Oakland Public Safety Committee Meeting - March 10, 2026: OPD Cadet Program Funding Approved
Oakland Public Safety Committee Meeting - March 10, 2026
The Oakland City Council Public Safety Committee convened at 6:16 PM on March 10, 2026, and adjourned at 6:50 PM. The committee unanimously approved the draft minutes from the February 24, 2026 meeting, accepted the schedule of outstanding committee items, and voted to forward a resolution accepting a $900,000 grant from the Oakland Police Foundation to fund the OPD Cadet Program for fiscal years 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 to the March 16, 2026 Special City Council meeting on consent.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Draft Minutes (February 24, 2026): Motion by Councilmember Brown, seconded by Councilmember Houston, passed 4-0.
- Determination of Schedule of Outstanding Committee Items: Motion by Councilmember Brown, seconded by Chair Wang, passed 4-0.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Rajani Mundel (District 4): Expressed support for the cadet program, describing it as a strong recruitment pipeline. Noted that overtime transparency concerns are addressed by city budget reports showing staffing shortages, and that strengthening recruitment pipelines is a practical response to resident concerns.
- David Boatright (District 4): Asked several questions about program details, including extensions beyond two years, age requirements for the academy, graduation rates, and whether the coordinator could be a sworn officer on medical leave.
- Asada Olabala (District 4, via speaker card): Opposed reinstating the cadet program while the department remains under a Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA), citing concerns about discriminatory practices, the "blue wall of silence," and liability issues. Raised questions about citizenship requirements and medical/physical standards.
- Jennifer Finley: Did not appear to speak despite signing up.
Discussion Items
- OPD Cadet Program Funding (Item 3):
- Chief James Beer presented the program, noting that the $900,000 grant from the Oakland Police Foundation will fund cadet salaries, training, uniforms, and equipment. The program targets Oakland youth aged 15 and older, with a focus on high school students from underserved communities. Cadets will be unarmed but may carry handcuffs and pepper spray after training, and will be highly supervised. The program aims to build a pipeline to sworn officer positions, with a historical 90% success rate for cadets who enter the police academy. OPD currently has 615 sworn officers but only 499 operational strength.
- Councilmember Houston expressed strong support and asked about advertising and council member participation. Chief Beer noted the program is advertised on the City website and applications are already being received.
- Chair Wang asked about prioritization of underserved youth and clarified that the program is open to 15-year-olds (not just 17.5 as previously), though the website still states 17.5; this is being corrected. She also noted that cadets would not walk beats alone but could accompany officers.
- Councilmember Fife shared personal support, referencing twin brothers from West Oakland who came through the cadet program, and emphasized the need for public safety in addressing crime.
- Councilmember Brown asked about reporting mechanisms for success; Chief Beer cited historical data showing high retention and success rates, including officers who later became long-serving employees.
Key Outcomes
- Motion to Approve and Forward Item: Councilmember Houston moved, seconded by Councilmember Brown, to approve the staff recommendation and forward the resolution accepting the $900,000 grant from the Oakland Police Foundation to the March 16, 2026 Special City Council meeting on consent. The motion passed 4-0 (Brown, Fife, Houston, Wang all aye).
Open Forum
- One speaker (Asada Olabala) spoke during open forum, criticizing the police commission and privacy commission for overreach and hampering police effectiveness.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 6:50 PM in memory of Letitia Bobo and Markise Martin, victims of a mass shooting earlier that weekend.
Meeting Transcript
I think this item is going to be a good thing. Good evening and welcome to the public safety committee meeting of Tuesday, March 10th, 2026. The time is now 616 PM and this meeting may come to order. Before taking role, I will provide instructions on how to submit a speaker card for items on this agenda. If you're here with us in chamber and would like to submit a speaker card, please fill one out and turn one into myself or a clerk representative no later sorry, no later than 10 minutes after the start of this meeting or before the item is read into record. Registering to speak via Zoom is now due 24 hours prior to the start of this meeting time. This meeting came to order at 616 PM and speaker cards will no longer be accepted ten minutes after, making that time 626 p.m. We'll now proceed with taking roll. Council members Brown. Present. Bye. Present. Present. And Chair Wong. Present. Thank you. We have four members present. Chair, before we begin, do you have any announcements at this time? Um I just want to acknowledge the mass shooting that had happened. Um this past weekend where there were seven victims and uh unfortunately there were two individuals who died. Um and forgive me if I'm mispronouncing their names, but Letitia Bobo and Marquise Martin, and one of them was unfortunately an educator and a teacher, and it just saddens me that we've had the loss of so many educators here in the city of Oakland, whether it was Coach Beam, Marvin Boomer, um, and now Letitia. It just um the this I think the deaths of these individuals um make should make each of us especially sad. That's it. Reading in item one, approval of the draft minutes from the committee meeting held on February twenty-fourth, two thousand twenty-six, and we have no speakers on this item. Move approval. You want a second? Okay. Thank you. We have a motion made by Councilmember Brown, seconded by Councilmember Houston to accept the draft minutes from the committee meeting held on February twenty-fourth, two thousand twenty-six. On roll council members brown. Aye. Bye. Aye. Houston. Aye. And Chair Wong. Aye. Thank you. Item number one passes with four eyes. Reading in item two. Okay. Anything from the administration. Nothing at this time, Chair. Thank you. Okay. All right. Councilmember Brown. Uh move approval of um the pending list. Second. Thank you.
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