Oakland ‘retracts’ policy for police to report illegal warehouses

Family members of a Ghost Ship warehouse fire victim lay flowers at the scene in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood days after the Dec. 2 blaze that killed 36 people during an unpermitted music event. Family members of a Ghost Ship warehouse fire victim lay flowers at the scene in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood days after the Dec. 2 blaze that killed 36 people during an unpermitted music event. Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Oakland ‘retracts’ policy for police to report illegal warehouses 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Oakland’s assistant police chief ordered officers Thursday to immediately begin reporting unpermitted parties and illegally converted warehouses to their superiors — but in an erratic about-face, city officials rescinded the policy four hours later.

Assistant Police Chief David Downing sent a directive about 2 p.m. to the rank and file telling them to inform supervisors when they come across unsanctioned structures or events. In an email, Oakland police spokeswoman Johnna Watson summarized the instructions as, “Effective immediately, any member of OPD (sworn and civilian) who encounters an unlawful or unpermitted gathering (such as a rave, party, cabaret) or an unpermitted living space/structure within a warehouse, shall send an email message before end of shift to notify their supervisor and area captain.”

But City Administrator Sabrina Landreth, who oversees the Police Department, sent a brief statement around 6 p.m. saying the directive was sent prematurely and that the city was still working on a policy.

Now, the police are back to having no policy on how to deal with potential hazards they see while on calls.

Questions over what officers do when they come across dangerous properties were raised last week after newly released city documents showed that officers had been in and out of the Ghost Ship warehouse on many occasions in the years before the building burned Dec. 2, killing 36 people during an unpermitted music event.

Code enforcers and fire inspectors had apparently never been told of the dangers inside the structure, ranging from a jury-rigged electrical system and makeshift kitchen to blocked escape routes and cluttered furniture. The art collective, home to about 20 people, had no sprinklers or smoke detectors.

Officers were repeatedly called to the warehouse for reports of fights, threats, weapons and other complaints, but whatever they may have seen inside was not passed along to those who could have shut down the operation or gotten it into compliance with city law.

Mayor Libby Schaaf’s spokeswoman, Erica Terry Derryck, said last week that officers “are not trained to be building inspectors.”

But a Chronicle report on Tuesday showed that three other Bay Area cities — San Francisco, San Jose and Richmond — have systems in place to ensure that police alert code enforcers when they come across properties with dangerous conditions. In those cities, police officers notify code inspectors soon after they come across potential hazards.

After the directive was pulled, Councilman Noel Gallo, who represents the Fruitvale district, commended Downing for his “courage” in sending it out. He said officers shouldn’t have any doubts or questions about how to do their jobs.

“That’s what the fire chief and all department heads should be doing in the first place because we are public servants here to provide public safety,” he said. “I don’t know why the city administrator would challenge or question or take back that memorandum.

“When I see a crime, if I don’t report it, I’m just as guilty as the guy committing the crime. The Ghost Ship was an example of a lack of cooperation and direction we have within the city of Oakland,” he added.

Tony Ribera, a former San Francisco police chief and policing expert, said public safety necessitates that officers report dangerous conditions. It’s unacceptable, he said, that they turn a blind eye out of eviction concerns.

“We are a country of laws, and if they are unreasonable or discriminate against poor people, change the laws,” he said. “I do understand the sensitivity of the housing situation. But it’s not a matter of not being compassionate.”

But Schaaf told The Chronicle last week that she was hesitant to enact a new communications policy, saying she wanted to mitigate unintended consequences, like a chilling effect on people calling 911. Representatives for her office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.

Jonah Strauss of the Oakland Warehouse Coalition was glad the directive was rescinded, calling it “a license for persecution.”

“We are being targeted, broadly and vaguely and without the slightest understanding,” he said shortly before Landreth issued her statement. “This is a blatant abuse of the Ghost Ship tragedy in order to clamp down on arts and music in the town.”

Since the fire, Oakland officials have been working to deal with 18 other illegally converted spaces throughout the city that could pose safety risks while also aiming to avoid displacements and evictions. The city is sorting out how to improve its channels of communication that hadn’t been used to tackle conditions inside the Ghost Ship before the inferno.

The city administrator’s statement Thursday evening read: “We are in the process of developing communication protocols within the Oakland Police Department. The email sent at 1:57 p.m. to OPD personnel was distributed prematurely and has been retracted.”

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @kveklerov