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Alameda County D.A. Adds Hate Charge to Defendant Facing Trial for Assault with Deadly Weapon

On Wednesday, March 7, new Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price added a second charge to a man already accused of a hate crime. “Hate crimes will not be tolerated in Alameda County,” said Price at a Tuesday afternoon press conference in Oakland. Price amended the charges from an assault in Fremont in which Aqweel Akbar Khan, 46, ran over an African American man six times with a car on Dec. 6, 2021.

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Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price

By Carla Thomas

On Wednesday, March 7, new Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price added a second charge to a man already accused of a hate crime.

“Hate crimes will not be tolerated in Alameda County,” said Price at a Tuesday afternoon press conference in Oakland. Price amended the charges from an assault in Fremont in which Aqweel Akbar Khan, 46, ran over an African American man six times with a car on Dec. 6, 2021.

Area surveillance captured the incident on video, that has gone viral. The victim survived the assault with major injuries and remains traumatized. Reports say the victim said he’d been verbally attacked with racial slurs by Khan before. He also accused Khan of vandalizing his car with racial slurs.

Former Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley did not charge Khan with a hate crime in the alleged assault with a car and offered no explanation.

Khan was initially charged with assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury. Following a review by prosecutors in Price’s office, the hate crime allegation was added.

The other alleged hate crime by Khan was against a woman of Indian descent in August 2021, Alameda County prosecutors said. Near Lake Elizabeth in Fremont the defendant approached her, and cursed her, and made comments about the victim speaking to her brother in Hindi. He punched the victim several times, causing her to fall to the ground and lose consciousness.

Khan was initially charged in 2021 with one count of attempted murder for the second incident. He was also charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, vandalism over $400, assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury.

There were special allegations including felony hate crime, use of a deadly weapon, and great bodily injury for the first incident involving the Hindu woman, but similar charges were missing for the African American man. Honorable Judge Kimberly Coldwell held the defendant to answer on these charges in a preliminary hearing in April 2022.

Price and her prosecution team believe racial bias led to both attacks.

Court documents state Khan admitted to spray painting racist words on the victim’s vehicle and trying to kill the man he ran over.

Price explained that Khan fled the scene and the county following the attack with the car. Records detail Khan’s arrest three days later in the Sacramento.

Price commended the Fremont Police for their prompt apprehension of Khan and their repeated requests that the attack against the African American man be properly charged as a hate crime.

The case was scheduled for a pretrial hearing on March 7 and was postponed to April 14, 2023. The District Attorney plans to amend the charges before that date.

According to Price, each of Khan’s victims testified at his preliminary hearing.

“Hate has no home in Alameda County,” said Price.

Activism

Who Wants to Be the Next Elected Mayor of Oakland?

The Oakland Post is issuing a CALL to all candidates to present their answers, plans, or solutions in response to our list of questions.

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An aerial view of the downtown Oakland skyline on a clear sunny day. The federal building and other iconic buildings fill the skyline. Photo: iStock.
An aerial view of the downtown Oakland skyline on a clear sunny day. The federal building and other iconic buildings fill the skyline. Photo: iStock.

By Paul Cobb

Many of you probably recall the oft-repeated expression when describing leadership that “many are called but few are chosen.”  We will be inundated during January with many claims of qualifications by those who want to lead Oakland.

As of Jan. 1, 2025, we have heard the names of 14 potential candidates who might become Oakland’s next Mayor.

The Oakland Post is issuing a CALL to all candidates to present their answers, plans, or solutions in response to our list of questions.

Any candidate who wishes to receive a free announcement, publicity or space in the paper must submit solutions.

  1. The first questions we propose are 1) What is your budget balancing plan?
  2. What is your position on requiring all city employees to work full-time in their designated offices rather than remotely from their homes?
  3. What is your plan to provide open-access opportunities to all police officers for overtime pay?
  4. Since many businesses, especially downtown, have closed, what is your plan to attract and increase revenues?

Please send your submissions of 300 words or less to each question to Social@postnewsgroup.com or visit www.postnewsgroup.com

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Activism

Oakland NAACP President Stands on the Frontlines for Equity

With education as a cornerstone, Adams emphasized the importance of youth having access to quality kindergarten through 12th-grade education along with college or vocational programming beyond high school. “I feel that it’s so important for our children to get a good education in K-12th grade, along with the colleges of their choice, especially with the HBCU’s (Historically Black Colleges and Universities).”

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NAACP Oakland President Cynthia Adams. Photo Courtesy of Cynthia Adams.
NAACP Oakland President Cynthia Adams. Photo Courtesy of Cynthia Adams.

By Carla Thomas

For Cynthia Adams, president of the Oakland chapter of the NAACP, fighting for the rights of Black people comes naturally. With southern roots in Arkansas, Adams experienced firsthand the injustice and unfairness of racism.

“Growing up in the Jim Crow South, I experienced the unfair treatment of people of color and how faith can inspire communities to bring about positive and long-lasting change,” said Adams. Adams says a combination of her family and faith has kept her strong in the face of adversity and inspired her life’s work of advocacy.

Adams chose education as a career path — and a means to achieve equity and overcome racism. She earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and later received an advanced degree from California State East Bay.

Adams’ experience as an Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) recorder, a counselor, a researcher, and a college recruiter has allowed her to be laser-focused on youth. She also served as the chairperson for the Oakland NAACP youth.

“The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination. We want to ensure our citizens have equal rights and opportunities without discrimination based on race.”

As a partner with the State of California’s Stop the Hate campaign, Adams says the initiative is a step in the right direction. “It’s great that our governor and state created the Stop the Hate campaign and provides resources for victims of racism and other hate crimes,” said Adams. “The racism toward Black people has increased and our children are being targeted,” she continued.

“We, at the Oakland branch, created a declaration on racism that will amplify the needs of our community to combat racism,” continued Adams. “That declaration was adopted nationally.”

Bridging communities and collaborating is also a strategy for moving society toward justice, according to Adams.

“Through the NAACP, we build connections between communities and advocate for the rights of historically marginalized and oppressed individuals,” said Adams. “Collective action is the only way to advance civil rights and promote social equity.”

With education as a cornerstone, Adams emphasized the importance of youth having access to quality kindergarten through 12th-grade education along with college or vocational programming beyond high school. “I feel that it’s so important for our children to get a good education in K-12th grade, along with the colleges of their choice, especially with the HBCU’s (Historically Black Colleges and Universities).”

By taking stands on supporting former Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong to supporting the recall of a mayor faced with a scandal that brought negative national press to the city of Oakland, Adams has always demanded more for her people, and better for Oakland, the city she calls home.

She expressed pride in the national organization’s announcement of a $200 million fund designed to empower Black funders nationwide. “We all know the health of a community begins with economics,” said Adams.

Adams says that strengthening Black businesses automatically sustains a community. “We’ve also got to educate our community on opportunities and teach our children critical thinking so that they can provide the next generation of solutions for society,” said Adams.

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Activism

‘In 2024, We Had a Decrease in Shootings and Killings,’ Says Oakland Mayor Nikki Bas and Ceasefire Leaders

“The Ceasefire Strategy is once again being properly implemented and fully executed by all its partners as a data-driven gun violence reduction strategy. It is reducing gun violence in the City of Oakland with remarkable results and tangible improvements. The leadership of Rev. Damita Davis- Howard, Ceasefire director, Dr. Joshi of the Department of Violence Prevention, and the Ceasefire Strategy partners must be commended for this incredible work in ensuring public safety,” said Pastor Michael Wallace, Oakland Public Safety and Services Oversight Commission member.  

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Some faith and community leaders who attended the year-end Ceasefire press conference are (left to right): Rev. Damita Davis-Howard, Oakland Mayor Nikki Fortunato Bas, Rev. Michael Wallace, and Brooklyn Williams. Photo by Kevin Hicks.
Some faith and community leaders who attended the year-end Ceasefire press conference are (left to right): Rev. Damita Davis-Howard, Oakland Mayor Nikki Fortunato Bas, Rev. Michael Wallace, and Brooklyn Williams. Photo by Kevin Hicks.

From Oakland City News Sources

Oakland’s Ceasefire partners, including representatives from the City of Oakland Department of Violence Prevention (DVP),  Faith in Action East Bay, and other community leaders held a press conference Monday to discuss year-end reductions in gun violence and share community support for the Ceasefire Strategy.

“Our communities have never wavered from our support of the Ceasefire Strategy.  We knew in the beginning that Ceasefire saves the lives of Oakland’s most vulnerable,” said Alba Hernandez, Faith in Action East Bay.

According to the DVP, Oakland will finish 2024 as the safest year since the start of the COVID pandemic. As of Dec. 23, there has been a 35% decrease in murders accompanied by a 33% reduction in nonfatal shootings compared to 2023.

As Oakland’s primary violence reduction strategy, Ceasefire seeks to identify individuals at very high risk of being involved in gun violence.  Those high-risk individuals who are arrestable are prioritized for law enforcement action.  Others at the highest-risk are informed of their risk and offered intensive community-based services such as life coaching, workforce development, and mental health care.

Ceasefire operates through close coordination and collaboration between the Mayor’s Office, DVP, the Ceasefire director, Oakland Police Department, and the Alameda County Probation Department, with the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR) and California Partnership for Safe Communities (CPSC) providing training and technical assistance.

“I am extremely grateful for the successful resurrection of the Ceasefire Strategy and for the historic declines in shootings and homicides that followed in just one year. I am proud to have worked with [former] Mayor Sheng Thao to reinvest in Ceasefire, and I commend the leadership of Brooklyn Williams in the Mayor’s Office, who has assembled a committed team that is saving lives every day,” said Mayor Nikki Fortunato Bas.  

Said Pastor Hopkins, Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, “I have been a pastor in Oakland for 36 years, and for each of those years the number of homicides has been a crisis in our community. Ceasefire is an answer to prayer because it serves to save lives by stopping the shooting and serving as a lifeline to healing,”

“The Department of Violence Prevention is grateful for the on-going support of Faith in Action East Bay and committed community leaders,” said Dr. Holly Joshi, chief of the DVP.

“Their vision to bring the Ceasefire strategy to Oakland over a decade ago, advocacy for its initial implementation, and determination to see it successfully re-rooted are commendable.  With Ceasefire fully up and running, DVP life coaches and violence interrupters are in communities every day working with high-risk individuals, mediating conflicts, and preventing retaliatory violence.  Through hard work, focus, and partnership, we have made significant progress this year in reducing gun violence,” said Joshi.

“The Ceasefire Strategy is once again being properly implemented and fully executed by all its partners as a data-driven gun violence reduction strategy. It is reducing gun violence in the City of Oakland with remarkable results and tangible improvements. The leadership of Rev. Damita Davis-Howard, Ceasefire director, Dr. Joshi of the Department of Violence Prevention, and the Ceasefire Strategy partners must be commended for this incredible work in ensuring public safety,” said Pastor Michael Wallace, Oakland Public Safety and Services Oversight Commission member.  

“The Oakland Ceasefire Strategy is one of the most comprehensive, intelligence-led violence reduction initiatives I have had the privilege to be a part of and fully support,” said Oakland Police Department Chief Floyd Mitchell.

“The 2024 violent crime reduction data realized by the City of Oakland underscores the effectiveness of our unwavering focus, strategic emphasis, and strong collaborative partnerships within the Ceasefire framework,” Mitchell continued. “Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the Oakland Police Department, and the invaluable contributions of our community, county, state, and federal partners, Oakland has achieved a 34% decrease in homicides, a 33% decline in firearm-related assaults, and a 25% reduction in robberies.”

“Oakland is once again a national leader in gun violence reduction,” said David Muhammad, executive director of NICJR. “Through the hard work of community violence intervention workers in partnership with city staff, police officers, Alameda County Probation, and others, many lives were saved in Oakland this year.”

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