BERKELEY (KCBS) — Berkeley Police acknowledge they didn’t immediately respond to a call in the hills that would eventually result in a homicide this past Saturday.
Officers were preparing for an Occupy protest headed to UC Berkeley from Oakland and said it didn’t appear to be an emergency.
READ MORE: Bay Area Health Workers Cheer Newly-Approved 1-Shot Johnson & Johnson VaccineNeighbors in the area of Grizzly Peak Blvd. and Park Gate Road said that the police response to the call was slow.
KCBS’ Bob Melrose Reports:
Police issued a statement Monday night that said the initial call was for trespassing and that because on-duty officers were being reconfigured for the protest; only emergency calls were to be handled.
Police said they did immediately responded to a 911 call about an assault in the same area that came later that evening, but it was too late.
READ MORE: Antioch Gas Station Shooting Leaves Man Suffering Life-Threatening InjuriesPeter Cukor, 67, had been beaten to death with a flower pot. The suspect, 23-year-old Daniel Dewitt, was taken into custody and will be arraigned on Wednesday.
His mother Candy said it’s a tragedy.
“Our hearts go out to the other family. It breaks my heart. We’ve all lost in this,” she said.
Dewitt was a football player at Alameda High School and his father was the first African-American City Councilman in the Island City.
MORE NEWS: Hundreds Rally in San Mateo to Denounce Violence Against Asian Americans(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
