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WE ARE FIGHTING FOR INDEPENDENT CIVILIAN POLICE OVERSIGHT! 

Recently, there has been a sustained attack on the independence of our civilian oversight system: the Police Commission, the Community Police Review Agency (CPRA) and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG).  To some extent, this effort to weaken or minimize the effectiveness of this oversight body is generated by the Oakland Police Officers’ Association (OPOA) and its allies on the City Council and in certain parts of the community. 
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Their objectives are to: 
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  • Eliminate the role of the community in vetting candidates for police commissioner
  • Eliminate the Commission’s independence and subject it to political influence
  • Eliminate the role of the community in providing criteria for selection of police commissioners and the police chief 
  • Move the Inspector General, who has the Charter mandate to audit OPD and ensure their sustained compliance with the standards established by the Negotiated Settlement Agreement, to the Auditor’s office
  • Ignore the recommendations from the City Auditor who stressed the importance of structural independence and sufficient resources that are needed to enable the body to function as intended and required by the City Charter
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WHAT WE ARE DOING AND HOW YOU CAN HELP!

1. We need to update the Enabling Legislation that supports the Police Commission. The City Auditor was clear that the current Ordinance is obsolete and needs to be updated in order to conform to the changes in the City Charter that were made by Measure S1 in 2020.
 
What you can do:
 
Support Council members and who have offered to sponsor a revised ordinance that can easily clarify conflicts between the Municipal Code and the Charter. When this item comes to the City Council for approval, lobby the City Council members to pass it! 


2. The Mayor and the City Council must provide sufficient resources in order for the Commission, CPRA and the OIG to perform the functions that are mandated by the City Charter.  The Mayor has offered a provisional budget that does not adequately resource the oversight body which will be the ONLY oversight agency to monitor OPD’s compliance after the Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA) is vacated. The City Council must increase the resource allocation for the Commission, CPRA and the OIG in the mid-year budget that will be passed by July 1.
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What you can do:
 
Attend meetings on the proposed budget that Council members will be scheduling and ask them if they are committed to providing sufficient resources to the police oversight bodies that will ensure constitutional policing in Oakland. Speak at City Council meetings. If you cannot attend, send your message to the Council members via email (council@oaklandca.gov). 
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GET INVOLVED TODAY!

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HERE'S WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED IN THE PAST!

Publicity/Community education on Police Commission, rights, issues.

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  • Distributed 2,500 flyers on how to file a complaint (at a cost of $400,000 the city created an on-line complaint program but did nothing to publicize it). 

  • Promoted ongoing media attention on administration efforts to undermine accountability. 

  • Organized a successful "Meet and Greet" the Commissioners event in June at St. Elizabeth's Elementary School, which was attended by over 70 community members. 

  • Convinced the Police Commission to hold a public hearing on the Police and Homelessness which we will organize. Organized a group of coalition members and homeless activists to organize the hearing.

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Thwarted City administration’s efforts to stymie and undermine the Police Commission’s independence.

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  • Provided legal analysis countering the City Attorney’s position which upheld the City Administration’s attack on the Commission. 
  • Promoted regular attendance at Police Commission meetings and organized supporters to attend City Council and Police Commission meetings in support of crucial actions or policies. 
  • Succeeded in getting the Ordinance passed that ensured that the legal counsels to the Commission and CPRA and the Inspector General will report to and be supervised by the Police Commission, not the City Attorney's Office or the City Administrator. 
  • Succeeded in ensuring that the Police Commission can inspect and review the CPRA investigations of complaints of Level 1 complaints against OPD officers and send back if the Commission does not support the findings. 
  • Pressured the Mayor to expedite the long-overdue hiring of an Administrative Analyst to staff the Commission. 
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Policy and Research

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  • Introduced a new policy on appearance to support diversity in OPD recruiting for consideration of Commission. 
  • Succeeded in blocking the OPD "Stop and Search" revision of the Police Commission's preferred policy by the City Council. First time OPD/City Council were rebuffed in their policy proposal. 
  • Established ongoing relationships with the Alameda County Public Defender and Policy Link to assist in research, data collection, and policy development. 
  • Participated with the ACLU and other organizations statewide in advocating for the passage of AB 931 to create stricter policy on when officers are entitled to use deadly force and SB 1421 which promotes police transparency. with the Police Commissioners and established collaborative relationships with several of the commissioners. Offer assistance, resources, and policy and research input.
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NSA Monitor and Judge

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  • Attended court hearing on Federal monitoring, engaged issues highlighted by monitor reports and developed strategies to further engage on use of force reporting and use of body cameras.

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FOR DETAILS ABOUT PREVIOUS ACCOMPLISHMENTS

2021 IN REVIEW

 

2021 was a tragic, inspirational, and perfectly normal year, albeit mainly over Zoom. It began seven months after George Floyd’s murder broke through the relentless drum of police immunity and propaganda. We were inundated with requests from communities fighting for police accountability, asking for advice on alternative emergency response models, and seeking our counsel and experience. Meanwhile, in Oakland, we continued the ongoing work to strengthen our own Police Commission and advocate for law enforcement policies that protect Oaklanders. We are grateful to the people who donated time, money, and special thanks to Pamela Price for connecting us to fabulous pro-bono legal work. Read our annual report. 

 

2020 IN REVIEW

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This was a powerful year for so many reasons, and the worldwide protests in honor of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many others gave us strength. We worked hard to pass Measure S1 in November to improve the citizen-led Police Commission, which passed with over 82% of the vote. Read our annual report. 

 

2019 IN REVIEW

 

The Coalition brought the voices of those most impacted by OPD to the attention of the Police Commission, strengthening the Commission’s ability to enact effective reform and increasing community awareness of the Commission. Read our annual report. 
 

         You can file complaints about the Oakland Police by clicking here:

                            https://apps.oaklandca.gov/CPRA/ 

                           *This app allows you to send photos and videos as well!

           

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OUR MISSION

The mission of the Coalition for Police Accountability (“the Coalition” or CPA) is to advocate for accountability of the Oakland Police Department to the community so that the Oakland Police Department operates with equitable, just, constitutional, transparent policies and practices that reflect the values and engender the trust of the community.

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