On Wednesday, Berkeleyside published the first part of a two-part interview with Berkeley’s new Police Chief, Michael Meehan. Today we give you Part II. Deep in the bowels of the Berkeley Police Department is an L-shaped hallway that is a shrine to the department’s past. There is an old lie detector encased in a wooden […]
Policing
Posted inCity, Crime & Safety
Exclusive interview: Berkeley’s new police chief pledges more transparency
Berkeley Police Chief Michael Meehan On his first day on the job, newly appointed police chief Michael Meehan walked into the conference room adjoining his office. With ample light and round bay windows overlooking the Martin Luther King Park, it is the nicest room in Berkeley’s police headquarters. But Meehan was struck by the fact […]
Posted inCrime & Safety, Schools, Video
Video: Watch the dance party turn violent
As the nationwide March 4th protests against cuts to public education grow near, groups around the state are trying to get the word out. In Berkeley, UC students plan to hold a rally at noon and teachers in the Berkeley Unified School district plan to march on Martin Luther King Street after school lets out. […]
Posted inCrime & Safety, Schools
Police statement on last night’s violence
Berkeley Police Department’s Public Information Officer Andrew Frankel emailed neighborhood crime prevention leaders with a report on last night’s violence on Telegraph Avenue, near the university (sent to Berkeleyside by Laura Menard): Here is what I can share with regard to last night’s events: At 1:41a.m. we responded to a request for emergency assistance made […]
Posted inCrime & Safety
Accident sends Berkeley police officer to hospital
Police motorcycle at Ashby and Benvenue by Juliet Wayne A Berkeley police officer was sent to the hospital Tuesday afternoon after her motorcycle was struck by a car. The accident happened around 4:20 at the intersection of Ashby and Benvenue. Police closed the intersection while they investigated the accident. The officer, who was not identified, […]
Posted inCrime & Safety
‘When we mess up we fess up’: Michael Meehan, Berkeley’s new police chief, is sworn in
Police officials from around the region gathered in downtown Berkeley Thursday afternoon to attend the swearing in of Michael K. Meehan, Berkeley’s new police chief. Chiefs from Oakland, San Francisco, Albany Emeryville, Kensington, Sacramento, Livermore and the University of California joined FBI agents, DEA investigators, CHP officers and elected officials to welcome Meehan, 48, who […]
Posted inCrime & Safety
Police chiefs past and present
Former Berkeley police chief Douglas Hambleton (above) will be recognized for his distinguished community service at a meeting tonight at which Oakland’s newly crowned police chief, Anthony Batts, will talk about his plans for the city. The “Safe Neighborhoods” meeting has been organized by a large group of community organizations and takes place at Maxwell’s, […]
Posted inCrime & Safety
Goodbye on Beat 8
Ever since we moved to the Elmwood, we’ve received regular, informative emails from Roderick Roe, our Beat 8 police officer. Roe leavened the usual litany of break-ins and car thefts with helpful advice and a distinct, personal voice. I’ve just received his latest email, which is a goodbye: Believe me, after twenty-one years as a […]
Posted inCrime & Safety
America’s Most Wanted in Berkeley
America’s Most Wanted, the Fox show that brings the glare of mass television to the task of tracking down fugitives from justice, will be filming on Allston Way between 9th and 10th Streets today (hat tip: John). The program is in Berkeley to “recreate” to film an introduction about the gang murder that took place […]
