Citizen’s Police Review Board

CA laws seal off police misconduct, masking Oakland Police violence

Ali Winston

A now-sandblasted mural to Gary King Jr. at 54th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way in North Oakland. King Jr. was shot to death by Oakland Police Sgt. Patrick Gonzales on September 20, 2007.

Today, The Informant published a two-year joint investigation with Colorlines, The Nation’s Investigative Fund and UC-Berkeley’s Investigative Reporting Program into California’s laws regarding the confidentiality of police misconduct records and their impact on the Oakland Police Department.

Prior to the California Supreme Court’s 2006 ruling in Copley Press v. Superior Court of San Diego, misconduct complaints filed with independent police watchdog agencies such as Oakland’s Citizens’ Police Review Board were public and contained extensive identifying information for police officers.

Following Copley, police review boards throughout California began redacting the names of officers from complaint records. Police accountability experts say that tracking officers’ allegations of misconduct is crucial to curbing misconduct early in their career. Studies show that officers frequently involved in low-level uses of force have a higher risk of shooting at a suspect.

This investigation focused on officers involved in repeat shootings in the Oakland Police Department. From 2000 to 2010, 16 OPD officers have been involved in more than one shooting, including 11 who are still on the force. Three officers have shot four times, including Sgt. Patrick Gonzales. Sgt. Gonzales has been involved in four shootings over the course of his career. Records from pre-Copley CPRB hearings and lawsuits also allege numerous instances of misconduct by Sgt. Gonzales. The investigation focuses on his career and documents the sort of misconduct allegations that have been deemed confidential information by the Copley Press decision.

An investigation last year into officer-involved shootings in Fresno revealed 29 Fresno Police officers had been involved in shooting incidents, 27 of whom were still on FPD’s roster.

An excerpt from the article is after the jump.

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FILED UNDER: Police, Ameir Rollins, Citizen's Police Review Board, Copley Press v. Superior Court, Derrick Jones, Gary King Jr., Joshua Russell, Lovelle Mixon, Oakland, Oakland Police Department, Officer-involved shootings, Peace Officer's Bill of Rights, Sgt. Patrick Gonzales

April 27, 2011 | 2:56 PM | By Ali Winston

ACLU meeting tonight on police accountability in Oakland

Henderson Images

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and Police Chief Anthony Batts have proposed an overhaul of Oakland’s independent police oversight mechanism by proposing the establishment of an independent Inspector General to audit departmental investigations and practices. Oakland’s current civilian watchdog, the Citizens’ Police Review Board, will not be replaced by the Inspector General, but has been starved for staffing and funding.

Supporters of the CPRB have been alarmed by the Inspector General proposal, and are concerned that Mayor Quan’s new budget will divert funding from the CPRB to the OIG. Tonight, the Paul Robeson Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union will hold a meeting on civilian oversight of law enforcement at the Rockridge Branch Library, at 5366 College Avenue in Oakland. The meeting starts at 7 PM.

Among the presenters tonight will be Alan Hooper, the police practices director of the Northern California ACLU, and Rashidah Grinage, the director of People United for a Better Life in Oakland (PUEBLO).

FILED UNDER: Police, ACLU of Northern California, Citizen's Police Review Board, Oakland, police oversight, PUEBLO

March 18, 2011 | 10:14 AM | By Ali Winston

Another oversight layer for OPD? Or a rewriting of the rules?

Ali Winston

Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts and Mayor Jean Quan want to change the city's police oversight model

One major surprise at last Thursday’s hearing on the federal oversight of the Oakland Police Department was the city’s stated intention to establish an independent office of the inspector general. The proposal is revealed on the third page of Police Chief Anthony Batts’ letter to the court on the progress of reform:

“The City is exploring ways to implement better independent oversight. I made the recommendation to establish a Civilian Office of Inspector General (OIG), modeled after the San Jose Office of Independent Police Auditor, to promote transparency and continue the successes we have made in implementing reform even after the conclusion of the NSA. The new Mayor, Ms. Jean Quan, strongly supports independent oversight.”

The news jolted advocates of citizen oversight of OPD, who had secured promises from Mayor Jean Quan that she would support the Citizen’s Police Review Board, Oakland’s current independent police watchdog. The CPRB is a bugbear for the Oakland Police Officer’s Association, and in years past has been the target of budget cuts, hampering the board’s ability to conduct investigations.

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