Crime

California Highway Patrol Shoot, Kill Man in East Oakland in Latest Local Incidence of Police Brutality

Published

5 years ago

June 11, 2020

Erik Salgado

As calls to defund the police intensified nationwide, protestors demanded justice this week for Erik Salgado, 23, a Hispanic man shot and killed in East Oakland by California Highway Patrol officers on Saturday night after officers fired dozens of rounds at the car he was driving. Salgado’s pregnant girlfriend, Brianna Colombo, also 23, was injured in the shooting and is hospitalized.

Community members marched to demand justice for Salgado near the site of the shooting on the 9600 block of Cherry Street on Monday, led by members of Salgado’s family. The shooting came as calls for police accountability in Oakland and around the country have intensified.

Neighbors who witnessed the shooting said that around 10:30 p.m., the car Salgado was in was stopped and was blocked on both sides by multiple CHP trucks. Independent journalist Shane Baurer spoke to multiple neighbors who told him that after his Salgado’s car was boxed in, Salgado revved the engine and began spinning the tires. “When the engine popped,” Bauer reported, police opened fire. Neighbors described officers firing around 40 shots at the vehicle.

Video indicates that police did not attempt to offer first aid to Colombo until five minutes after the shooting. Two hours after it occurred, video shows Colombo still on site – having yet to be transported to the hospital – despite being pregnant and injured.

In a statement released Tuesday, the Oakland Police Department, which is conducting an investigation into whether CHP officers violated the law or protocol when they shot Salgado, released a statement saying that Salgado “began ramming CHP vehicles” after officers tried to conduct the traffic stop.

A spokesman for the San Leandro Police Department said that the Dodge Hellcat Salgado was driving had been taken from a San Leandro car dealership that was looted during earlier protests. He said the police department did not know if Salgado was the one who stole the vehicle, however.

“What I want to know is why they had to take him out, why they had to use 46 shots, why they couldn’t pull him out and arrest him,” Salgado’s stepfather, Fahid Majail, said after the shooting.

In a short statement from Mayor Libby Schaaf said the city was “committed to conducting a rigorous and transparent investigation” of the shooting. Little other information has been released by law enforcement.

Family, friends, and neighbors created a shrine to honor Salgado near the site of the shooting. At the protest on Monday, speakers also railed against the violent treatment of protesters by OPD at protests in response to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others. Activists in Oakland have joined the national call to defund the police.

Brandon Patterson

Posts by Brandon Patterson

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025

Published

13 hours ago

June 20, 2025

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Learning Life’s Lessons

Since his release over five years ago, Richard has committed himself to making a difference, particularly by reaching out to women and families who lack the presence of a father or husband. He knows he cannot undo the years lost behind prison walls, but he is determined to use his past to build a better future for others. His story mirrors that of many who have walked a similar path. Yet, it remains uniquely his own – a testament to the power of change, resilience, and the belief that even from tragedy, something good can emerge.

Published

6 days ago

June 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Richard Johnson and son Fati. Courtesy photo.

“California’s three-strike laws gave me 2 life sentences for drug possession. After serving 28 years, mostly in solitary confinement, I am free to lead a movement to get the formerly incarcerated to give back.”

By Richard Johnson

I have written this book in hopes of being able to help others from not traveling down the path that leads to imprisonment or a cemetery. At the very beginning of writing this book, it began as a message to my son Fati Yero Gaidi, who was only two years old at the time that I was given two life sentences in prison for drug possession, under the newly implemented three-strikes-you-out law. The more that I wrote, the book began to evolve beyond its intended purpose for my son; it became something that any and everyone could utilize on their separate journeys through life challenges that we encounter. The book helped me put my thoughts, reasoning, perceptions, and views on display, while opening doors that, for the most part, were closed. The book can be purchased via Amazon. Learning life lessons.

About the Author

By Post staff

Richard “Razor” Johnson, 74, is a man whose life journey is marked by hard-earned wisdom, redemption, and an unshakable commitment to guiding the next generation. Once sentenced to life under California’s Three Strikes Law, he was released through what he calls nothing short of divine intervention. His time behind bars, particularly in Pelican Bay State Prison, gave him a new raw and unfiltered understanding of life’s hardest truths.

With the realization that time is precious and the future is shaped by the lessons we learn, Richard writes with urgency and purpose. His book—a 300-page labor of love—is dedicated to young men who may not have a father to teach them the meaning of life’s most important words. Through definitions filled with wisdom, experience, and deep personal insight, he offers direction to those who find themselves lost, just as he once was.

His words are not just lessons; they are a call to action. He hopes that by investing in young minds with wisdom and insight, they will be better equipped to navigate life’s trials, learn from their mistakes, and find their path to success. Richard “Razor” Johnson writes not just to be heard, but to help – because he knows firsthand that sometimes guidance can make all the difference.

Post publishers Paul and Gay Cobb visited Johnson in San Quentin and attended his graduation while he was in prison. He became a columnist with the Post News Group and has continued his advocacy for the formerly incarcerated by urging them to “give something back”. Johnson says he will be speaking at prisons, colleges, and media outlets to help organize voter registration and community service projects.