An Oakland business owner is up in arms after police were slow in responding to her call for help.
Jena Davidson, who owns the Sacred Wheel at 51st Street and Telegraph Avenue, said she was forced to use her Taser when she felt her life was in danger. A man on Thursday threatened her outside her store, Davidson said.
"I went out and politely asked him to move," she said. "I noticed he had an open container of alcohol and he was in fact intoxicated."
Davidson said the man continued to be nuisance and after she asked him to leave the property several times, he threatened to slap her.
Davidson called police, but said when they were slow to respond the man became aggressive. She felt she had no other choice but to use her Taser.
Police eventually came to her store 30 minutes after the incident, Davidson said. Officers gave the man a citation and told Davidson to get a restraining order.
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"I'm losing the instinct to call police because I know that generally nothing will be done about it," she said.
Davidson's incident adds to concerns for other residents in the Temescal neighborhood.
"Police just don't come," said Beverly Potter, who said she was assaulted in the neighborhood last year. "Now they're paying for private security. We're orphaned over here."
Oakland Councilmember Dan Kalb said it may not seem like it, but violent crime is down in the city.
"We have more police officers on staff now than any time in the past three years," Kalb said. "We still don't have enough."
Meanwhile, Davidson said she plans to keep her business in the area despite the recent incident.
"I'm staying put. I'm going to defend what's mine," she said. "Yesterday was a good example of how far sometimes you have to go to defend what's yours in Oakland."
Oakland police did not respond to a request seeking comment on the response time for Davidson's call.
