Schaaf ensures protocol followed in officer-involved shooting

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said she is “actively” making sure proper protocols were in place when an Oakland police officer fatally shot a suspect found sleeping with a handgun in his car this morning.

In a statement released by her office today, Schaaf said all uses of force are taken seriously and should be closely examined for the safety and assurance of the public and law enforcement:

“I am actively making sure that the protocols and supervision we’ve worked hard to put in place as part of our police reforms are being followed rigorously as this shooting is thoroughly investigated. Our community deserves all of the accurate and timely information that can be provided.”

Police were notified around 7:30 a.m. of an unresponsive driver who had a gun in a car near the Lakeshore Avenue off-ramp from Interstate Highway 580, according to Oakland police Chief Sean Whent.

Whent said officers blocked off the area and spent roughly an hour trying to wake the suspect.

Officers deployed beanbag rounds at the car in an attempt to get the driver’s attention, but police said the driver was unresponsive.

Officers then approached the car with a metal pipe to break the passenger-side window in an attempt to talk to the driver, police said. At that point, the officers were able to confirm that a gun was inside the car, according to police.

Whent said that during the last attempt to contact the driver, officers approached the car, the person woke up and then a confrontation ensued.

One officer deployed a Taser and another officer used a gun, Whent said. The driver was struck by bullets and transported to Highland Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to Whent.

Police said officers found a loaded gun with an attached illegal extended magazine and said the car had been used in a burglary that occurred last night in San Francisco.

San Francisco police confirmed the car was used in a burglary reported around 8 p.m. at the Lands End visitor’s center. The vehicle fled from police.

The case is being handled by the U.S. Park Police, according to San Francisco police.

The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the shooting, per the department’s policy, along with the Oakland Police Department’s homicide unit and its internal affairs division.

There were 12 officers on scene who are being interviewed and Whent said investigators are reviewing the footage from their body-worn cameras.

The shooting is the first fatal officer-involved shooting since May 2013, according to police.