City of Oakland Ready for Mehserle Sentencing on Friday

This  Friday, November 5, former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle is  scheduled to be sentenced in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The  purpose of this letter is to provide you with information that may help  guide your planning efforts that day.

While it  is not anticipated that any major protests or demonstrations will  occur, the Oakland Police Department has the resources and plans in  place to respond in the event that a demonstration or protest emerges.  As we have in the past, the City of Oakland remains committed to  facilitating peaceful demonstrations and responding appropriately if  personal safety and/or property are at risk.

We are not  urging businesses to close on Friday. Instead, we advise that you use  common sense precautions and convey a sense of calm to your employees  and customers. Please note that there are a number of activities  happening that night that will draw crowds to downtown Oakland,  including Oakland’s First Friday Art Walk, a monthly city-wide event  featuring premier art galleries, restaurants, bars, clubs and  cultural  venues, and a sold-out show at the Fox Theater.

We have  been in close coordination with BART and AC Transit, who have indicated  that trains and buses will be operating normally. BART has confirmed  that they have no plans to close stations. You can sign up for email and  text message alerts at www.bart.gov/alerts to be notified of service changes as they happen.

The City  has developed a variety of communications channels to keep the business  community and the public informed of developments as they occur. We  encourage you to use the following:

We will post regular information updates on our web site: www.oaklandnet.com

To receive alerts by email or wireless device, subscribe to our e-alert system by entering your email address. If  you would like to receive wireless alerts via  mobile phone, be sure to check the “Send Wireless Alerts to this  address” box and enter your mobile number and carrier. Once you’ve saved  your subscriber preferences, be sure to select “Emergency Alerts for  Merchants.”

Follow us on Twitter: oaklandpoliceca

If you don’t have a computer, call (510) 444-CITY for information and/or recorded updates.

You may also contact the City of Oakland’s Business Assistance Center at (510) 238-7952 or visit www.OaklandBAC.com for support and additional information.

To report any tips or suspicious activity, call the Oakland Police Department’s non-emergency line at (510) 777-3333.

Keeping  peace on our streets and protecting Oakland businesses and residents is  our top priority. Thank your for your consideration and support.

Sincerely,

Dan Lindheim, City Administrator