September 8, 2010 | 12:08 PM | By

Number 77: Delayed justice

FILED UNDER: Community, Police, Desiree Davis, Homicide, Oakland Police

It’s a frightening prospect – a loved one is missing, and you get a call late at night, or a knock on the door from a steely-eyed cop in a wrinkle-free suit. But what about no call, no knock on the door? One family in Oakland knows how that feels.

Today we bring you part two of “Number 77,” our series by S. Howard Bransford about Oakland’s 77th homicide victim of 2009: 17-year-old Desiree Davis. Desiree came to the East Bay as a Hurricane Katrina survivor, and was killed in a brazen shooting in North Oakland last year.

Desiree’s story tells us a great deal about the criminal justice system in Oakland, where the police department is dealing with staff layoffs and an ongoing struggle with violent crime.

In this installment we take a look at the difficult process of investigating murders in Oakland, and the psychic toll of living in a city plagued by delayed justice.