Oakland police boat seen at Sam’s Anchor Café on August 24, 2024. Photo: KTVU Viewer
OAKLAND, California. – An Oakland police boat was spotted near a harborside cafe in Tiburon over the weekend, apparently carrying off-duty officers and friends or family members, including two children. At least one man was upset because he believes a public police boat and its employees should not be acting off-duty.
An Oakland-based amateur sailor who wished to remain anonymous for fear of police retaliation sent KTVU several photos of a clearly marked Oakland police boat at Sam’s Anchor Café in Marin County – which is outside of Oakland’s jurisdiction – shortly before 4 p.m. Saturday.
On the boat are two men, two women and two children, one of whom appears to be a toddler and the other an 11 or 12 year old boy. The women appear to be drinking a beverage, but it is not clear exactly what it is.
“The ladies had drinks in their hands,” he said.
The man said he had a date and tried to dock his own sailboat, but it was full. When he looked up, he noticed an Oakland police boat taking up one of the spots.
“It was very clear they were not on duty,” the man said. “No one was wearing a uniform.”
The incident angered the man because a police boat was to be used for police purposes, he said.
“It doesn’t give you the right to use public property for personal purposes,” he said. “Even the fuel used is spent by the taxpayer. How often do they do that? I mean, is that OK? Normally people would say, ‘No, that’s not OK.'”
When asked about the photos, Oakland police sent a one-line email saying the department was “investigating these allegations.”
KTVU also contacted Sam’s Anchor Café by email and phone to see if this visit from Oakland police was a regular occurrence and also received no response.
This is apparently not the first time that an Oakland police boat has been spotted at the same restaurant in Tiburon.
A sailing website, Latitude 38, was sent a photo of another Oakland police boat at Sam’s last August. The article’s headline was “Oakland Police Out to Lunch?”
Lisa Fernandez is a reporter at KTVU. Email Lisa at [email protected] or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez
An Oakland police boat seen at Sam’s Anchor Café on August 24, 2024. Photo: KTVU Viewer
