Third Police Shooting Death During Mayor Libby Schaaf’s Administration
Aug 14, 2015
Posted in Police-Public Safety
By Ashley Chambers
Oakland police officers shot and killed a 24-year old man Wednesday evening after a car chase.
The man who was killed was named Nathaniel Wilks.
Police report that the man was allegedly involved in an armed robbery in East Oakland. Police chased his car to West Oakland, where he crashed and tried to carjack another driver.
According to OPD spokeswoman Johnna Watson, the man was armed with a gun. There was confrontation between officers and the young man before the three officers opened fire.
However, activists who interviewed witnesses say there was no confrontation between police and the young man. At least some of the witnesses, say he was shot in the back, according to the activists.
The young man did not fire or attempt to fire at police, according to these reports.
One eyewitness said the young man was in the process of surrendering and saying, “Ok, Ok, Ok” to officers when he was shot, according to a statement released by the Anti Police Terror Project.
A group of protesters gathered Wednesday night at 27th St. and Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Oakland, close to where the young man was shot, to protest the OPD shooting. The demonstrators marched through the city and occupied Interstate 980, blocking traffic near the 27th St. off-ramp.
“We demand that OPD and law enforcement agencies across the country employ every available tactic and strategy to NOT kill our community members even if they have, or are suspected of committing a crime,” according to the Anti Police Terror Project.
Since Mayor Libby Schaaf’s administration began in January, OPD officers have shot and killed three people: on June 6 and Aug. 3 and Wednesday’s shooting.
Mayor Schaaf released a statement, saying, “Given what is at stake, as a community we have an obligation to acknowledge and work to correct the wrongs of the past and the legacy they have left behind.”
“At the same time, we must resist the urge to judge every new set of circumstances on anything other than the facts at hand,” she said.
The Anti Police Terror Project will hold a vigil for the young man and all Black lives stolen by police terror on Friday, Aug. 14 at 6 p.m. at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and 27th St.