Crime

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

Published

4 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

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

9 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

Oakland Post

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California Black Media

Anti-Theft Bill with Jail-Time Requirement Gets Wide Ranging Support

Fed up with the alarming frequency of retail theft across California, including smash and grabs, a diverse group of business leaders, law enforcement officials, policymakers and public safety advocates joined their efforts in Sacramento on Jan. 24. Their purpose: to increase public support for Assembly Bill (AB) 1772, a bill that would make jail time mandatory for repeat theft offenders.

Published

6 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

San Bernardino Police Chief Darren Goodman speaks as Asm. James Ramos (D-San Bernardino), left, stands beside him at a news conference in Sacramento concerning retail theft across the state.

By California Black Media

Fed up with the alarming frequency of retail theft across California, including smash and grabs, a diverse group of business leaders, law enforcement officials, policymakers and public safety advocates joined their efforts in Sacramento on Jan. 24.

Their purpose: to increase public support for Assembly Bill (AB) 1772, a bill that would make jail time mandatory for repeat theft offenders.

Co-authored by Assemblymembers James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino), Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim) and Devon Mathis (R-Tulare), AB 1772 would require jail time “of one to three years for theft crimes depending upon the circumstances.

“Offenses would include grand theft, theft from an elder or dependent adult, theft or unauthorized use of a vehicle, burglary, carjacking, robbery, receiving stolen property, shoplifting or mail theft,” the bill language reads.

Ramos said the need to act is urgent.

“It’s time for us to reverse the spikes in theft crimes since the pandemic. Our law enforcement members and district attorneys need additional tools such as AB 1772. We must reverse the trend before the problem grows worse. Last year I requested a state audit of the impact of Prop 47 on Riverside and San Bernardino counties,” said Ramos.

Prop 47 is the California initiative, approved by voters in 2014, that reclassified some felonies to misdemeanors and raised the minimum amount for most misdemeanor thefts from $400 to $950.

According to a Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) report, the rate of occurrence of petty crimes like shoplifting and commercial burglaries have increased by double digits over the last four years.

In Orange County alone, commercial burglaries have spiked by 54%.

“Our communities are experiencing an increase in retail crime and deserve appropriate action from their legislators,” Valencia said.

San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus thanked Ramos.

“This bill, designed to impose stricter penalties on serial retail theft suspects, responds urgently to the escalating consequences of shoplifting and related crimes on our communities,” he said.

AB 1772 supporters who spoke at the gathering included Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper and San Bernardino Chief of Police Darren Goodman. Listed as supporters are the California State Sheriff’s Association, City of Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez and Redlands Chamber of Commerce.