We know which side the Oakland PD is on. Update to a previous story.
Via Inside Bay Area
Officials with the Oakland Police Department said this week that they were unaware the California Highway Patrol used undercover officers — including one who pulled a gun on protesters after he said he feared for his partner’s safety — during recent demonstrations on Oakland streets.
“We’ve been unable to find anyone that knew that particular detail existed,” Oakland police Sgt. Holly Joshi said.
The undercover officers, called “plainclothes” officers by CHP officials, were monitoring a protest on Dec. 10 when their cover was blown by suspicious protesters. While attempting to arrest a suspect who had allegedly struck an officer, another officer drew his service pistol and pointed it at bystanders who the CHP said were advancing on the pair.
The revelation from Oakland police is contrasted by statements given last week by Avery Browne, chief of the CHP’s Golden Gate Division, who said that Berkeley and Oakland police officials knew CHP was using officers dressed in street clothes marching alongside demonstrators.[…]
he CHP has been assisting Berkeley and Oakland with controlling protests under a mutual aid agreement, a system created by the state in 1961 to allow neighboring agencies to assist each other during emergencies or times of civil unrest. Mutual aid agreements are vague, and do not include information on specific details, authorities said.
The two officers in question were following protesters first in an unmarked car, then on foot in downtown Oakland, on Dec. 10, Browne said. As the crowd marched down Harrison Street near Lake Merritt, some became suspicious of the two officers, eventually pulling off their handkerchiefs and hat while asking if they were police officers.
One of the officers drew his service weapon during the melee, saying he feared for his and his partner’s life as he wrestled with one man and a crowd of about 30 circled them, Browne said. One of the officers was kicked in the head and required medical care, officials said.