"Occupy" sympathizer to occupiers: We need the cops more than we need you

I must at this juncture point out that the vast majority of OO protestors are guests in OUR city. WE who live here…who work here…whose children go to our public schools…who pay the city taxes to support local programs…who clean up our streets and our parks…understand the challenges this city faces while those who have taken up residence temporarily, clearly do not. By placing yourselves into Frank Ogawa Plaza, you have chosen to centrally locate in the center of one of the heaviest crime areas of Oakland. For those of you who don’t live here, Oakland has one of the 5 highest violent crime rates in the US. When we say violent crime, this means things like murder, beatings, gun violence, rape. At the same time as the criminals have taken over our streets, our police department has taken cut after cut, while “Mayors” like Jean Quan have spent money that we were asked to approve through our taxes, on wasteful community programs, rather than law enforcement.

Now, you come to our city, you condemn our police, you tell the world we need fewer officers rather than more, and honestly, as a RESIDENT of Oakland, I have had enough of it. What happened to Scott Olsen was HORRIBLE and that officer (who was NOT Oakland PD) should be held accountable and prosecuted. However, saying the Oakland PD should be responsible for his actions is like suggesting that you all should be held responsible for the actions of those who DESTROYED our city two nights ago. You want distance from those people, even though many of you stood and watched as they vandalized, burned and destroyed our local businesses doing NOTHING to stop them (with rare exception). And then, when our local police come in to stop the destruction of our city, they get blasted by OWS and OO members all over again.