OAKLAND – With a camera slung across her shoulders and a notepad in hand, student journalist Nelzy Gonzalez-Zaragoza was ready to cover a police press conference about the devastating tragedy that had just struck Laney College.

But moments before the Nov. 14 media event began, the Oakland Police Department barred the Peralta Citizen reporter from entering, a remarkable blockade against a college newspaper covering a national story about beloved Laney coach John Beam, who was fatally shot on campus a day earlier.

The reason? The Citizen reporter — an associate editor — had not first obtained a police-issued press credential.

The “mandatory” requirement has been a thorny issue among reporters covering the department since it was first enforced three years ago, with some bristling at the i

See Full Page