Alameda County

Homeless Man Considers Lawsuit After He Warned Oakland Police About Shooter

Did the Oakland Police Department miss an opportunity to get an active shooter off the streets before he started opening fire a second time?

A homeless man says he warned officers before last week's high-profile shooting because the gunman had opened fire on him for no reason. Offices instead arrested the homeless man, which has triggered the possibility of a lawsuit.

Patrick Reddic said he woke up to the gunshots last week. He was sleeping in his car when he says Jesse Enjaian started firing.

Enjaian told him to get off his property and called him an obscenity, according to Reddic.

When police arrived officers arrested Reddic instead of the alleged shooter.

"I was treated as the criminal," Reddic said.

Reddic is now considering a lawsuit against the Oakland Police Department.

"The police department and the higher ups in the department, particularly the new chief, should be on notice," said John Burris, an attorney representing Reddic.

Burris said Reddic even told police that Enjaian had shot at police cars days earlier.

Last Friday, Enjaian continued to shoot at other neighbors and even police in the area near the Oakland Zoo at 98th Avenue and Golf Links Road.

Cops returned fire after a SWAT team was called in. Enjaian later died at a hospital.

Oakland police released the following statement Thursday:

Consistent with departmental policy, this officer involved shooting will be investigated by the Oakland Police Department's homicide section and the internal affairs division. An independent and concurrent investigation is also being conducted by the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.

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