Despite years of tough policing, Oakland couldn’t get a handle on gun crime. Was the solution a community-based approach?
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Ersie Joyner had a banner year in 1995. He was just four years out of Oakland’s police academy when he was awarded a prestigious medal of merit for a seemingly superhuman feat. In one year, he personally made over 400 arrests. And the evidence room of the Oakland police department (OPD) was crammed with millions of dollars worth of cocaine and heroin he’d confiscated from dealers.
“I thought to myself, I’m on top of my game,” said Joyner in a recent interview. “I’m the best of the best.”
Continue reading...from The Guardian http://bit.ly/2IjE8vz