Ah, Oakland

Suicidal trucker surrenders

Oakland, California's national reputation is that of the seedy and undesirable city-across-the-bay from San Francisco. This image is largely unwarranted, at least in my own experience.

That said however, until moving to Oakland I had never witnessed an armed police standoff live and in person. This report from the Oakland Tribune is what I had the thrill of watching from my 22nd floor office yesterday.

A man angry at the way he had been treated by the criminal justice system threatened Friday afternoon to kill himself by crashing into a downtown office building with his big-rig truck.

Alonzo Evans, 61, gave up after police agreed to let him speak to Oakland Tribune reporter Heather MacDonald. No one was injured.

I have to admit, watching 20 police officers pointing assault rifles at someone is different live than it is on TV.