Police Release Tapes, CAD Docs Of Occupy Protests

In a show of openness about their operations during several confrontations with Occupy demonstrators, the Oakland (Calif.) police department has posted on-line a large collection of radio logging tapes and computer-aided dispatch (CAD) print-outs documenting dispatch operations. The department also posted several video clips taken by police videographers when police evicted the demonstrators from a downtown park during October and November, along with police planning and mutual aid documents. Examined together, the tapes and CAD documents provide a peek into the handling of a large-scale operation by dispatchers, which might include scores or hundreds of officers from outside agencies, the use of tactical radio channels and quickly changing events. On the tapes of the 800 MHz trunked radio system, traffic is evenly paced and deliberate, as the voices are mostly commanders, supervisors and specialized units, not individual officers. The CAD reports mostly document the radio traffic, but also a few updates from other sources, including plainclothes officers reporting via cellular phones. Surf this Web page for links to the collection of radio logging tapes and CAD print-outs.