We have been following the outbreak of crime occurring in Oakland, California, which has been so devastating that Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and its District Attorney, Pamela Price, will face a recall vote in November.
A recent development so shocking that it surely must adversely impact their chances of surviving the recall: In the middle of a rescue call last week, someone stole the Jaws of Life from Oakland’s firefighters.
Firefighters had brought out the tool during the call. After they used it, fire officials discovered the equipment had been taken, according to a spokesperson with the Oakland Police Department.Used by emergency personnel after serious car crashes, the hydraulic tool pries open or cuts through wreckage to rescue someone inside. Jaws of Life tools can be operated by a single individual and generally weigh around 50 pounds.An Oakland police spokesperson said their tool was taken at about 7:15 p.m. Friday in the 1600 block of West Street.
This development comes shortly after California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that he would quadruple state police officers’ shifts in Oakland and increase surge operations there for the next four months to crack down on organized crime, carjacking, and other criminal activity.
It appears the local officials had been messaging crime data to show the city was safer than it actually is.
Newsom’s comments marked a rhetorical shift from last month, when, along with Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and other officials, he touted Oakland Police Department data that purportedly showed a 33% decline in crime compared to the same period last year. Many news outlets, including the Chronicle, reported the data.But it turns out those numbers were wrong.As the Chronicle reported this week, Oakland’s police department has for years been publishing inaccurate and misleading crime data, leaving the public with the false impression that the city’s crime trends are better than they actually are….In Oakland over the past month or so: 14 people were injured in a Juneteenth mass shooting. At least 13 people were beaten and robbed steps away from their senior living community. Two older women were allegedly beaten and robbed by a man reportedly released from prison just 11 days before. Concrete blocks were thrown through the windows of a synagogue. And more than 80 people ransacked a gas station near the airport, causing more than $100,000 in damage. Not to mention a recent string of ethics scandals and last month’s FBI raid on Mayor Thao’s home.Something is not right in Oakland.
The Jaws of Life are critical tools used by fire departments during emergencies where victims must be extricated, such as after an automobile crash. These devices also extricate victims from collapsed concrete and steel structures after earthquakes.
What happens if there is a major seismic event in Oakland? Those have been known to occur.
That the life-saving equipment is no longer available to service the tax-payers who paid for it due to criminal-friendly policies and open-border measures is just another road marker on the region’s descent into a progressive-caused hellscape.
I suspect firefighters are less likely to stay and serve in areas where they and their tools are not safe.
I will be following the recall elections results closely to see if my fellow Californians are willing to reverse course on the woke agendas that make firefighters the targets of opportunity.
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