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Two Oakland City Council Members Deny Special Treatment By Police

OAKLAND (KCBS) -- Two Oakland City Council members deny receiving special treatment from police after their cars were burglarized.

The Bay Citizen suggested that Council members Ignacio De La Fuente and Desley Brooks received a much better police response than the average Oakland resident after their cars were broken into.

Both called Assistant Police Chief Howard Jordan, who sent a sergeant to investigate.

KCBS' Doug Sovern:

De La Fuente told KCBS there was nothing inappropriate about him calling Jordan for help after money, concert tickets and important city documents were stolen from his car after a council meeting.

"I talk to the Deputy Chief of Police and the Chief of Police all the time.  I don't think it was the right or the wrong thing to do. It's middle of the night, all your documents and all of that," he said.

Councilmember Brooks also denied seeking any special attention.

Assistant Chief Jordan rejects the insinuation that police responded differently because of the clout of the council members.

"I don't think that's fair," he said.

"In both of those cases there were viable, valid suspect information."

Jordan said police do respond to property crime in progress or if the victim has a good lead on a suspect, and in De La Fuente's case, they apprehended three people who tried to use the stolen concert tickets.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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