Former U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer was assaulted in a robbery in Oakland, CA just a few blocks away from where officials recently held a press conference vowing to take a tougher stance on crime.
The 80-year old Boxer tells KTVU that she was assaulted and was robbed of her cell phone in broad daylight in Jack London Square on Monday.
She says a young man came out of a double-parked black sedan and headed towards her.
"I tried to cross the street and get away and he slammed me on the back and reached across me. He was behind me and grabbed my cell phone out of my hand," Boxer says, "I said how can you do this to a grandmother? I want to call my grandkids. Why are you doing this? He could care less and got into the car and sped away."
Boxer says she wasn’t hurt in the incident.
SFChronicle reporter Mallory Moench noted the timing of the crime against Boxer in a tweet — she was mugged at 1:15 p.m. local time, just an hour after authorities held a press conference highlighting brazen daytime criminal acts, and vowed to crack down on crime.
“You can’t make this stuff up – this attack took place an hour after a news conference vowing a tougher on crime stance ended just five blocks away in downtown Oakland,” she tweeted.
You can't make this stuff up – this attack took place an hour after a news conference vowing a tougher on crime stance ended just five blocks away in downtown Oakland. Read more: https://t.co/3NoSi3Apjd https://t.co/jod5cnYJxs
— Mallory Moench (@mallorymoench) July 26, 2021
In June, Oakland's City Council voted to reallocate $18 million of police funding to community violence prevention programs.