San Leandro Police Were Sent To Oakland Again Wednesday Night

A contingent of officers from San Leandro was called in to assist Oakland police Wednesday night for the second time since the Occupy Oakland protests began.

The first time was on October 25th, when San Leandro police helped their Oakland counterparts who had been camping out in Frank Ogawa Plaza.

In each instance 18 San Leandro officers were involved, according to Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli.

The officers were dispatched under mutual aid agreements between police departments that are coordinated by the Alameda County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff's Office spokesman Sergeant J.D. Nelson said Oakland officials put out a call for aid at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

In all, 479 officers from outside Oakland responded to the call, Nelson said. The out-of-towner officers were on duty from about 8:00 p.m. until about 5:00 a.m., he said.

A discussion about this on the San Leandro Patch Facebook page turned up different views about sending local officers to Oakland.

Some were concerned about the cost and whether it hurt the city's crime-fighting ability. 

Others objected to the fact that San Leandro officers were being used to curb the protests.

Spagnoli said she will report on the circumstances and costs of these mutual aid deployments at Monday night's City Council meeting.

(Editor's note: If you took part in Wednesday's General Strike and took pictures, please upload them and share your impressions.)