Updated: Oakley Police Arrest Student for Having Gun at Freedom High School

On Friday, the Oakley Police Department announced a student at Freedom High School was arrested for having a firearm in a vehicle on campus.  The student was a 17-year-old.

The following was released by Oakley Police:

On August 3, 2023 Oakley police officers were dispatched to Freedom High School for a physical fight involving several students.  Several vehicles were also noted as being involved with those students. Earlier today a campus supervisor saw what appeared to be one of the vehicles involved with the fight in the parking lot.  The campus supervisor approached the vehicle and it sped off.

The supervisor later saw the vehicle driving back and fourth in front of the school.  During this time the school principal contacted Oakley Police School Resource Officer Griggs and reported to him the school staff had been advised of an Instagram post involving one of their students where the student was posing with a handgun.

Officer Griggs was then contacted by the campus supervisor again who stated the vehicle was back and in the parking lot.  Thee campus supervisor drove by the vehicle and it appeared as if someone was inside.  Officer Griggs responded and contacted the 17 year old male student who was still in his vehicle.  Officer Griggs confirmed the student was the same student from the Instagram post showing him posing with a gun.

Officer Griggs established legal authority to search the vehicle and a handgun was found under the front passenger seat.  The handgun appeared to be the same one in the Instagram post and It was found to be loaded but no round of ammunition in the chamber.

The student was also identified as being one of the many people associated with the fight the day before. The student was placed under arrest.

“I am very relieved and appreciative for all of the efforts that went into this successful arrest before any harm was done. This was clearly a situation where the police department and school staff worked hand in hand to prevent a potential violent incident. The campus supervisor and Officer Griggs were on top of their skill sets and I cannot say how much I appreciate them enough. The suspect in this case is a juvenile so I will not be releasing his name. My detectives and Officer Griggs are continuing to do work on this case to make sure we are keeping everybody as safe as possible. Stay safe Oakley” ~Chief Paul Beard

Correction: Oakley Police has issued an update stating misinformation was provided in their original release. The Oakley Police Department said they attempted to book him into Juvenile Hall and said Juvenile Hall would not accept the arrested student and we had to cite release him to his mother instead. — Oakley Police Chief Paul Beard said the OPD did not attempt to contact Juvenile Hall and issued an apology below.

UPDATE: Oakley Police Chief Apologizes

To the community at large,

In regards to today’s earlier arrest when we took a juvenile into custody at Freedom High School for possession of a gun I stated the Oakley Police Department attempted to book the juvenile into Juvenile Hall but Juvenile Hall would not accept him. I am now aware the Juvenile Hall was not contacted regarding this case. This misinformation mischaracterized the facts of what actually happened and it harmed the reputation of the staff of the Juvenile Hall. I realize the initial reports of this investigation created quite a bit of online conversations and disparaging remarks. Simply put- I now know those disparaging remarks do not belong where they were directed and I accept responsibility for the information that was put out.

This is not how I expect a case like this to be handled and I will be looking into why this happened. This case will remain active with our investigators. We remain committed to the safety of all of our schools. In support of that commitment there will be additional police presence next week.

One of my platforms as your Chief of Police has been to be transparent about the things that happen in our community. It is always a primary goal of mine to maintain credibility with each of you and make sure the Oakley Police Department is being the best possible police department we can be. Additional training will occur as a result of the mistakes that were made today. I sincerely apologize to the community at large; the students, staff and families of the Liberty Union High School District and to the staff of the Contra Costa County Juvenile Hall. I must also apologize to the various news outlets that ran the errant information as I know it is their goal to be as accurate and as credible as well. ~Chief Paul Beard