Oakland Police increases presence at Lakefest NBC Bay Area [Video]

The Oakland Police Department increased its presence around Lake Merritt as thousands of people participated in the Lakefest festival on Saturday.

The move comes days after at least 15 people were shot, one person was assaulted and two officers were attacked during an unsanctioned Juneteenth event near Lake Merritt. As of Saturday, police say they haven’t made any arrests in connection to the shooting.

“We have an extra amount of officers out there working today to provide a visual presence and visual deterrent for those who want to disrupt the event,” said Floyd Mitchell, OPD chief.

Lakefest organizers said they planned to roll out new safety measures at the festival this year, even prior to the shooting.

“We were already wanting to focus on crowd control because nothing happened last year. Safety is our priority,” said Shayla Jamerson, a co-producer of the event.

For the first time this year, Lakefest …