TBS Today, July 24

Berkeley police are seeking surveillance footage from the neighborhood after a violent robbery earlier this month that sent a man to the hospital.

Berkeley police seek tips after robbery, pistol-whipping

When the victim did not turn over his property, the assailant struck him in the head with a gun and took his phone.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

And we just published a quick story about a parking dispute at Alta Bates that sent an armed man to jail today.

Parking dispute at Alta Bates sends felon with gun to jail

The dispute began when the shuttle driver found a motorist parked at the hospital shuttle stop, Berkeley police said.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

Tonight: We're getting ready to go to a special Police Accountability Board meeting focused on two important subjects — the BPD text scandal and the upcoming ALPR vote at council Tuesday (which we will also attend and cover).

Stay tuned for all of that.

For those looking for a silver lining to a local crime story, don't miss coverage of how the community rallied around an ice cream vendor who was robbed recently in Oakland. The California Sun (a CA newsletter we love!) has a summary and some links to related coverage, along with highlights from some of the state's biggest stories.

DA Pamela Price meeting comes Thursday

As a reminder, if you're interested in DA Pamela Price, we plan to cover her in-person-only meeting Thursday night in Montclair.

Initial news reports elsewhere said an Oakland council member and police captain would also be there, but that is not the case. The council member told us wires got crossed: She had a community meeting already scheduled and the organizers did not ask her first, she said. So it may just be Price on the dais.

We're still interested in hearing what she says.

A number of Oakland neighborhood groups plan to be there, and Price is urging her supporters to attend as well.

Oakland crime is up this year

If you're wondering why people may be concerned, violent crime is up 15% in Oakland this year compared to the same period last year.

As we wrote today on Twitter, "Robbery is up 22%. Rape is up 12%. Non-gun-related serious assaults are up 16%. Shootings with surviving victims are up 5% but other types of shootings are down, as are overall homicides."

There have been more than 1,900 robberies in Oakland in 2023, including 369 carjacking reports. About 43% of the robberies involved a gun.

On the property crime side, burglary is up 41% and vehicle theft is up 50%. Larceny and arson are both down.

Those numbers dwarf Berkeley (no surprise) but crime is also up here so far this year.

In case you missed it

Price critic facing misdemeanor blasts DA for security breach

The DA’s office made Butch Ford’s address public, in violation of state law and the union contract, when it charged him with a misdemeanor this week.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

Elmwood Theatre is back! Online tickets are on sale again

A city inspection found no structural damage to the movie house after Wednesday’s crash, the Elmwood Theatre said.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

Berkeley police bike team cleared of claims made by fired cop

The former sergeant of the bike unit remains on paid leave pending the completion of a misconduct investigation into his text messages.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso

UC Berkeley skeleton ID’d as Steven McCreary, homicide victim

McCreary’s family last spoke with him in 2009. He would have been 37 years old at that time, UCPD said.

The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso