Security Guard murdered in Oakland protecting TV crew

[bcla]

Most smartphones today shoot the same quality video as "professional" camera gear. Another part of our safety training last year was for crews to do just that, shoot with their cell phones so they don't stand out with the camera on their shoulder and tripod..

Well - I was thinking that equipment costs have gone down, but then again these broadcast crews still use equipment that looks more expensive than a camera phone. And they kind of stick out with microphones and vans with telescoping dishes . A lot of these may be crimes of opportunity, where; they're not necessarily following around news crews. But one of these certainly sticks out.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1023896391649714177

 

[sam_gordon]

Well, our photographers last year got training on using their tripod as a defense weapon, so hopefully that is always with them.

Bet that doesn't happen everywhere. So again, not ALL crews.

 

[tvguy]

Bet that doesn't happen everywhere. So again, not ALL crews.

It happens enough that NPPA has put out numerous articles on it in their newsletter.

 

[JimMIA]

Here's one of our local TV crews getting assaulted several times by Spring Breakers on South Beach. The two primary attackers were arrested by police on the scene, but the crew obviously didn't have any security -- before or after the incident.

If you watch the entire video, you'll see some of the crazy behavior. I think you'll also notice that most of these folks to not appear to be college kids on Spring Break. The college kids go to Ft. Lauderdale Beach.

But this is nothing compared to the mass looting of stores in many cities around the country.

 

[a1tinkfans]

I live in the area and visit Oakland often. It’s actually quite gentrified these days except maybe parts of East Oakland. Homes sell for over a million dollars. I’ve never been mugged nor the victim of any crime while in Oakland. I hear all these descriptions of the place that seem like a caricature, as if it’s a war zone. No doubt there’s crime, but most of it is gang on gang or property crimes. And the big flash mob thefts are organized where the perps have been identified as being from all over.

? And my point stands… excuses. It should Not be Acceptable not commonplace nor the norm .. whether if as you state …it’s “gangs or property crimes” as though that’s Okay because the houses are worth a million.
I guess we can agree to disagree.. it’s All Unacceptable to me.
Severe and swift punishment and there’d be change, imho. Plenty of examples where it’s Worked in the past.. nyc comes to mind.

 

[bcla]

You may be right, but what I see is almost exclusively urban. And even in bucolic South Beach, whenever we have a shooting there the arrestee is almost always from NYC, Philly, Detroit, Atlanta -- never Lenexa, KS.

We get visitors literally from all over the world, but our criminals all seem to be from some US urban center, including our homegrown folks, of course.

We have Art Basel next week, which brings artists and art lovers from all over the world -- and South Beach will be truly quiet and beautiful...but look out for Spring Break!

It's not universal, but when there are arrests, it's often disclosed that the suspects are from suburbs. Names that would only makes sense to locals, like Stockton, Vallejo, Richmond, San Leandro, or Antioch.

 

[mefordis]

Well, our photographers last year got training on using their tripod as a defense weapon, so hopefully that is always with them.

What kind of ammo does a tripod take?

 

[JimMIA]

? And my point stands… excuses. It should Not be Acceptable not commonplace nor the norm .. whether if as you state …it’s “gangs or property crimes” as though that’s Okay because the houses are worth a million.
I guess we can agree to disagree.. it’s All Unacceptable to me.

Agree. I'm not sure @bcla meant those things as excuses, but certainly the gentrification of the area doesn't mean the crime is okay.

Severe and swift punishment and there’d be change, imho. Plenty of examples where it’s Worked in the past.. nyc comes to mind.

I don't think punishment needs to be severe. It just needs to be consistent and timely. You can't keep releasing bail jumpers time after time like the Waukesha killer was. You don't keep dragging cases out month after month.

Some people blame some of this on Covid, but if there is any Covid blame, I think it's because the courts have not been functioning (although they certainly could have with a few minor alterations). And therefore there has been little or NO punishment for this type of behavior for two years.

 

[bcla]

What kind of ammo does a tripod take?

I guess a leg could separate into a bang stick. Anything from a .22LR to a 10 gauge.

 

[bcla]

Agree. I'm not sure @bcla meant those things as excuses, but certainly the gentrification of the area doesn't mean the crime is okay.

No. I get the sense that many use Oakland as a punchline without understanding it. The flash mob robbery there was actual quite unusual, but it’s a fairly new phenomenon springing up lots of copycats around the country. I would venture that more likely than not the perp (who drove away in an Acura TL) is not from Oakland.

I’m just saying I walk through Oakland without fear. Despite the media coverage, it hasn’t turned into the dystopian version of Hill Valley from Back to the Future 2. The neighborhood where this happened is Lakeside. But it could have happened anywhere that a perp might have seen a news crew. That’s all I’m saying.

 

[tvguy]

What kind of ammo does a tripod take?

None. And it never needs reloading.

 

[JimMIA]

No. I get the sense that many use Oakland as a punchline without understanding it. The flash mob robbery there was actual quite unusual, but it’s a fairly new phenomenon springing up lots of copycats around the country.

The mob stuff is nothing very new. The first ones I remember seeing were in Chicago during the George Floyd unrest there, but they've happened lots of places.

Yesterday a bunch of guys broke into a Home Depot in the LA area and stole crowbars, hammers, and sledgehammers -- so keep your eye on LA in the coming days!

I would venture that more likely than not the perp (who drove away in an Acura TL) is not from Oakland.

That was a 15 year old (2004-2008) clunker Acura, not a nice one. It certainly didn't look like anything that would be driven by some upscale robber/killer from the 'burbs, lol.

 

[ronandannette]

No. I get the sense that many use Oakland as a punchline without understanding it. The flash mob robbery there was actual quite unusual, but it’s a fairly new phenomenon springing up lots of copycats around the country. I would venture that more likely than not the perp (who drove away in an Acura TL) is not from Oakland.

I’m just saying I walk through Oakland without fear. Despite the media coverage, it hasn’t turned into the dystopian version of Hill Valley from Back to the Future 2. The neighborhood where this happened is Lakeside. But it could have happened anywhere that a perp might have seen a news crew. That’s all I’m saying.

You're totally ignoring the fact that the news crew was only there to document the mob robbery, which by California law is probably not even illegal if the haul was less than $950 per pilferer. That IS a California thing (not necessarily just Oakland) and it's insane.

Any word on arrests in the murder?

 

[bcla]

The mob stuff is nothing very new. The first ones I remember seeing were in Chicago during the George Floyd unrest there, but they've happened lots of places.

Yesterday a bunch of guys broke into a Home Depot in the LA area and stole crowbars, hammers, and sledgehammers -- so keep your eye on LA in the coming days!That was a 15 year old (2004-2008) clunker Acura, not a nice one. It certainly didn't look like anything that would be driven by some upscale robber/killer from the 'burbs, lol.

I wasn’t insinuating that, but obviously the perp is mobile. I described the car because it’s been mentioned in reports of the shouting. But when I say suburbs, the facts are that a ton of these perps live in certain suburbs which I mentioned previously. There are parts of Oakland I don’t recommend anyone visit, but the area where this shooting happened isn’t one of them. But when I say “suburbs”, I’d note that there are notorious ones like Compton.

 

[penn19]

You're totally ignoring the fact that the news crew was only there to document the mob robbery, which by California law is probably not even illegal if the haul was less than $950 per pilferer. That IS a California thing (not necessarily just Oakland) and it's insane.

Any word on arrests in the murder?

Unfortunately we have got to the point where we are able explain away the depravity. It’s very sad. It’s the “cost of big city living” etc.

 

[bcla]

You're totally ignoring the fact that the news crew was only there to document the mob robbery, which by California law is probably not even illegal if the haul was less than $950 per pilferer. That IS a California thing (not necessarily just Oakland) and it's insane.

Any word on arrests in the murder?

Where did you get the idea that it’s not illegal? It’s about whether or not prosecution is as a misdemeanor for petty theft or as a possible felony for grand theft. There are other things that factor in such as destruction of property. Smashing a window ups the seriousness of the charges. But a petty theft conviction can result in up to a 180 day sentence in a county jail in California.

Most thieves going into a store don’t carefully map out how much they’re going to take to avoid a more serious charge if they get caught. They’re hoping to not get caught. The flash mob nature of these newer thefts are obviously designed around sacrificing a few who get caught while police and/or security are overwhelmed.

The story with the shop robbed is that it’s a combination of a consignment and the store’s own branded merchandise. I don’t necessarily get spending $80 on a T-shirt, there are people buying this stuff. It’s also been hit twice and can’t operate the business without inventory. The photo they have here shows some unique items. I see a Yankees cap with unique patches.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-prime-356-recover-from-breakin-and-looting

 

[JimMIA]

Any word on arrests in the murder?

I just checked the KRON4 website and there is nothing new there. I'm sure they'll provide any updates if they get any.

 

[sam_gordon]

It happens enough that NPPA has put out numerous articles on it in their newsletter.

OK.

 

[bcla]

You're totally ignoring the fact that the news crew was only there to document the mob robbery, which by California law is probably not even illegal if the haul was less than $950 per pilferer. That IS a California thing (not necessarily just Oakland) and it's insane.

Just a follow up. California law sets $950 as the dividing line between petty and grand theft. But grand theft is often a case where there’s prosecutorial discretion to seek up to the maximum penalty, or not. The claim of theft not being illegal (and I get that your sources may claim that) is patently false. Prop 47 set a lot of different things, including that shoplifting can now be acted upon before someone leaves the premises based on certain actions such as hiding an item.

This compares to Canadian national law with a $5000 dividing line between up to 10 years or up to 2 years.

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/section-334.html

 

[JimMIA]

Just a follow up. California law sets $950 as the dividing line between petty and grand theft. But grand theft is often a case where there’s prosecutorial discretion to seek up to the maximum penalty, or not. The claim of theft not being illegal (and I get that your sources may claim that) is patently false. Prop 47 set a lot of different things, including that shoplifting can now be acted upon before someone leaves the premises based on certain actions such as hiding an item.

This compares to Canadian national law with a $5000 dividing line between up to 10 years or up to 2 years.

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/section-334.html

The other thing is that it's not $950 for each thief. Grand theft is grand theft, whether one person does it or a dozen, and anyone who participates directly is what is called a "principal" and can be charged with grand theft.

So if 10 thieves stole $100 each, all 10 could be charged with grand theft because the total would exceed $950 unless CA law is very different from most states.