The main reason that the families of the slain Oakland police officers refused to allow Mayor Ron Dellums to speak at the funeral was that they were worried he would botch the dead cops’ names. Dellums had done it before, as the Express first reported last year, when he screwed up the name and rank of dead police Lieutenant Derrick Norfleet at his funeral. Dellums reportedly referred to Norfleet as “Fleetwood.” Some cops were so aghast at what Dellums had done that they made specific instructions not to allow the mayor to speak at their funerals for fear he would do it again, according to Trib columnist Tammerlin Drummond, who had a great piece on the issue in Sunday’s paper. She also rightly criticized Dellums’ staff for their behind-the-scenes attempts to overrule the wishes of the slain cops and their families so that the mayor could address the funeral service.
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