City Government

Urban Shield War Games Stir Up Oakland

Published

12 years ago

September 4, 2014

Energized by images of police armed with military hardware in Ferguson, MO, Bay Area activists are mobilizing to oppose the Urban Shield SWAT war games and firearms expo that is taking place in Oakland this weekend at the downtown Marriott.

Urban Shield is a four-day event that brings together law enforcement agencies from around the world — including Israel, Bahrain, Qatar, Brazil, Guam, South Korea and Singapore.

< p>A two-day trade show on Thursday and Friday features the latest in policing and surveillance technology and is followed by two days of emergency-preparedness training exercises throughout the Bay Area.

The event is billed as a disaster-preparedness exercise and is funded by the Urban Areas Security Initiative, a Department of Homeland Security program that mandates 25 percent of its funding is allocated to counterterrorism activities.

Urban Shield began in Oakland eight years ago and has expanded to Boston, Austin and Dallas.

Jason “Shake” Anderson

After weeks of protests in Ferguson, Missouri that followed the police killing of teenager Michael Brown, the militarization of local law enforcement has become a national concern. Prominent images showed police with armored vehicles, assault and sniper rifles and dressed in SWAT uniforms that resembled battle clothing.

Last week, the San Jose Police Department announced it is getting rid of its M-RAP, a military-grade vehicle designed to protect combat soldiers from roadside bombs, citing community concerns over an increasingly militarized police force. The Davis City Council has given its sheriff’s office 60 days to get rid of the city’s M-RAPs.

President Barack Obama has called for a federal review of the 1033 program, which has transferred more than $4 billion of military supplies to local police departments with no oversight.

Organizations endorsing protests against Urban Shield include: Critical Resistance
War Resisters League – Facing Tear Gas, the Bay Area Childcare Collective (BACC),
Iraq Veterans Against the War – San Francisco, Code Pink and Oakland Privacy Working Group.

Among the mayoral candidates taking a position against Urban Shield was Jason “Shake Anderson, who says Mayor Jean Quan is failing to show leadership around police accountability issues.

“Oakland has a long history of police repression,” he said. “Our officers don’t need more extreme training. The city needs leaders who are proactive, who don’t wait to react to the possibility of violence until after something happens.”

According to Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, bringing the “Urban Shield” weapons expo to Oakland is “an insult to all the important work that so many of us are doing to reduce violence” in the city.

Councilmember Libby Schaaf added, “The militarization of police is dangerous and destroys public trust – the last thing Oakland needs,” she said. “The vendor show connected with the exercise appears to promote this dangerous direction and is ill-suited for Oakland.”

However, Schaaf said, “I recognize that most of the exercises involve emergency response, which is incredibly important and beneficial for this region.”

Photo from Reuters

Civil rights Attorney Dan Siegel said Urban Shield would not be coming to Oakland year after year if city leaders did not vote to help for it.

“Given the city’s disturbing history of brutal force against people of color and peaceful protestors – it is unacceptable to open our arms and welcome agencies that glorify violence, weaponry and militarized responses to the people of Oakland.”

“Last year, Urban Shield was met with community protest – and will be again,” he said. “Oakland residents have sent a clear message: No Urban Shield in Our City.”

For more information on Urban Shield, go to www.urbanshield.org/index.php/2012-urban-shield-exercise/fire-usar-hazmat

Information from groups opposed to Urban Shield can be found at http://bit.ly/susoaklandinfo and http://bit.ly/susmarriott

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Related Topics:City of Oakland community policing Oakland Police Militarization protests Urban Shield

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Oakland Post: Week of July 15 – 21, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 15 – 21, 2026

Published

1 week ago

July 18, 2026

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From Disparity Study to Solutions: Oakland Coalition and Mayor Barbara Lee Renew Commitment to Reform City Contracting

She committed to ensuring the coalition has direct access to City leadership by designating Assistant Deputy City Administrator Chuck Baker the primary liaison. Working alongside Deputy City Administrator Sofia Navarro, DWES Director Emylene Aspilla, Race and Equity Director Darlene Flynn, and other City departments, the coalition will continue advancing these priorities while maintaining regular communication with City leadership.

Published

2 weeks ago

July 15, 2026

Oakland Post

Present at the recent meeting on implementing recommendations on Oakland’s Disparity Study on city work contracts were (first row, l. to r.): Chuck Baker, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and Darlene Flynn. Second row, l. to r.) Samuel Adams, Erica Astrella, Chadwick Spell, Cathy Adams, Stanley Cooper, Maria Wagner, Len Turner, Derek Barnes, Paul Cobb. Photo courtesy of Oakland Mayor’s Office.

Special to The Post

On June 30, a coalition of minority business leaders, contractors and others met with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee to discuss the City’s commitment to implement recommendations outlined in Oakland’s Disparity Study and eliminate barriers that have historically prevented Black and minority-owned businesses from fully participating in public contracting opportunities.

Representatives of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce (OAACC), National Association of Minority Contractors Northern California (NAMC NorCal), Construction Resource Center (CRC), and the East Bay Rental Housing Association (EBRHA) said the meeting represented an important milestone in a process that has been underway for several months.

On April 21, the Oakland City Council’s Life Enrichment Committee received a progress report from the Department of Workplace and Employment Standards (DWES), where Director Emylene Aspilla presented the coalition’s working document and outlined a collaborative implementation plan between the coalition and the City. That report established 30-, 60-, and 90-day objectives focused on five key priorities:

Reforming Local and Small Local Business Enterprise (L/SLBE) waiver practices
Strengthening prompt payment compliance
Improving procurement forecasting and transparency
Expanding contractor capacity building and business development
Increasing oversight, accountability, and public reporting

A series of working sessions was scheduled between coalition representatives, DWES, and the City Administrator’s Office to begin implementing those priorities but were temporarily delayed by the resignation of former City Administrator Jestin Johnson.

Rather than allowing that momentum to stall, OAACC President and CEO Cathy Adams requested a meeting with Lee to gain clarity on the City’s direction and reaffirm its commitment to implementing the recommendations contained within the Disparity Study.

Coalition leaders described the meeting as productive, candid, collaborative, and encouraging.

During the meeting, Lee spoke not only from her role as mayor but also from her experience as an 8(a) contractor and business owner, sharing that she understands firsthand what it takes to build and grow a successful company, employ a substantial workforce, compete for public work, and navigate the complexities of municipal contracting.

Mayor Lee also expressed her commitment to personally participate in future working meetings with the coalition.

“This meeting represents a renewed commitment to partnership,” said Adams. “Mayor Lee listened, engaged, and demonstrated that she wants to move beyond conversation and into implementation.”

CRC’s Len Turner said the roadmap is already in place. ““The City already has the evidence. What’s been missing is execution. …Now it’s time to deliver results.”

Mario Wagner, president of NAMC NorCal agreed that the next phase must focus on implementation, funding, and accountability.

“The coalition is ready to get to work. …The next step is ensuring these initiatives receive meaningful funding in the upcoming fiscal budget cycle. Just as important, the City must establish transparent reporting mechanisms that keep the public informed through regular progress reports, measurable benchmarks, and accountability.”

Coalition leaders also acknowledged that while City leadership has indicated it is reviewing Local and Small Local Business Enterprise waiver practices, the community continues to seek a formal response regarding existing long-term waivers, including waivers extending 10 and 25 years. The coalition believes those waivers should be comprehensively reviewed and, where appropriate, rolled back as part of the City’s broader contracting reforms.

The coalition is also calling on the City to include meaningful funding in the upcoming fiscal budget cycle to support implementation of the Disparity Study recommendations and establish better methods and mechanisms to keep the public informed through regular progress reports, measurable benchmarks, and transparent accountability.

The coalition’s immediate next step is to schedule a working meeting with Baker, Aspilla, Lee, and the appropriate City staff to review what has already been accomplished under the implementation framework.