Sting Operation in Oakland Catches Drivers Leaving Court With Suspended Licenses

On Monday, an undercover sting operation was set up outside of the Oakland Superior Court designed to catch individuals driving with suspended licenses. The plan revolved around several undercover Oakland police officers sitting in court in order to establish who had their license suspended. After determining who was ordered by the judge to cease driving, the undercover officers relayed descriptions of the individuals to police officers outside the courthouse. Those officers than stood by to follow the individuals with suspended licenses out of the courthouse in order to determine whether the individuals would choose to drive regardless of their suspended license.

While several individuals chose to abide by the suspension and take public transportation home, six other individuals were caught driving home from court. The individuals identified by law enforcement officers as driving with a suspended license will have their vehicles impounded for thirty days and will also be responsible for paying the impound, tow, and administrative fees.

Recently, law enforcement officers have begun to recognize that just because an individual has their license suspended does not necessarily mean they are going to abide by that instruction. In a specific case which occurred yesterday, Wilbert Ballard chose to drive home after being told by the judge that his driving privileges were suspended. Of Mr. Ballard's situation, Sergeant Mark Dunakin stated, "He was told he didn't have the right to drive, that his privilege to drive was taken away or suspended. Even after this case, he decided to go back to his car parked a block from court and try to drive home."

Spokesman for the Oakland Police Department, Officer Jeff Thomason, stated that undercover stings, such as the one that took place on Monday, are necessary steps in order to decrease the number of vehicle related accidents that take place in Oakland every year. According to reports, approximately 14,000 accidents occur every year in Oakland and about a third of those accidents are hit and run crashes which involve unlicensed or uninsured drivers.

Sergeant Dunakin said that in some circumstances, drivers arrested in similar sting operations attempt to argue that the judge assigned to their case never told them that they were not allowed to drive. However, upon finding out that plainclothes officers had been stationed in the courtroom during the judge's instructions, the individuals typically abandon that argument rather quickly.

This sting operation is the fifth of its kind staged by the Oakland Police designed to catch individuals driving with suspended licenses. Additionally, local police officers have also begun to catch individuals driving with suspended licenses at DUI checkpoints. Last Friday on International Boulevard in Oakland, police officers made only three DUI arrests but caught forty four motorists driving with suspended licenses.

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