“This is Jose,” said Captain Steven Tull of Oakland’s Police Department (OPD) District 4. “He doesn’t think about himself — he thinks about others.”

Jose Ortiz, a longtime community organizer in the Fruitvale district, smiled humbly as he was honored in many testimonies delivered by attendees at his appreciation event last Saturday evening inside the gym of the Manzanita Recreation Center. Ortiz’s business partner Big Lou Feliciano and members of his Street Inspiration Low Rider Car Club were joined by their families, Mayor Jean Quan, Councilman Noel Gallo, Oakland Assistant Police Chief Paul Figueroa, Oakland Deputy Chief Jeffery Israel, several Oakland police officers, and other officials to celebrate and tribute the 20-year anniversary of Ortiz’s efforts and achievements through his organization, Community Outreach Program Alternatives (COPA), serving the Oakland community.

But who was the real guest of honor? A black and white tricked-out low rider Oakland police car.

Read the rest of the story by Jacqueline Ipp at Oakland North

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