An extremely problematic encounter occurred last week when a black planner was accosted by security while taking photos of bike racks on the street outside of a luxury building.
"Senior government transit planner and longtime Oakland resident Kenya Wheeler says he ended up in a tense confrontation outside of a new luxury apartment building near Broadway and Webster, seemingly just by walking down the street," reports Adam Brinklow.
"Wheeler contributed to Oakland’s Broadway Valdez district plan, only to now end up accosted in the very same neighborhood," adds Brinklow.
Wheeler, who is black, documented the encounter, which included one of the security guards drawing a gun, on social media. Wheeler was detained until the Oakland Police Department arrived on scene. A manager from the Alexan Webster apartment building at 2330 Webster Street has since apologized for the incident, and the security company responsible for the encounter fired.
FULL STORY: Oakland transit planner taking photos of bike racks held at gunpoint by luxury condo security

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