Charlene Wang, a candidate running for Oakland, CA city council to address the city’s growing homelessness and crime issues, became a victim of that very lawlessness on Sunday when a homeless woman reportedly stole $1,000 in donations from her campaign.
Wang reported the theft to 911, but the police never arrived. Video footage shows Wang and her campaign volunteers trying to negotiate with the woman, who refused to return an orange bag filled with the money, according to Fox News.
The incident occurred during Wang’s campaign kickoff at Clinton Square Park on Sunday afternoon when a homeless woman approached the event and took the bag. Despite multiple requests, she refused to let go of it and eventually fled with the money.
When Wang pleaded, “Can we just get the orange bag please?” the woman replied, “When I’m done, y’all want me to take the sh*t out so y’all can snatch it and run.”
The situation escalated as the homeless woman became upset, shouting and threatening a volunteer who tried to retrieve the bag. Another volunteer even offered her $100 to return the bag, but she refused.
Wang and her team also tried reaching out to homeless services before contacting the Oakland police, who recorded the information but explained there were 250 other incidents ahead of Wang’s case. The police never responded to the scene.
“The complete lack of response we saw from both mental health and police services was unacceptable,” Wang told Fox News Digital. “I’m committed to hiring more police and improving mental health services to bring down response times and get people the help they need.”
The police did not even show up to file a report. “I very much tried to have a de-escalatory conversation with her to convince her to hand over the bag,” Wang told ABC7. “I offered her a warm meal at the grocery store and even money in exchange for the bag, but that did not work out.”
Oakland has been plagued by rising crime. Recently, a mother was killed while trying to stop a drug dealer from selling to her children on the street. Wang, a Democrat, aims to tackle crime and homelessness in the city. She previously worked for the Biden-Harris administration in the Department of Transportation (DOT).
Wang believes that combating crime requires both technology and more police officers. She mentions on her website that Oakland’s police force is “unusually small with far below the national average of police per capita.” She plans to address the high levels of crime and gun violence by “investing in technology alongside community policing.”
