Oakland violence prevention chief and camera crew nearly robbed at gunpoint after police warn crime is ‘out of control’

Two armed robbers attempted to hold up a news crew and, ironically, the violence prevention chief of Oakland, California, only hours after the city’s police chief warned of worsening crime amid police budget cuts.

The two suspects approached the television crew as they were conducting an interview with the violence prevention chief, Guillermo Cespedes, outside City Hall on Monday morning. A scuffle ensued after the two attempted to steal the crew’s camera. An armed security guard eventually stepped in and the suspects fled. There were no injuries reported. 

The two suspects are “still outstanding,” according to police.

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“Our colleagues were conducting an interview at Oakland City Hall when they were approached by two armed individuals,” Liza Catalan, a spokesperson for NBC Bay Area, told viewers about the short clip that made it to air, which was meant to be part of a segment on crime in the city. “Thankfully our colleagues are safe and unharmed.”

Cespedes’ interview followed a press conference given by Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong, who criticized the City Council for diverting $18 million in funding for the police, part of which was meant to go to the violence prevention efforts in the city. 

Armstrong commented on the rise in violent crime – noting a 90% increase in homicides from this time last year – in the city and said 911 responses to calls could be delayed due to such cuts. 

WATCH THIS: Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong speaks after the city council voted cut millions away from his department's budget amid crime surge. pic.twitter.com/2y4R78CU5Y

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 28, 2021

“Crime is out of control in the city of Oakland,” the police chief flatly said. 

The irony of the timing of Cespedes’ robbery hardly went unnoticed by critics on social media, and some took the story further, using it to criticize efforts by activists to ‘Defund the Police,’ a movement recently popularized alongside Black Lives Matter protests, though both Republicans and Democrats distanced themselves. 

Reminder, Dems in Oakland voted to defund the police https://t.co/pjoJu7eaCo

— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) June 29, 2021

Crime is “out of control” in Oakland, California as the Democrat-run city defunds nearly $18 million from their police.

After the hearing, two armed robberies held up a news crew interviewing Oakland's head of violence preventionpic.twitter.com/nKmWTUdQxB

— Tommy Pigott (@TommyPigott) June 29, 2021

“This happens a lot to camera crews in the Bay Area btw. So glad my NBC colleagues are okay,” reporter Kate Larsen tweeted in reaction. 

When news crews lives feel like a bad @TheOnion headline. ????
This happens a lot to camera crews in the Bay Area btw. So glad my NBC colleagues are okay. https://t.co/DOFfevGS0i

— Kate Larsen (@KateABC7) June 29, 2021

Well, that's enough irony for one night. https://t.co/mG9ms5Dn0s

— Kassy Dillon (@KassyDillon) June 29, 2021

Current Dem talking point is that Republicans are *truly* the ones defunding the police. And if there’s one city dominated by the GOP, it’s def…Oakland, CA.

It’s fine, though. AOC says this is all “hysteria.” https://t.co/CUtI1aaEoQ pic.twitter.com/OkkABSNHvk

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) June 29, 2021

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