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OPD Releases Video Footage in Two Police-Involved Deaths

Published

10 years ago

August 20, 2015

In an unprecedented move, the Oakland Police Department this week released body camera evidence to some representatives of the media but not to the general public in two police-involved deaths, hoping to clear up what they consider “misinformation” that is circulating in the community about how the two young men died.

One of the two videos, viewed by the Oakland Post and some other media representatives at OPD headquarters on Wednesday, showed the killing of 28-year-old Nathaniel Wilks last week, who was a suspect in an armed robbery in July.

Oakland Police Chief Sean Whent and Homicide Lt. Ronald Holmgren

Oakland Police Chief Sean Whent and Lt.
Ronald Holmgren

Wilks was shot by three officers after he ran away from police and then turned and ran toward them with what may have been a gun in his hand, which was pointing forward but not aimed at police.

The other video, which was edited, showed the police searching for Richard Linyard in East Oakland last month, who they say was eventually found wedged between two buildings and unresponsive.

The video showed the search for Linyard and cut to him wedged between the buildings. He appeared unresponsive, but the video did not show how he was removed.

Results of an autopsy are not available and there is no official cause of death. Police say there are no external signs of a beating.

On Tuesday, OPD offered to allow families of the two young men to come to police headquarters to view the videos. Nathaniel Wilks’ family watched the video of his shooting but Richard Linyard’s family refused, according to police.

Wilk’s mother Marcia Yearwood, her son’s three-month-old daughter in a carrier by her side, spoke to the press Wednesday afternoon.

Marcia Yearwood, Nathaniel Wilks mother

Though she had seen the police video, she was not convinced that the shooting was necessary.

“I still have a lot of questions,” she said, explaining that she was still in a state of shock. “He was a very intelligent young man. He was a family man. I want justice for him.”

OPD Lt. Roland Holmgren was the one who showed reporters the video. He narrated the department’s viewpoint and answered questions as the clips were played.

When Wilks ran toward officers, he held an object that was pointed in their direction but not aimed at them. However, he could have fired at police from that position, Holmgren said.

Cat Brooks, who stood by Wilks’ mother, said police could have found an alternative to killing him.

“I don’t care what the brother did. He didn’t deserve to die,” said Brooks, who added that in Oakland and across the nation too many Black men and women are shot down in the streets by police and never live to be tried in a court.

In the case of Richard Linyard, age 23, who died on July 19 near 64th Avenue and International Boulevard, the video footage does not prove what they police say it proves, according to his mother Jessica Gatewood, who spoke at a press conference Thursday at City Hall.

She says she believes police were involved in his death. From what she has heard, she said, “the film stops – the video stops” and does not show how her son died.

“I want justice. Richard did not have to die,” she said, adding that police called her to say they wanted to provide her with information about what had happened to her son but instead “harassed” her for evidence, wanting the password to her son’s cell phone, which is still in their possession, along with his car.

The release of body camera videos by OPD has raised concerns about the new approach of showing the video to some media and to families of the deceased.

Chief Sean Whent said in a press conference Wednesday that the department was attempting to strike a balance between the public’s right to know what happened and “preserving the integrity of our (ongoing) investigation.”

“We are in uncharted waters,” said Whent, who added that the process would evolve in the future.

Some media outlets were upset that they had not been invited to the viewing, and attorney Jim Chanin, who is involved in the federal oversight of OPD, believes the police department may be violating the First Amendment by selectively making the tapes available to the public.

“The whole thing is illegal, and even if it weren’t, it is certainly morally repugnant,” he said. “I don’t think the state should have that power – that the First Amendment should apply to some but not to others.”

“Records are either completely confidential or completely public,” he said, and police should not have the right to decide which media receive information.

Police accountability activist Rashidah Grinage said the Oakland City Attorney should be involved in crafting a policy that sets parameters for the release of body camera videos.

A city policy should take into account privacy issues and the need to protect ongoing investigations, she said. “But we can’t be improvising. There should be a clear policy, and it should be in writing.”

Cat Brooks of the Anti Police Terror Project

“If we don’t do it that way, it creates suspicions,” Grinage continued. “And the whole point was to remove suspicions.”

Cat Brooks of the Anti Police-Terror Project, said she felt the release of the videos to family members and the media was a step in the right direction.

“I think they’re responding to community pressure,” she said, adding that the city and police department should adopt a policy of releasing video footage of shootings within 48-hours to families and the media.

In many cases, she said, family members do not want the deaths of their loved ones going viral, replayed endlessly on television and social media.

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Rest in Peace: A.M.E. Pastor and L.A Civil Rights Icon Cecil “Chip” Murray Passes

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94. “Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Published

4 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94.

“Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Murray oversaw the growth of FAME’s congregation from 250 members to 18,000.

“My heart is with the First AME congregation and community today as we reflect on a legacy that changed this city forever,” Bass continued.

Murray served as Senior Minister at FAME, the oldest Black congregation in the city, for 27 years. During that time, various dignitaries visited and he built strong relationships with political and civic leaders in the city and across the state, as well as a number of Hollywood figures. Several national political leaders also visited with Murray and his congregation at FAME, including Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Murray, a Florida native and U.S. Air Force vet, attended Florida A&M University, where he majored in history, worked on the school newspaper and pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He later attended Claremont School of Theology in Los Angeles County, where he earned his doctorate in Divinity.

Murray is survived by his son Drew. His wife Bernadine, who was a committed member of the A.M.E. church and the daughter of his childhood pastor, died in 2013.

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Court Throws Out Law That Allowed Californians to Build Duplexes, Triplexes and RDUs on Their Properties

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional. Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

Published

4 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional.

Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the cities, pointing out that SB 9 discredited charter cities that were granted jurisdiction to create new governance systems and enact policy reforms. The court ruling affects 121 charter cities that have local constitutions.

Attorney Pam Lee represented five Southern California cities in the lawsuit against the state and Attorney General Rob Bonta.

“This is a monumental victory for all charter cities in California,” Lee said.

However, general law cities are excluded from the court ruling as state housing laws still apply in residential areas.

Attorney General Bonta and his team are working to review the decision and consider all options that will protect SB 9 as a state law. Bonta said the law has helped provide affordable housing for residents in California.

“Our statewide housing shortage and affordability crisis requires collaboration, innovation, and a good faith effort by local governments to increase the housing supply,” Bonta said.

“SB9 is an important tool in this effort, and we’re going to make sure homeowners have the opportunity to utilize it,” he said.

Charter cities remain adamant that the state should refrain from making land-use decisions on their behalf. In the lawsuit, city representatives argued that SB 9 eliminates local authority to create single-family zoning districts and approve housing developments.

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Funds for Down Payments and Credit Repair Given to Black First Time Homebuyers

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) won a $10,000 fair housing settlement last November against a property management company, CIM Group LP, a global real estate company headquartered in Los Angeles, and property owner, RACR Sora, LLC, for implementing a blanket ban on renting to tenants with criminal histories at Sora Apartments in Inglewood. Three months earlier, the department, which enforces California’s civil rights laws, won another $20,000 civil rights settlement against a Lemon Grove property manager, who had targeted a Black tenant with a series of racist actions and threats of violence.

Published

4 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media

Three months earlier, the department, which enforces California’s civil rights laws, won another $20,000 civil rights settlement against a Lemon Grove property manager, who had targeted a Black tenant with a series of racist actions and threats of violence.

CRD Director Kevin Kish said the department investigates cases of apparent racial bias in housing and sometimes more subtle acts of prejudice like nuisance-free or crime-free housing policies or holding tenants to different standards based on their race.

Kish said, “People will get evicted if they call the police. This can negatively impact victims of domestic violence. We also see these no-crime ordinances, or no-crime policies, used in racially discriminatory ways. If there is some kind of incident, and the police are called and it involves a Black family, then they get evicted, but other folks aren’t necessarily evicted.”

On April 11,1968, a week after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, President Lydon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, color, religion, and nationality.

Kish noted that William Byron Rumford, the first Black California State Assemblymember, who represented Berkley and Oakland, spearheaded the passing of the Rumford Act in 1963. That law sought to end discriminatory housing practices in the Golden State, five years before the Fair Housing Act became law.
Real estate agent and housing advocate Ashley Garner is the director of the CLTRE Keeper Home Ownership program. That organization gave 25 Black, indigenous, and people of color $17,500 each in down payment and credit repair support to purchase a home in Oak Park, a traditionally Black neighborhood in Sacramento, last fall. CLTRE obtained a $500,000 grant from the city of Sacramento to award the funds to the residents after they completed an eight-week homeownership program.

In 2021, the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) noted that around four in 10 Black California families owned homes, which trails that of White, Asian-American and Latinos.
According to Forbes, the median price for a home in California is over $500,000, which is double the cost of a home in the rest of the country.

Black lawmakers recently introduced their Reparations Priority Bill Package that includes support for Black first-time homebuyers, homeowners’ mortgage assistance and property tax relief for neighborhoods restricted by historic redlining.

California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) spokesperson Eric Johnson said CalHFA helps prospective low-income and moderate-income Californians purchase homes by offering down payment and closing cost aid. “There are lots of people who have steady jobs, good credit scores, constant income, but they haven’t been able to save up the money that traditional banks need or want to see for a down payment,” Johnson stated. “We help those folks out. We give a loan for the down payment to get them over that hurdle.”
CRD and the Department of Real Estate hosted “Fair Housing Protections for People with Criminal Histories” Zoom call on April 10.

On April 25, CRD will also hold Zoom seminars focused on advocating for fair housing for people with disabilities.