East Bay Park shooting Update

East Bay Regional Park District police were too scared to look for the marijuana farm in broad daylight too I guess, even though they publicly acknowledge that they believe that the gunmen are long gone.

MORAGA -- Authorities have suspended their search for a hidden pot farm they think gunmen were protecting when they opened fire on a parks officer Monday night, the East Bay Regional Park District police said Tuesday.

Park police Capt. Mark Ruppenthal cited the need for more planning and commitments of outside help before they scour the rugged landscape south of Moraga and Canyon.

"We need to be able to scout the area," Ruppenthal told media members at Rancho Laguna Park, a gateway to the fields and hills that extend south to the Upper San Leandro Reservoir. "You're talking about a large wooded area to search."

Ruppenthal acknowledged the people who shot at his officer with assault rifles probably left the area after eluding an intense manhunt Monday night that involved several police agencies and helicopters. He added that the authorities' main objective now is to shut down the marijuana-growing operation that sparked the gunfire.
-Mercury News"

Ok, maybe they realize that there are still several weeks until harvest, and therefore there is no rush to get in right now. Convenient excuse.
Their failure to act is really evidence of how increasingly underfunded government agencies are finding themselves increasingly unable to do their basic job functions adequately. Park rangers don't mow the lawns. They're supposed to prevent crime, like illegal marijuana farms.
People shot at a park ranger with automatic weapons, and the park police are not going in after them or their illegal operation, whatever it may have been. Maybe they'll go in closer to harvest, maybe they won't.

I just remember the never-ending line of cop cars racing to Oakland from Contra Costa County desperately wanting to get in some stick time on protestors (who were all kids, none of whom fired any weapon at any cop) the night of the Johannes Mehserle sham verdict. Interesting that those same tough guys are all too scared to hike through the woods (with the backup of an armored truck and a helicopter) to bust a multi-thousand (at least) dollar drug operation....priorities I guess.... :-/

Gunmen fire on park ranger in East Bay Hills

MORAGA -- An East Bay Regional Park District police officer had to be rescued Monday after he was shot at by multiple people while on patrol in a rugged area of park lands near Moraga and Canyon, police said.

The officer called dispatch about 7 p.m. asking for help after he said he was fired upon by assailants with automatic rifles. Police said he returned fire but it was unclear whether he struck anyone.

Officers from Moraga, Lafayette and the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office were summoned to safely retrieve the officer and search for the gunmen.
-Inside Bay Area

The cops had an armored car and a helicopter, so they were able to retrieve the officer, but were unable to find the gunmen, and called off the search at nightfall.
The area is relatively remote, but not to the point where law enforcement can't go in and find a sizeable marijuana grow, especially since they have helicopters. However, it is interesting to note that they are afraid of going in. Perhaps budget cuts have made it impossible for them to effectively combat an organized grow operation (and by "organized," I mean more than one armed person living in tents, watching weeds grow)?
In any event, I find a little bit of humor in the fact that all those uber-rich white people who tried their hardest to be as far away from the flatlands of Oakland as they could possibly get still have to deal with violent crime in their neighborhood.
Guess they need to find a bigger mountain now...