Oakland PD to rehire serial killer Hector Jimenez

Pack the Oakland City Council meeting tonight, 7 p.m., 14th & Broadway, to demand Jimenez not be returned to the streets

by La Mesha Irizarry

Mack-Jody-Woodfox-in-coffin, Oakland PD to rehire serial killer Hector Jimenez, Local News & Views The Oakland Police Department says it will rehire Officer Hector Jimenez, despite firing him for a 2008 shooting in which he killed an unarmed man who was running away at the time.

The San Jose Mercury News reports that Oakland had to hire Jimenez back as part of an arbitration agreement between Jimenez and the city. The city will also have to pay him back pay.

Jimenez was fired in 2008 after shooting Mack “Jody” Woodfox in the back three times. Woodfox led police on a short car chase and then pulled over in the Fruitvale neighborhood.

October-22nd-Coalition-march-Andrew-Moppins-mom-holds-his-photo-Oakland-102209, Oakland PD to rehire serial killer Hector Jimenez, Local News & Views A witness says he got out of the car with his hands up, but Jimenez says Woodfox reached for his waistband, and he thought the other officer on the scene was in danger.

The Woodfox shooting was the second time in less than a year that Jimenez shot and killed an unarmed man.

In 2007, he and another officer killed Andrew Moppin after a traffic stop. Moppin apparently ran and hid and then shouted and swore at officers.

John Burris is the attorney for Woodfox’ family. Calling the arbitration decision “a kick in the stomach,” Burris said, “This is a case where it’s astonishing to me that a guy who killed two unarmed people in a seven-month period could continue to be a police officer.”

Justice-for-Andrew-Moppin-flier, Oakland PD to rehire serial killer Hector Jimenez, Local News & Views He says he has been asking the DA’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to look into the cases against Jimenez. “The only legal recourse that seems available against Jimenez at this point is criminal prosecution, Burris said, though he said he’s gotten no indication that will happen,” the Oakland Tribune reported yesterday.

Activists for police accountability are calling on Oakland residents and all who love justice to come to the Oakland City Council meeting at 7 p.m. tonight, Tuesday, March 8, at City Hall, 14th and Broadway, to demand that Jimenez not be returned to duty at least until other alternatives have been explored.

Mesha Monge-Irizarry, mother of Idriss Stelley, who was murdered by San Francisco police June 13, 2001, heads the Idriss Stelley Foundation, the foremost Bay Area agency dedicated to police accountability. Contact her through the foundation’s bilingual crisis line at (415) 595-8251 or through Facebook.