By Sean Maher
Contra Costa Times
OAKLAND, Calif. — The two Oakland Housing Authority officers involved in yesterday’s shooting of a suspect are husband and wife, OHA Police Chief Carel Duplessis said in an interview Wednesday.
Both officers, whose names have not been released, followed their training precisely and likely did not do anything wrong in the shooting, which wounded a 21-year-old man in the arm, Duplessis added.
The suspect, Raymond Marshall, 21, of Oakland, was treated at a hospital and then arrested on a charge of attempted murder.
The incident began at about 10 a.m. Tuesday when an OHA officer was trying to arrest the driver of a car parked in the 2500 block of Ninth Avenue.
Apparently she had been trying to handcuff Marshall when he started his car and tried to escape, hitting her. She suffered badly bruised legs and a fractured elbow, officials said.
When back-up her husband arrived, he saw that she had been hit and pinned by a green Chevrolet.
As the officer approached, Marshall began to back his car toward the officer, who drew his gun and fired twice at the car, breaking the rear window and striking Marshall in the arm, Oakland Police Department spokesman Jeff Thomason said.
Their being married had no bearing in the incident, Duplessis said.
“I think the situation showed, he was true to his training. She was very much banged up, but he fired two precision rounds. We’re not talking about a volley of gunfire.”
Duplessis said he could understand one might thinking that a typical husband finding his wife in that situation would become enraged, but that in this case, training took over, and the second officer didn’t rush to his wife immediately after firing his gun.
He followed protocol by waiting until backup arrived and allowing those officers that to tend to his wife first.
Both the injured officers and Marshall were briefly hospitalized and released. The charges against Marshall also include possession of a stolen vehicle and possession of stolen property.
The Oakland Housing Authority is a state-chartered, federally funded agency that oversees housing for low-income people. Its police department, founded in 1981, is considered supplemental to Oakland’s police department and its officers are focused on community policing and problem solving, Duplessis said.
OHA police rarely use force, Duplessis said. The shooting was the second use-of-force incident this year the first involved use of a stun gun to shock a suspect and the second officer-involved shooting in two years. Previously, the department had gone nearly 20 years without a shooting, Duplessis said.
OHA police are trained to the same standards as all police departments throughout the state and are also one of few nationally-accredited police forces in the country, Duplessis said.
“After our last accreditation in 2008, we were awarded a flagship, which says the department exemplifies the best of even the nationally accredited agencies,” Duplessis said. “Officials come through the department every three years looking for proof of compliance, so when we say we do quarterly firearms training, we have to prove it.”
OHA police are constantly scrutinizing policies and procedures to maintain accreditation. Tuesday’s shooting could result in months worth of reexamined training, Duplessis said.
“We’re part of the housing authority, and we need to run a stealth program,” Duplessis said. “We’re in the housing business, not the policing business. We have the police department to help with global objectives.”
Duplessis said crime is lower in the housing projects his department serves than in other parts of Oakland, and the department’s goal is to keep police use-of-force incidents rare.
“This is not the type of event we see very often,” Duplessis said. “Generally, that’s how we like it.” Duplessis said that’s why the OHA has asked Oakland Police to handle the investigation into the shooting.
“We’re not experts,” Duplessis said. “We wanted the investigation to be unbiased and thorough.” The two officers involved are four- and five-year veterans of the department, Duplessis said. Both will be placed on paid administrative leave, he added.
Any shooting is considered assault with a deadly weapon, and investigators must determine whether it was justified, Thomason said, pointing out that the attempted murder charge against Marshall makes a self-defense argument for the OHA officers likely. He added that OPD plans to send the case to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office today.
Copyright 2009 Contra Costa Times