OAKLAND — Two years before 36 people died inside the Ghost Ship warehouse, master tenant Derick Almena told an Oakland police officer investigating an arson that he was hosting a “benefit” there the next day, which would have been illegal, and lied about living inside the artist collective, according to police body camera footage exclusively obtained by this news organization.

“We were working all night because we have a benefit (tomorrow),” Almena told Oakland police Officer Michael Erickson, who recorded almost 11 minutes of their interview outside the warehouse on 31st Avenue early on the morning of Sept. 26, 2014. The Fruitvale area building was zoned as commercial warehouse space and no one was allowed to live inside, let alone operate an artist collective and throw parties. The police officer does not question Almena about the planned benefit or whether he has applied for an event permit.

The body camera footage, obtained Tuesday through a public records request, shows Almena and another tenant speaking to officers Erickson and Richard Kane a few hours after an arsonist torched a couch and other items on the curb outside the building. Almena does most of the talking, explaining to the officers the purpose of his new “collective” and bragging about all the “antiques” he has stored inside.

The conversation provides a string of clues to police officers about permitting and zoning problems at the property, and hints at the ramshackle clutter inside the warehouse that would years later hinder partygoers from finding exits during the horrific Dec. 2 fire. Police reports filed since the videotaped encounter and before the deadly December fire show that officers were called to the Ghost Ship for reports of an illegal rave and illegal housing. The video adds to the growing list of red flags city employees — from police officers to firefighters to building inspectors — received about the Ghost Ship, with little action taken.

Chris Dolan, a San Francisco lawyer representing three families of Ghost Ship victims who were expected to join a wrongful death suit Tuesday, said the video is damning to both Almena and the police.

The video shows Almena as an “irresponsible, untruthful, deceptive and greedy master tenant who is obviously not safety conscious, truthful or willing to admit people are living inside,” Dolan said.

“Who is the adult in the room? It’s the police. They are supposed to protect people from liars and cheaters,” he said, adding the arson should have led police and other city departments to begin an investigation.

Sgt. Barry Donelan, president of the Oakland Police Officers’ Association, said the footage shows his officers acted professionally and courteously with a victim who was lying to them. He called blaming them for not reporting zoning and permitting issues “unacceptable.”

“You’re saying that my guys are supposed to know what zoning the building was for? These two police officers go to take a report on a victim, aid a victim, and apparently we’re at fault? There’s nothing you learn in the police academy about zoning regulations,” a livid Donelan said in a phone interview before hanging up on a reporter.

In an email late Tuesday, Oakland police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick stated: “I was extremely disappointed (Tuesday) when I read the article in the East Bay Times intimating that our officers had any role to play in the deadly fire where 36 lives were tragically lost. Our officers are not trained in zoning, permitting or code enforcement. However, we are working diligently with the city and the Mayor’s task force so we may never experience a tragedy like this again.”

In February, after this newspaper reported on several visits police made to the Ghost Ship, Oakland police Assistant Chief David Downing issued an order requiring officers to report unlicensed cabarets and unpermitted special events to the Special Event Unit within the department and to their supervisors. Downing also told officers to report “obvious hazardous conditions” for “referral to the appropriate city or county agency.”

40 Organs

The video starts with Erickson, dispatched to the warehouse at 8:43 a.m. on a Friday to investigate the couch fire, walking up to Almena and asking: “What happened?”

The camera on his chest shows Almena — wearing jeans, a gray sweatshirt and large earrings, with his trademark goatee and scruffy hair — standing next to a cardboard box filled with charred debris and other odds and ends in front of a blackened wall.

As Erickson took notes, Almena was chatty, explaining to the officers what they do at Ghost Ship. He told them they build stages and sets with recycled wood.

“I take things that people normally discard. You know, pallets and wood and stuff, and I build out of them,” Almena explained. The warehouse’s infamous staircase to the second floor was built from wooden pallets which authorities and witnesses said created a choke-point during the Dec. 2 fire.

Almena told officers they planned to dump the large sheet metal strips and items on the sidewalk. But in reality, Almena had started clearing out room inside for a private party the next day, after agreeing to rent the space for $500.

“We have 40 organs, 20 antique player pianos; the amount of antiques … I go to India and Bali and I bring back old houses and door fronts. … It’s amazing if you go inside the window,” he told the officers. Neither officer enters or looks inside the building in the footage.

‘We’re a cooperative’

When asked for his name, Almena gave his first name and middle name of “Ion.” He tells them he’s the “lease holder” and gives them a bogus home address, saying he only works at the warehouse.

Actually, Almena and his family lived upstairs in the warehouse, while dozens of other residents cycled in and out of the bottom floor. A call to Almena’s attorney was not immediately returned.

Erickson would later write about Ghost Ship: “The business at this location has several pieces of furniture set outside as the employees regularly work throughout the night on their projects.”

Near the end of the footage, Kane asked Almena how he’s doing.

“I feel great,” Almena said.

“You’re happy?” Kane asks off camera.

“I’m happy,” Almena says, “because it could’ve been horrible.”