♪ hello and welcome to "kqed newsroom." coming up on our program, we kick off a bay area media collaboration focusing on homelessness with a look at those on the streets in san jose. and the impact of the orlando mass shooting on san francisco pride celebrations this weekend. first, a closer look at the scandals russthat have rocked t police department. at least four officers under investigation in a sexual misconduct case involving a teenager. the city has opened investigations into other misconduct allegations including racist texts sent by officers. oakland has lost three police chiefs within nine days amid the turmoil, and now some are

questioning the mayor's ability to lead. the mayor sat down with us yesterday for a bay area exclusive one-on-one interview. mayor, thanks so much for being on the program. when and how did you first learn about the alleged sexual relationships between the oakland police officers and the teenaged sex worker? >> i learned about them in march from the city administrator, sand are-- sabrina landris. but i should have been briefed earlier. that's why we are not just investigating the misconduct but also investigative process. >> oakland has had three police chiefs in nine days. it currently has no chief. the city administrator is overseeing the department. did you have a succession plan in place whether you let chief sean wentz go? >> the fact that he went quickly of not anticipated. we made decisions that we thought were the fweft moment. i have said -- the best at the moment. i have said it was a mistake to bring ben farrell in without

completely having vetted him prior to announcing his appointment. i do have confidence in our city administrator. again, this is an appropriate time to exert some civilian oversight over the department, but also of the men and women of the police department itself. they are just as outraged and disgusted by this scandal as i am. >> can you tell us why the third chief, paul figueroa, quit? >> chief figueroa submitted his resignation stating that he was unable to perform the duties of the job. >> did he say why? >> he did not go into details, and i know that it has been frustrating for the public. believe me, it's frustrating for me -- >> did you ask him -- >> can i finish answering your question without interruption? >> sure. >> thank you. it has been frustrating for the public and frustrating for me to state law prohibits the sharing of personnel information of a police officer, and that protection extends to the chief.

and so i have been as open and transparent as i am legally allowed to be. but it is frustrating that the public will never understand all the details. >> do you think sexual misconduct personnel files should be made available to the public? currently state law bars it from being made public. >> i believe that there are -- there's a lot of room for improvement to the current levels of protection that police officers have to their privacy. i believe that the public does have a right to know more than they are getting to know right now. >> so for consideration is a measure for voters that would allow that, give more public access to misconduct and discipline files for law enforcement officers. is that something you would campaign for? >> it's something that i will give careful consideration to, particularly in light of the experience that i have had over the last month. >> there are three officers

whose reputations have been tarnished in some respects because of this. do you have any second thoughts about how you handled this situation? >> i do thing that i believe are in the best long-term interests of the city of oakland. sometimes that feels painful in the short term, but i always look to the long-term interest of my hometown. >> your office is now looking into -- it's investigating who looked information, particularly to the media. is that the best way to use resources and time? >> typically the public learns about these types of offenses when someone is arrested or charges are brought. we are still in the middle of this investigation. because the media has publicized a certain version of events, when we conduct an interview of a witness, after had that publicity has been -- after this publicity has been released, a lawyer can later use that fact that discredit the testimony of

the witness. and that is why we believe it's in the public's interest to not share these types of details about the investigation until it's completed. >> it's become evident that this sexual misconduct had been going on for a while. and a lot of people within the department seem to know about it. yet, no one came forth to tell but it. >> i have talked a lot it their week about what i believe -- talked a lot this week about what i believe is a toxic macho culture. we're not just talking about becoming a police officer, but the culture once they're in the department. a culture of not coming forward and reporting misconduct. that is something i'm very serious about and getting underneath and reforming. >> some community groups are also calling for your resignation. your response? >> this is a great democracy.

i love being an american because people are free to protest, to criticize their elected officials. that is part of the democratic process. i similarly am hearing tremendous amounts of support from the community who appreciate the stance that i've taken, who have confidence in the action plan that we have put forward and know that they are represent ed by someone who cars deeply about there city. >> i take it then for the record, you have no plans to resign. >> i am not planning to resign at this time, no. >> this scandal comes as the department is still trying to end 13 years of federal monitoring. that's due to the brutality and false police reports that were brought forth in the rider's case. why should there be confidence that the department's problems can be fixed under your administration? >> well, it is frustrating. i think it is known that we were actually in negotiations around

ending the court oversight when this scandal broke. and obviously this does set back those discussions. >> do you think that perhaps it's time for the police department to be placed under federal receivership? would the oakland residents be better served? >> no. the oakland residents are best served when the people that they elected to run the city are, in fact, running it. >> looking back over your past year and a half as mayor, especially over the past two weeks, is there anything that you wish you had done differently? >> i feel very good about every decision that i have made, and we have continued to make our decision in the best long-term interests of the city and through our values of openness, honesty, and integrity. that clarity of vision and commitment has very much helped guide me through these last difficult two weeks and will continue to guide me in everything i do as the mayor of

oakland. >> oakland mayor libby schaff, thank you for joining us. now to a regional issue. kqed is part of a media collaboration focusing on homelessness. we kick that off with a look at those on the streets in san jose. like elsewhere in the bay area, vents skyrocketed there. the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment is around $2,800 a month, according to the city. i went to san jose for a closer look. san jose, the heart of silicon valley, sits in one of the wealthiest regions in the country. yet, homelessness remains a persistent problem. the stretch of road in east san jose looks like an average suburban street, but look closer, and you'll find a modern nomadic village. you got this how long ago? >> three weeks ago. >> reporter: three weeks ago. how much did it cost you? >> i paid $690 for it. >> reporter: for now it's home?

>> for now it's home. >> reporter: can we look? >> sure. >> reporter: this is where you sleep every night? >> this is where i sleep. sleep back there. >> reporter: joseph says he's never been homeless before, an experience he sums up in one word -- >> humbling. things you normally take for granted like showers and going to the bathroom. everything is a huge ordeal. today i got to work at 5:00, but i don't have a washer and dryer, i don't have a shower. i don't have a place to shave. so the other day i got kicked out of the apartment complex with my head half shaved. they said they would call the police if i didn't leave. i didn't have power and had to go to work with my head half shaved. it was embarrassing. >> reporter: he works nearly full time as a valet parking cars. >> it's hard to work every day and come home to that. >> reporter: he'd like to leave california for someplace more affordable, but he's on probation and must stay in santa clara county. he makes $2,500 a month and doesn't see how he can afford a

place. >> mrs. a gap between -- there's a gap between the upper-class and the middle class -- the middle class. and i don't think there is a middle class. the crappiest house you'll see in san jose is $400,000, $500,000, $600,000. it would take me all of my monthly income to pay for rent. >> reporter: just up the street, we find keva van winkel living inside another camper. >> my abode. >> reporter: she says she and her boyfriend lost their home more than a year ago. >> the owners came in and doubled the rent. they evicted us. >> reporter: now she rents this camper from a friend. >> $100 a month. >> reporter: and you have a little dog, your dog? >> he's protective. yes, that's shorty. >> reporter: what is it like living in this space? >> it's uncomfortable. uncomfortable. i try to keep it as clean as i can. there's nowhere to park for the trailers and motor homes. >> reporter: are always having to be on the move every day? >> harassed all the time.

>> reporter: how long have you been living in this trailer? >> for approximately four months now. before that, we were living in cars. we were staying here and there. >> reporter: throughout san jose, there are an estimated 4,000 homeless people. some of whom seek shelter in the 140 miles of creek and riverbeds. we found this massive pile of garbage apparently left over from one such encampment. >> they go deep in because they don't want to be found. >> reporter: tony harrison is with downtown streets team, a homeless outreach agency. he leads me down a trail along the creek. we cross over the creek and up a steep embankment. you okay? >> yeah. got it. >> reporter: before finding two tents. how many other homeless people are there along this creek bed? >> there's a trail. >> reporter: this is like five and six, seven miles worth of people who are homeless, who are just living along the creek -- >> along the bank and the creek. yes. that's why we need more help,

spread the word about homelessness. >> reporter: in 2014 the jungle, one of the largest homeless encampments in the country, made national headlines. the city shut it down, moving an estimated 300 people out and fencing off the area. leonard jackson says he spent five years living in the jungle. where did you live? >> about right here. >> reporter: what did you have here when you were living here? >> on pallets and we had -- you know, sticks and tarps and, you know, at the time i was here, it was -- it was bad, you know. >> reporter: how did you end up homeless? >> honestly to be real, it had to do with drugs. a lot of things that i regret to this day. >> reporter: many in the jungle struggled with drugs and mental health issues, but jackson says there were plenty of people who were working and barely surviving. what kinds of jobs? do you know? >> i know people that work for google. i know people who work for cisco. i know some people who work for

ibm. i know some people that have some really good jobs that lived out here -- >> reporter: they were homeless? >> right here in the jungle with us. >> reporter: he says the jungle's closure opened doors after he got off drugs, got a home and found a job. >> by the grace of god that you people came along and -- you saved a lot of us, i could say that. i can say that honestly with a whole heart that you saved a lot of us. let me show you my new place. this is all right. >> reporter: this is home? >> that's my mom right there. i love my little place. enjoy it. it beats the jungle. way better than the jungle. >> reporter: you got your first paycheck recently. >> i got my first paycheck yesterday. yeah. >> reporter: congratulations! >> in fact, i think i have it -- where is it? i want to show that -- >> reporter: let's see that first paycheck. >> right there. >> reporter: the first of what he hopes will be many more steps forward. >> that feels great.

it feels great. to have my own place, a job, you know, security, i mean, it's like i feel like i'm on top of the world. >> reporter: joining subcommittee ray bramson, san jose's homelessness response manager. thank you for being here. we had a happy ending for leonard jackson. many others are waiting for home. more than 4,000 homeless in san jose. that's a lot of people. how many are on the street every night without shelter? >> san jose like rest of california experiences a challenge that we have a lot of unsheltered people. over 70% of our homeless population, 2,800 people, are living on our streets, along our creeks and interstates. >> is that because there aren't enough shelter beds in the city and county? >> shelter beds part of the challenge. the other part is san jose has a smaller corridor, long secret

service of creek to east and west. there's a lot of places where people -- long streets of creek to east and west. there's a lot of places where people can live outside. >> reporter: what are you doing being this? the city evicted 300 people from the jungle. how many have you been able to place in housing? >> we understand encampments are just a symptom of a larger challenge which is homelessness. we've invested significantly over the past few years in finding housing solutions to get people inside. from the jungle, we've housed over 200 individuals in different places throughout the community. >> what kinds of places, what kinds of housing did you find? >> wide variety of housing. everything we can in the market that we have. so some folks are living in shared housing, sharing bedrooms. other people have been able to locate apartments and secure jobs and increase their income. it's wherever we can find a safe, stable place for people to live. >> and is there any thought about perhaps

>> we've identified a partner and are trying to create a pilot site. other communities throughout california have been working on this. we think there's some promise. >> help us understand who are the homeless in san jose. is there a typical pro-senile. >> yeah. there's no one face to homelessness. there's a wide variety. san jose has over 30% of its homeless population which are chronically homeless people. folks on the street for a long time and have a severe mental or physical disability. there's people with jobs, they're families, youths

transitioning out of foster care, and there's veterans returning from wars. >> so what are you doing to help them? what can you realistically do? the city has housing vouchers, but even those who have housing vouchers, 800 people currently, are on the waiting list with vouchers with no place to go. >> yeah. the reality is there isn't enough housing. our vacancy rate for rental properties is hovering around 4%. people can't find units in the market. so what we need to do more than anything is build more affordable housing with the support of services that are needed to keep people stable and safe. >> we hear that in so many cities throughout the bay area. we need to build more affordable housing. what can you do currently? because that's more of a long-term thing. it takes time to make that happen. what can you do currently within the budget you have to more effectively serve the populatio

population? >> last year the city invested nearly $35 million in over 750 long-term and short-term housing opportunities. we're looking at every tool we possibly can, rehabbing old hotels and motels, buying manufactured housing which is assembled offsite and bringing it to an area. trying to find different bridge approaches to get people off the streets now so that we can build the long-term solution. >> and is that bridge approach effective? if just give them a little shelter, even if it's temporary, is that enough to get them toward the path toward long-term recovery and where they can be self-sufficient? >> we need to make sure that the bridge housing that we provide has services and that there is light at the end of the tunnel for them. we can't give them a mace to go and say you're not going to have a permanent home in our community. we need to make sure they have the destination in mind when we place them there. >> want to point out that this week the santa clara board of

supervisors placed a bond issue on the ballot to raise $950 million for affordable housing. will that be enough to address the problem? >> the measure by the board of supervisors was historic. $950 million for affordable housing. a lot of that dedicated to homeless populations, one of the biggest steps our community has taken toward addressing this head-on. >> all right. ray bramson with san jose's housing department. thank you very much for coming in. >> thank you, thuy. san francisco is gearing up for a weekend of gay pride events. the recent mass killing of 49 at a gay dance club in orlando has led to an outpouring of grief and anxiety in the lgbt community. still, there's a determination not to let the tragedy disrupt this year's festivities. kqed's senior editor for california politics and government, scott schaefer, has more. with me are rebecca roth,

executive director of the san francisco lgbt community center, and mark leno, a democrat who represents san francisco in the state senate. welcome to both of you. it's been just a couple of weeks since the events in orlando. many people still very much reeling from that. i'm wondering each of you, i'll start with you, rebeck awhat's the takeaway from what happened and what's happened assassins. >> as we know ourks communities has a long history -- as we know, our community has a long history with violence. that's unfortunate and sad. this event is resonating for a lot of people about their experiences, fears about their own safety. i know that as we head into this weekend, that people are more determined than ever to really be loud, be visible, be out there, really be proud of who we are and demonstrate that this incident will not really take away anything from our community and that we will continue to be strong and continue to be proud. >> what would you add? we also saw like an outpouring of support for the lgbt community around the world. something that might not have happened a few years ago.

silver lining, or what's your takeaway? >> let's not forget that any kind of violence doesn't happen in a vacuum. happens in a context, a social and political context. and part of that context, for example, this tragic irony that the very survivors of this tragedy, hiv negative gay men, cannot donate blood to their fallen brothers and sisters who are in need of it because our federal government faces a regulation not on fact but on prejudice and fear that there's something dangerous about the blood running through my veins. that communicates to people that there's something dangerous and wrong about us. >> are you saying -- you say the political context, you saying -- starting to fill in the blanks there. are you saying that the presidential campaign -- there's been a lot of violence at donald trump rallies. are you saying that perhaps -- >> all part of this. you had the lieutenant governor

of the state of texas on his website saying immediately after the tragedy, quoting from the new testament, man shall reap what he sows as if the victims were guilty of something and worthy of their murder. >> pride is a huge event in the bay area as it is in many places, new york and elsewhere, l.a. how do you think the events of orlando should affect the tone of of this weekend's events? >> i think this weekend, there will be a level of somberness. as people look at acknowledging those that have fallen and acknowledging that we have a long way to go in the community. a year ago we were celebrating the passage of marriage throughout the country. and this year it's a somber reminder that we have a lot of room still to travel. a lot of challenges in the community. >> that decision, it's almost a year to the day that the supreme court legalized gay marriage across the country. any sense at all in your mind

that what happened in orlando is in some ways a result of that and what's been happening nationwide in terms of changing attitudes and laws and a move toward equality? >> there's backlash, pushback. keep in mind, this was one deranged, sick young man. he's upset the nation and attained the attention of the world. it was one guy. with regard to the celebration this weekend, i think if anything we are a resilient community. it is an opportunity for us, and i think it is almost subconscious to show the world we know how to party, we know how to come back, we know how to show our pride ourks strength. and our joy and living. >> one of the maybe unanticipated consequences of this is that a group called pink pistols has gotten a lot of attention. it's an lgbt group that is promoting guns as -- for

self-defense. and their name on facebook has vastly grown since this happened. they're saying their message is, look, if you don't have a gun, you're going to be a victim. what are your thoughts? >> if anything, by definition, we're parity of every community. we're a parity of every ethnic community, part of every age group, of every religion, every community has us within them. the same can be said for those who promote weapons. >> and so would you -- would you advocate getting a gun, or do you think that's a bad idea? >> i think it's a personal choice. clearly there's evidence that shows the proliferation of guns results in this kind of violence. i think more importantly, there's a toxic environment that's created when we have an agenda of hate. mark referred to that. there is a very active promotion of an agenda of hate by the religious and political and social conservatives. that combined with guns -- >> i heard the president actually responded to something that the member of the pink pistols said which was that, i think it was a transgender

woman, said people should be allowed to carry firearms into bars and nightclubs. there's a law that prohibits that if 50% of the sales comes from alcohol. the idea that we would have guns where alcohol is served, the president said that that's a ridiculous notion. >> there will be because of this much more law enforcement. there will be metal detector screening as you go into civic center. i'm wondering how you feel about that. the lgbt community has had sometimes a tense relationship with law enforcement, black lives matter, one of the community grand marshals today pulled out of that because they felt threatened by all of the police presence there. what do you make of that? >> that is -- it is unfortunate and unfortunate reality. one curious twist is that i understand there will be greater numbers of undercover officers in gay clubs and bars. for years there were undercover

officers to harass us and beat us up. now they're there to protect us. >> in that regard, president obama announced that the stonewall inn in new york which began the modern gay rights movement, will be declared a national monument. talk about coming full circle. >> that's right. and there's an all-gender bathroom in the white house. we are making enormous strides. i think it's important to keep that in mind as we acknowledge that there's continues to be a significant level of violence and discrimination. >> quickly, your thoughts for this weekend. what do you hope comes from it? >> everyone be safe. everyone be aware. we have to be vigilant. it's unfortunate. the state of the world. keep your eyes open. report anything that you see that doesn't look right. otherwise, it's pride weekend, have a great time, of course. >> happy pride weekend to both of you. state senator and rebecca from the lgbt community center. thank you very much. >> thank you. and that does it for us. thank you very much for watching. for all of kqed's news coverage,

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