Coach Beam concerned about security at Laney College before his death

Suspect charged with murder in shooting death of Laney College coach

Cedric Irving Jr., 27, charged with murder in slaying of John Beam, respected athletic director and former head football coach at Laney College in Oakland.

OAKLAND, Calif. -  Laney College Athletic Director John Beam had complained about security at the Oakland community college a day before he was shot to death on campus, according to student journalists at the Peralta Citizen.

Beam concerned about safety

Last week, Beam spoke at a "Taco 'Bout Safety" event on campus, where he cited a fire and break-in, saying he felt less safe on campus after the 2020 termination of the contract with the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, which had provided armed deputies to patrol campus.

Beam was shot and killed on Thursday while working inside the fieldhouse on the college campus. 

Staff writer Erik Bracken told KTVU he couldn't believe that he saw Beam "alive and well" on the day before he killed, allegedly by 27-year-old Cedric Irving, who Oakland police said would often "loiter" around the campus. A motive for the Thursday shooting death has not yet been revealed.

Irving was charged with murder on Monday. Efforts to reach him or his family have been unsuccessful. 

In June, the Peralta Community College District switched its security contractors and assigned unarmed guards from Diligence Security Group to guard Laney College.  

At the meeting, the Peralta Citizen reported that Beam said the security contractors were able to show him footage of a theft at the field house but did not intervene, recover items, or detain suspects. He questioned whether this was because of a shortage of guards spread across the four community colleges that make up the Peralta Community College District.

In an interview with KTVU on Monday, Desmond Meagley, editor-in-chief, said Beam spoke about his feelings at the field house, and "expressed some concerns about the number of security guards."

Former student athlete turned NFL player honors the memory of his beloved high school coach shot & killed at Laney College

Former student athlete turned NFL player honors the memory of his beloved high school coach/mentor shot and killed at Laney College. He is among the many young people legendary Coach John Beam helped over a span of decades.

Issue for years

Security has been a concern at Laney College for years.

In 2019, KTVU investigated a series of issues that uncovered the blue emergency phones on the Laney and Merritt campuses have been in disrepair for nearly a decade.

And looking at the district's other colleges, KTVU found broken windows, non-working elevators, missing door locks, missing fire extinguishers and malfunctioning fire alarms. Homeowners who lived near the colleges at the time also voiced concerns about vandalism, broken bottles, knocked down fences and unmonitored security cameras in college campus parking lots. 

National figure

As head football coach for decades at Laney College, Beam became a national figure, and was featured along with the team in the Netflix series, "Last Chance U." 

He helped thousands of athletes on and off the field, and has been credited for turning lives around by giving second chances. 

Peralta Citizen news editor Ivan Saravia said Beam's death is a "national story, and we just want to give our community, especially, the best coverage."