Update on our letter to Gov Newsom requesting CHP help for Berkeley
Within days of separate gunfire incidents near university housing, SafeBears leadership sent a detailed letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom requesting deployment of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to Berkeley streets. Dozens of members sent their own messages to the governor. 🔥
Now, we have an update, and we won’t sugarcoat it: We’ve been told CHP officers will NOT deploy to Berkeley at this time.
This news is particularly disappointing in light of the horrifying details that have emerged for the Oct 26 gunfire:
The shooting spree began with a confrontation with four Cal students on Telegraph: The perpetrator “pulled a gun from his waistband, pointed it at the students, told them to run and fired a round into the air. The four students ran out of fear of being shot," according to the City of Berkeley Police Department (BPD).
One bullet entered an occupied bedroom in the Blackwell dorm.
The gunman fired rounds in six locations, five very close to main campus.
Following his arrest on Nov 7, the alleged shooter was released from custody within days, despite being charged with nine felonies and despite police finding at his residence a cache of weapons and ammunition as well as kits commonly used to make “ghost guns.”
We were informed of CHP’s decision — to continue to limit their East Bay operation to Oakland — by BPD Chief Jen Louis, who has been very responsive and transparent in her communications with SafeBears.
But, there have been some positive developments:
Gov Newsom extended the CHP surge in Oakland to the end of the year (it was originally set to end mid-November). More law enforcement resources in neighboring Oakland absolutely make our Bears safer.
As noted above, Berkeley Police, with the assistance of UC Berkeley Police and other partners, made an arrest in the Oct 26 gunfire incident. The automated license plate readers (ALPRs) that SafeBears members advocated for last year played a key role in identifying the perpetrator, BPD said.
In response to the SafeBears letter to Gov Newsom, CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee directed the CHP Golden Gate Division to meet with BPD to discuss the SafeBears request for assistance. While the result of those discussions was not what we had hoped, the fact that we spurred the meeting to take place is an amazing outcome. The discussions resulted in BPD having new points of contact within CHP and an overall strengthened relationship between the two agencies, according to BPD Chief Louis. (The CHP commissioner said he would follow up with SafeBears after the Golden Gate Division met with BPD, but we have not yet heard back from him.) UPDATE — The CHP commissioner got back to SafeBears on Nov 20. We greatly appreciate his facilitation of meetings between CHP and BPD and UCPD.
Automated license plate readers in Berkeley are yielding impressive results in just the first month of operation, with eight arrests so far, including the one relating to the Oct 26 gunfire. The ALPRs for state routes in Berkeley (San Pablo and Ashby) are still awaiting Caltrans approval. CHP has offered BPD assistance in getting those operational if necessary — another positive result from the BPD-CHP discussions motivated by the SafeBears letter.
While it’s frustrating to not get the outcome we wanted, overall we think our advocacy resulted in positive change. We’re not going to stop advocating for student safety . . . and we hope our members continue to use their voices.
While it’s unlikely CHP will deploy to Berkeley as part of the current East Bay law enforcement surge, we still urge members to contact Gov Newsom, even if only to express outrage over the gunfire putting our students and Berkeley residents in harm’s way.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. — Margaret Mead
