Oakland sets plan for police staffing during city's Super Bowl watch party
Oakland councilmembers decided on Tuesday how to assign police resources during the Super Bowl, as the city says big events can bring an increase in human trafficking.
"Our ability to work together and provide an environment that is safe," said Oakland Police Officers Association president Huy Nguyen. "That the future of the Bay Area is in good hands with law enforcement and first responders."
Oakland will be hosting the official East Bay watch party at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts. A building that holds memories for Nguyen.
"I actually took my police examination there in that building," said Nguyen.
He also remembers going to concerts at the facility as a kid. For years, the building was shutdown, but ticketed events came back in 2024.
District 2 City Councilmember Charlene Wang is excited to see it used for this purpose.
"It's about economic development and capturing the opportunity of the moment and making sure that we use this to support all of the small businesses that are struggling in District 2," said Wang.
The building is located next to Laney College, not far from Lake Merritt and Downtown Oakland.
Tuesday, the council discussed how to keep the event secure at their public safety meeting.
"The security that would be available at the Henry J. Kaiser Center, as well as what we know, is that these large sporting events always bring an increase in human trafficking, so I've already been in touch with the police chief," said Wang. "We're planning to have a surge in the anti-human trafficking operations during this time period, as well as during the World Cup."
After some discussion, the council also decided to move forward with an agreement to send off-duty officers to Santa Clara to help with policing on Super Bowl Sunday.
The officers will be volunteering to work on their day off.
"If something then happens here in Oakland, they would be actually better positioned to respond to something in Oakland, as well as in Santa Clara," said Wang. "Because safety in Oakland always comes first, only if we have enough staffing to address all the needs we have here in Oakland."
Nguyen anticipates they will have enough volunteers to send, but if they don't, they'll tell Santa Clara they can't help.
He also adds that the entire police staff is aware of the magnitude of the event and that they could be called in.
"If an event in our city arises to that level, we will do a full activation when it is deemed that the safety of our community needs more resources," said Nguyen.