeless man named “John Doe.”
The police will be tracking him through the videos found on the internet, and he’ll be tracked as well through other people that he’s talked to during the course of the investigation. If all goes well, the police will arrest him, and then charge him with the murder of the homeless man named John Doe.
Police say this may be the first time they’ve gone undercover in the city to “track somebody,” and they’re excited about the possibility of doing it.
The problem? Oakland residents don’t think the police should be on the streets.
The “John Doe,” who police have been stalking for months, is a man named “Shawn Robinson.” Police have been tracking him through social media. Police can find people he talks to online. Police also can go to his home or work and listen to phone records, see where he goes to parties, and see where he goes when he’s not working.
Police said they have had two witnesses since the beginning of the search. They also have found two people who they believe saw the murder or participated in it.
A witness said to police, “I saw the whole thing happen. I was standing at the bottom of the fence when a man came out of a garage, he had a gun, and he ordered John to get off the road. He had told John he was going to call his girlfriend and tell her he was leaving. When