Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said Saturday she was “deeply concerned” after video surfaced showing San Francisco police officers smashing through the glass front entrance of an affordable housing complex in West Oakland during a raid tied to an armed robbery investigation.
According to the San Francisco Police Department, officers traveled to Oakland on Thursday in search of 18-year-old Jamil Butler, who was wanted in connection with two armed robberies in San Francisco. Police said Butler was located near the affordable housing complex and detained. Officers allegedly recovered a firearm and sought a search warrant for a residence inside the 79-unit building located at Seventh and Campbell streets.
The property is owned and operated by Oakland & the World Enterprises, a nonprofit founded by former Black Panther Party leader Elaine Brown.
In a statement posted to Facebook, Brown accused SFPD officers of forcibly entering the building after refusing to show management a search warrant. Brown said more than 20 officers arrived in plain clothes and demanded access to the building.
“They claimed to have a warrant but would not show it to building security, for which they were denied entry,” Brown wrote.
She alleged that officers then used “a large sledgehammer or metal battering ram” to break through the building’s front door windows before entering the property.
Video circulating online appears to show officers entering the lobby while building Resident Manager Misty Cross repeatedly asked to see the warrant. One officer can be heard asking Cross why the door was not opened before proceeding toward the elevators.
The SFPD defended the operation in a statement, saying officers were wearing police insignia and body-worn cameras. The department also said the forced entry was necessary because of “exigent circumstances.”
Butler was later booked into the San Francisco County Jail.
Brown said she plans to file a complaint with the Oakland Police Department alleging assault, vandalism, and Fourth Amendment violations against the officers involved. She also called for criminal charges to be filed against the SFPD officers.
The Oakland Police Department has not publicly stated whether it authorized or participated in the operation.
