Sgt. Derwin Longmire
Oakland Police Sgt. Derwin Longmire is a 22-year veteran of the department. His friendship with Yusuf Bey IV, CEO of the bankrupt Your Black Muslim Bakery, raised eyebrows in some quarters following the interrogation of Devaughndre Broussard, the alleged killer of Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey.
The 19-year-old Broussard, a bakery handyman, was swept up with Bey and several others in police raids on Aug. 3, 2007, the day after Bailey was gunned down near the newspaper. Broussard initially denied involvement.
Longmire, the lead investigator, placed Bey in the interrogation room alone with Broussard for about 10 minutes. Shortly afterward, Broussard confessed to Bailey’s killing. Though tape recording interrogations is the preferred practice among many law enforcement agencies, the Oakland police recorded only Broussard’s confession, and a conversation in which Longmire and Bey discussed their friendship.
Longmire and his superiors have defended the department’s failure to tape record the conversation between Bey and Broussard, as well as the decision to place Longmire on the case despite his friendship with Bey and bakery associates. Longmire contended that it is difficult to gain trust of suspects if they know they are being recorded. Critics allege incompetence, arguing that Broussard’s attorney can claim police had coerced the defendant.
Slideshow: Michael J. Wills Jr.
A Day Late in Oakland
Evidence Ignored: A Timeline
Chauncey Bailey: life and work
Bailey killing figure had troubled youth
Secret video raises questions about bakery leader’s role in Bailey killing
Unsolved 1986 slaying of baker linked to founder of Your Black Muslim Bakery
Women, Part II: Testimony reveals a life of abuse, toil for women of Your Black Muslim Bakery
Women, Part I: One police officer cracked abuse case against Yusuf Bey
Nedir Bey evades trouble over election finances
Were Oakland police afraid of Black Muslim bakery?
Muslim bakery family linked to real estate broker accused of fraud
Longmire’s friendship with Bey IV (even if feigned for investigative reasons prior to Bailey’s murder) should have caused Longmire to be removed from any direct involvement with handling the Bailey murder case. And now, with the video of Bey IV exposing that Longmire directly obstructed justice, why is Longmire still on the force?
Jesse, you hit the nail on the head! Why is Longmire still on the force. Doesn’t OPD know “Silence is a speech”. At the very least all complaints filed against Longmire in his 22 years on the force should be re-opened and re-examined by an outside agency.
What a disgrace, but not for Sgt. Longmire. Disgrace that he works for a department that has hung him out to dry for their own lack of leadership, professionalism and principles. At the end of the day, with the decades of support and recommendations by the City of Oakland, previous mayors for the City of Oakland, the glorified city counsel, and other high-ranking political officials supporting the Black Muslim Bakery, Dr. Bey and all his many “children”….it all has rested on the shoulders and become the responsibility of Sgt. Longmire? Are you people serious?
This man was in diapers when Dr. Bey began his legacy of corruption in the City of Oakland with the support of many who ran it. The City of Oakland practically funded this mans illegal and corrupt organization. They sent children to that child molester to “raise” in the hopes of “reforming” them and he received praise and commendation from high-ranking officials throughout the City of Oakland. He got all but a key to the city for his “work”. In reality, the bakery was funded by nothing short of organized crime and much of that funding came from the City of Oakland….never to be returned.
So, here we are, with the next generation of children “raised” by the morals of the Bey religion and they’re running the show under the watchful eye of the Oakland Police Department and others running the beautiful City of Oakland for years! Still, even after Dr. Bey’s death, this crime-infested bakery was praised for it’s work by officials.
What a tragedy that at the end of the day, Sgt. Longmire, who has been “instructed” to do his job as a homicide investigator is now the fall man for all those officials in the past who ignored this train wreck for years. You think Sgt. Longmire was out having latte’s with this guy talking about how to get this cold-blooded murderer out of this? That he would jeopardize this career and his livelihood for the likes of some murderer punk simply because he a “brother”. Are you serious? This smacks of nothing short of a modern-day lynching….all with the approval and applause of the City of Oakland and the Oakland Police Department.
Oh, by the way, this helps bring to justice the murderer of Chauncey Bailey how? Reminds me of the old saying, “you’ll choke on a gnat but swallow an elephant”. Are we looking to bring to justice the murderer of Chauncey Bailey or looking for a scapegoat to get one out of it? Shame on the Oakland Police Department for allowing one man to carry the burden of the many before him who failed to carry any.
Longmire is responsible to himself, his department and his superiors. He does what any “employee” does for the job in which they employed to do. In his case, it’s to investigate murders. He did that and he did it well. If he were a white cop, you’re exactly right, we would be having a riot about having a bigot on the police force. In this case, it wouldn’t matter if he were green. Whoever investigated this would be sitting where he’s sitting now…..in the public view of opinion. Judged by a bunch of conspiracy theorists sitting in their living rooms drinking red wine and smokin’ cloves. Get real. We could have all sat around watching tapes of him serving coffee and crumpets to this murderer and many wouldn’t have been happy with that interrogation either. In the end, he has a responsibility to the “people” and that responsibility will be met when the murderers of Chauncey Bailey are tried, convicted and sentenced. And why will that happen? Because you had a dedicated cop who wasn’t swayed or influenced by political ties and did his job in spite of it….not because he had something to gain by it. Are we seeking justice or a scapegoat? This controversy and conflict accomplishes one thing….to create doubt to a jury when this goes to trail. If it keeps up, we’ll be eating bean pies and eating fish burgers on San Pablo Avenue again before you know it. And then we’ll all sit around drinking wine and smoking cloves talking about how horrible it is that OPD can’t do something to stop it. Please. I love quotes and it brings another to mind. “Character is determined not by where you stand in times of comfort and convenience, but where you stand in times of conflict and controversy”. Pick a side.
Too much drama, I guess Officer Longmire will have to change his name to Bey or admit that he is the love child to elder Bey to see the corruption and mishandling in this case. Taxpayers money totally wasted. The Oakland Police Department should be ashamed they are starting to look alot like the New Orleans Police. What a man soweth he must reap!!!
To Denise: No, Detective Longmire didn’t do his job well. That’s what’s at issue with him. He ignored important evidence and left it out of the police report, according to the information on this website. You only do that if your incompetent, which I doubt he was, or covering up for something or one. An investigation and possibly a trial will determine his guilt or innocence. Let’s not forget that this was the cold-blooded murder of Chauncey Bailey and an attack on free speech by a gangster-filled, pedophilic and phoney religious family too long tolerated, even celebrated in Oakland (I remember their stand in the Oakland Airport). How would looking into this suspicious behavior be a bad thing? And why would an intelligent, law-abiding person, like you claim Longmire to be, a person who knew the family’s criminal history well, why would he befriend these people and chat them up in jail?
To Queequeg – Trust me when I tell you, I forget not how Chauncey Bailey was murdered. Murder is murder is murder. I’m not sure there’s anyone out there who would tell you that murder is not in and of itself….cold blooded. Probably not a more horrific way to leave this world except at the hands of another. We can all agree on this.
Having said that, and I’ll say it again, Sgt. Longmire is not responsible for that murder. I fail to see how this man is in any way involved, knew of, conspired to or assisted these little punks in anything except hanging themselves. We’re not talking about Mayberry town here….we’re talking about Oakland, California, where murders are as common as changing ones’ underwear! A place where if you’ve never been, you never want to venture to. Oakland makes NATIONAL headlines for it’s murders and while that of Mr. Bailey became one of those headlines, these types of little punks run our streets everyday murdering people and their mothers are still crying tears over they’re murdered child’s body.
I’m sure Sgt. Longmire was involved in at least some if not most of the murder investigations over the years, is he now going to be scrutinized over those murder investigations as well? This man doesn’t know he’s being tape recorded while talking to a slime-bag in jail? Really? Do you really believe that? If Sgt. Longmire sat down with Mr. Bey and said, “hey dude, I’m going to get you by the balls…I know ya’ did it!”, would that have been a good tactic to use trying to gain a confession from a murderer? It’s elementary really. You gain the trust, you get the information. What was he possibly covering up? This man is a homicide detective in Oakland! Sgt. Longmire has become the issue when the real issue and crime lies within the heart of the higher-ups at Oakland Police Department, and other high-ranking officials who condoned this warped crime-infested enterprise for many, many years.
You are correct, the truth will come to light when this goes to trail. Much of the community has been cracking jokes about the corruption within the Bey organization for years. We all sat around watching the repeats on KTVU about the liquor store vandalism, the murders, the child molesting and so I wonder, where was the outrage then? While these guys were getting off crime after crime, after crime, most were sitting around doing what? I’ll tell you what most were doing…..nothing.
There were no blogs, no posts, no outrage, no news, there was nothing….not a peep. I will tell you this, if this twerp gets off because of this “movement” to crucify Sgt. Longmire, and they can then find some defense lawyer who begins his “movement” to question doubt about other murder investigations, like what happened in the Riders Case, and you start having murderers wondering the streets of Oakland again, you can bet on this……you would be wishing you lived in Mayberry Town.
I guess there are those who believe to their core in conspiracy theories….I’m not one of them. I have $50 bucks on anyone who can do the job of a cop, much less a homicide cop, for one day in the City of Oakland. It’s ludicrous to believe this stuff.
This is not 1950, this is 2009 for God’s sake. Funny, how we all tend to hold others at a higher standard than ourselves. I’m thinking shoes….”never judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.” In this case…..it’s Oakland. Small minded thoughts produce small, if any results. This is so much larger than one man and a phone conversation.
Shame on Longmire not the police department. He chose to cover up for Bey not the dept. He used his authority to his benefit. this city has enough issues with corrupt cops and upper superiors. You should want more for your city not less. he was a criminal with a badge thats all. He is a disgrace for officers who really care about protecting this city and for Black men cause he had a chance to help and he failed.
The SF Chronicle today 4/18/09 reported that Bey IV has claimed to have killed a “white devil” and cheered the San Francisco and California 1973/74 Zebra murders—15 murders by members of the Nation of Islam in San Francisco alone, and 71 similar murders in California by the State of California.
The City of Oakland needs to root out black racism and hatred of the white community before it will have a chance to become a decent and honorable community. Please do it now.
In this story from EastBay Express:
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/blogs/sex_enters_chauncey_bailey_murder_case/Content?oid=939356,
Yusuf Bey bragged that he was providing girls to Sgt. Derwin Longmire for sexual favors.
If Longmire is ever investigated, and the allegations proven true, then Longmire’s behavior is not the fault of Oakland PD, or the Mayor, or anyone other than Longmire.
I don’t think Longmire did a good job. Not by any stretch of the imagination. And if these whack jobs continue ordering murders from behind bars, I hope they don’t assign Longmire to “investigate” those murders too.