In “what were they thinking news” …
A deer that was lost in an East Oakland residential neighborhood was shot seven times and killed by Oakland police this past weekend.
According to a San Francisco Chronicle report, the young deer was lost and had jumped over a fence into a backyard. Officials said the deer was shot because “it was acting disoriented in an urban environment” and that it was a public safety issue with children present.
In sarcastic font: Nothing creates a safer situation than shooting seven bullets in that type of environment.
I’ve rarely used this space to disparage law enforcement. My older brother is a police officer and I have nothing but appreciation for those who work in public safety. But the thought of pulling a gun out and firing seven bullets in a residential neighborhood over a young deer is beyond me.
If you watch the video footage below, the kids were apparently excited over the animal’s unforeseen presence in the neighborhood and were confused to why their new friend was shot. “That’s a deer, you know. They [the children] don’t know any better,” said Anthony Weems, who caught the shooting on video, according to the Chonicle. “They just know it’s a deer. And they’re all like, ‘Why are they back there shooting Bambi?’ You know, ‘Why are they back there killing a deer’?”
The Oakland police department looks bad here. If you want to hunt, go take the NRA safety test and get a license.
“We are going to review this procedure and in the future we really are going to come up with something else. There has to be a better way to handle this situation,” Holly Joshie of the Oakland PD told the newspaper.
Local ABC reporter Alan Wang put it best in the video below, “For a police department trying to improve relations with the community, this has not been good.”
James Spencer can be reached at jspencer@publicceo.com