Last Thursday, the Oakland City Council voted to approve a plan to help balance the city's budget deficit by, among other cuts, laying off 80 officers from the Oakland Police Department.
The pink slips were recently mailed, and the current 776 officers will be reduced to 696 by July 12th.
The Oakland Police Officer's Association opposed the move vehemently, and former State Senator and mayoral candidate Don Perata has been using the issue to to set himself apart from challengers like City Councilwoman Jean Quan, who voted in favor of the layoffs.
An additional 122 positions could be eliminated by the end of the year if Oakland voters don't approve one or both of two ballot measures to a new tax ordinance and an amendment to an existing tax.
The layoffs could also have been avoided if the OPOA agrees to pay the same 9 percent of their salaries into their pension program as other city employees do.
Jackson West figures that every Oakland crime story after July 12th will be an opportunity for the OPD to say "I told you so."
Correction: This article incorrectly stated that Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan voted to approve the budget and attendant police layoffs.
