Oakland Cop Detained Black Firefighter, Young Sons

Oakland police officer “followed policy” when he detained an off-duty Oakland firefighter and his two young sons who had stopped to make sure an East Oakland fire station was secure earlier this month, police said this afternoon.

Firefighter Keith Jones, a 15-year veteran of the department, said the “nervous” officer, crouched with his hand on his gun, kept his 9- and 12-year-old sons with their hands up outside Oakland’s Fire Station 29 at 1016 66th Ave. the night of Aug. 15.

The incident has left his two young sons afraid of the police, said Jones, who has filed a complaint against the department. Oakland police released a statement this afternoon saying that the department’s internal review of the incident was complete and investigators found that the officer acted within policy. The department also released body-mounted camera footage of the incident from two officers.

Jones said when he filed the complaint Sunday, he spoke to a police sergeant who identified the officer as an academy graduate from March 2013, Officer Anthony Martinelli.

In his graduation, Martinelli earned the “Top Gun” award for earning the highest score in the firearms exam, according to police.

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