Letters: Transparency is imperative in OPD’s probe of death

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On June 30, a Black man was found hanging from a tree in Oakland’s Dimond Canyon. Police quickly suggested suicide, yet no name, cause of death or investigative details have been released.

As a Black father raising two sons here, I can’t separate this image from America’s history of lynching or Oakland’s own record of state violence — from Oscar Grant to the Black Panther patrols that arose to protect our communities. In 2020, effigies hung in my neighborhood. Skepticism is not paranoia — it’s survival.

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Silence breeds distrust. We need transparency: the man’s identity (with family consent), the investigative timeline and evidence supporting any conclusion. Without this, fear will fester an