City Government
Hotline Established for Police Whistleblowers to Report Corrupt Officers in Oakland
Police accountability activists this week established an anonymous hotline for whistleblowers to report “corruption, misconduct and predatory policing” within the Oakland Police Department (OPD).
The hotline was set up by Civil Rights attorney Dan Siegel at his Oakland law firm, Siegel and Yee.
“We are hearing unofficially from people in the department that they are embarrassed and upset” by ongoing sex abuse and other misconduct scandals in OPD, said Siegel, speaking at a press conference Monday in front of the police department headquarters.
The press conference organizers, the Anti Police-Terror Project (APTP), said they decided to create the hotline after learning that Mayor Libby Schaaf hired a private investigator to “identify and punish whistleblowers who are bringing these problems to the public,” according to an APTP statement to the media.
“Our legal team, Siegel and Yee, wanted to step up and provide a safe place for officers who want to expose corruption of the police department to come tell their stories,” said Cat Brooks of APTP.
According to the APTP statement, activists are hearing that some officers “want to stop observing the ‘Code of Silence’ that goes against their oath to protect and serve the City of Oakland.”
“Many of those same officers may fear retaliation, a ruined career or worse as a result of going against the expectation to look the other way when the abuse of authority occurs,” the statement said.
Siegel and Yee will take statements and give advice to OPD employees who contact the hotline.
“We can provide you with legal advice if you are facing retaliation for going public with information about (misconduct), and your anonymity will be protected,” the APTP statement said.
Spokeswoman Karen Boyd denied that the city was seeking to plug leaks.
“The city administrator initiated an investigation not into whistleblowers but into who was divulging (information) or how information that was legally, confidentially protected was being divulged,” Boyd told KRON4.
Saying the hotline is unnecessary, Schaaf said in an interview with KRON that the city already has its own hotline for whistleblowers.
“Oakland has long had its own anonymous whistleblower hotline. It’s run by our independent auditor,” Schaaf said.
The hotline number at Siegel and Yee is (510) 839-1200. Evidence can be emailed to policehotline@siegelyee.com.
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Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025
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Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025
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IN MEMORIAM: William ‘Bill’ Patterson, 94
Bill devoted his life to public service and education. In 1971, he became the founding director for the Peralta Community College Foundation, he also became an administrator for Oakland Parks and Recreation overseeing 23 recreation centers, the Oakland Zoo, Children’s Fairyland, Lake Merritt, and the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.
William “Bill” Patterson, 94, of Little Rock, Arkansas, passed away peacefully on October 21, 2025, at his home in Oakland, CA. He was born on May 19, 1931, to Marie Childress Patterson and William Benjamin Patterson in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Dunbar High School and traveled to Oakland, California, in 1948. William Patterson graduated from San Francisco State University, earning both graduate and undergraduate degrees. He married Euradell “Dell” Patterson in 1961. Bill lovingly took care of his wife, Dell, until she died in 2020.
Bill devoted his life to public service and education. In 1971, he became the founding director for the Peralta Community College Foundation, he also became an administrator for Oakland Parks and Recreation overseeing 23 recreation centers, the Oakland Zoo, Children’s Fairyland, Lake Merritt, and the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.
He served on the boards of Oakland’s Urban Strategies Council, the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, and the Oakland Workforce Development Board.
He was a three-term president of the Oakland branch of the NAACP.
Bill was initiated in the Gamma Alpha chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.
In 1997 Bill was appointed to the East Bay Utility District Board of Directors. William Patterson was the first African American Board President and served the board for 27 years.
Bill’s impact reached far beyond his various important and impactful positions.
Bill mentored politicians, athletes and young people. Among those he mentored and advised are legends Joe Morgan, Bill Russell, Frank Robinson, Curt Flood, and Lionel Wilson to name a few.
He is survived by his son, William David Patterson, and one sister, Sarah Ann Strickland, and a host of other family members and friends.
A celebration of life service will take place at Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center (Calvin Simmons Theater) on November 21, 2025, at 10 AM.
His services are being livestreamed at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1250167107131991/
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Euradell and William Patterson scholarship fund TBA.
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