Oakland Voters to Decide on Civilian Police Commission

ROCKRIDGE, CA — The Oakland City Council has voted unanimously to place a measure on the November ballot that would establish an independent police commission. The vote took place late Tuesday night after two hours of vigorous debate and an unsuccessful attempt by councilmembers Desley Brooks and Rebecca Kaplan to include an amendment to strip Mayor Libby Schaaf of her right to appoint three of the commission's seven members.

Brooks and Kaplan proposed to have all seven members chosen by a committee that would be named by the mayor and the City Council. But the measure that will be placed on the ballot, which was sponsored by councilmen Dan Kalb and Noel Gallo, calls for the mayor to pick three commissioners and the selection committee to pick the other four.

Oakland has had a Citizens' Police Review Board since 1980, but critics have said it is understaffed and its recommendations are often ignored by city officials. If the November measure is approved by a majority of the city's voters, that board would be disbanded and its executive director would become the interim director of the Oakland Police Review Agency, which will work alongside the commission.

A major impetus for creating the independent police commission has been a string of recent police scandals, including sexual misconduct involving several officers and the teenage daughter of a police dispatcher as
well as racist text message exchanges. Kalb said today that if the measure is approved, "Oakland will
have an independent body that has real authority over the police chief and police policies in certain areas."

Kalb said the review agency that would work alongside the commission would have equal standing with the Police Department in imposing discipline on officers who engage in misconduct. The Oakland Police Officers' Association, which represents the city's officers, had threatened to sue over changes to the police discipline
process that were defined in the union's current contract, but amendments that the council made last Friday prompted the union to withdraw its opposition.

Police union president Sgt. Barry Donelan said in a letter to the city, "Oakland's police officers are open to the concept of a police commission but you can't create an initiative that substantively changes a binding contract between the city and its police officers."

The proposal allows the commission to fire a police chief for cause if five members agree to do so. The commission, which is expected to meet twice a month, will also have subpoena power over police records. No past or present police officers would be allowed to serve on the commission. Members must be at least 18 years old and be Oakland residents.

— Bay City News