Oakland Municipal Code Ch. 2.46 Community Police Review Agency

The following words and phrases whenever used in this Chapter shall be construed as defined in this Section:

"Agency" shall mean the Community Police Review Agency.

"Commission" shall mean the Oakland Police Commission.

"Department" shall mean the Oakland Police Department.

"Misconduct" shall mean both a Department sworn employee's affirmative act that violates, and/or his or her failure to act in violation of, the Department's policies, procedures or directives, including without limitation the Department's Manual of Rules.

"Subject Officer" shall mean the Department sworn employee who is the subject of a complaint of alleged Misconduct.

(Ord. No. 13498, § 3, 7-10-2018)

Oakland City Charter section 604 has established the Community Police Review Agency. It is in the public interest to facilitate the Agency's receipt of public complaints regarding alleged misconduct. Thus, some of the Agency staff should be located in a street-level or ground-floor, visible office that is accessible by public transportation. The Commission, in consultation with the Agency Director, shall determine the number of existing Agency staff who would work at such a location. Hours of operation for this location shall be clearly posted on the office door and inside the office. The address of this office location, together with hours of operation and a telephone number shall be posted on the City's website and on the Agency's website.

(Ord. No. 13498, § 3, 7-10-2018)

In addition to the powers and duties prescribed in section 604 of the Oakland City Charter, the Agency's functions and duties are as follows:

A. Use the same complaint form as used by the Department in receiving all public complaints concerning alleged misconduct, including complaints from Department non-sworn employees. All complaints, wherever filed, shall be date-stamped and numbered sequentially. A copy of the numbered and date-stamped complaint shall be provided to the complainant and to the Department's Internal Affairs Division within one (1) business day of receipt.

B. Make complaint forms available to the public by posting the forms and information about the complaint process on the Agency's website and by accepting the online filing of complaints and attachments via the Agency's website, and by making information about the complaint process available at other public locations to be determined by the Agency Director.

C. Ensure that all investigators receive any necessary training in conducting fair and impartial investigations.

D. Request the Commission to issue a subpoena, in accordance with City Charter section 604(b)(3), to compel a subject officer and any other sworn employee of the Department to fully cooperate with an Agency investigation. The Chief shall order all Department sworn employees subject to any subpoena issued by the Commission to comply with all requirements of the subpoena.

E. Videotape the interviews of all Subject Officers who are alleged to have committed a Class I offense. For purposes of this subsection, the definition of "Class I offense" shall be the same as the definition of "Class I offense" in the Department's Discipline Policy.

F. Request, without requiring, that the complainant(s) and witnesses of Class I allegations agree to be audiotaped or videotaped if, in the Agency's discretion, its investigation would benefit from such taping.

G. In consultation with and upon the approval of the Commission, establish rules and procedures for the operation of its business including, but not limited to, procedures for the intake of complaints.

H. No less than twice a year and as permitted by applicable law, issue a report to the Public Safety Committee which shall include the following information:

1. The number of complaints submitted to the Agency together with a brief description of the nature of the complaints and the identification of the Council District from which the complaint originated;

2. The demographic profiles of the complainants to the extent that information exists or is voluntarily provided by the complainants;

3. The number of the Agency's pending investigations, and the types of Misconduct that is being investigated;

4. The number of investigations completed by the Agency, the results of the investigations, and the amount of time spent on the investigations;

5. The number of Department sworn employees for whom sustained findings of misconduct were made and the level of discipline proposed;

6. The number of closed investigations which did not result in sustained findings and/or discipline of the subject officer;

7. The number of cases referred to mediation;

8. The number of cases in which the Agency failed to meet (a) the one-hundred-and-eighty-day (180) goal specified by City Charter section 604(f)(3), and/or (b) the deadline specified by California Government Code section 3304; and

9. The number of times a Department employee failed to comply with the Agency's request for an interview or for the production of documents, and the number of times a Department sworn employee failed to comply with a valid subpoena, and whether discipline was imposed for any such non-compliance.

(Ord. No. 13498, § 3, 7-10-2018)

The Agency Director shall report to, and be supervised by, the Commission, and shall be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Agency. The Agency Director's job responsibilities shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

A. Identifying the staff positions, in addition to the position of Investigator, necessary to perform the Agency's functions and duties;

B. Assigning complaints to investigators, consulting with investigators regarding, and monitoring the progress of, their investigations;

C. Monitoring the workload of all Agency staff;

D. Reporting to the Commission once a month regarding the Agency's pending cases. The following information shall be included in the Agency Director's monthly written report:

1. The case number;

2. The name of the complainant;

3. The initials of the investigator assigned to investigate the complaint;

4. The date the complaint was filed with the Agency and the date the complaint was filed with the Department's Internal Affairs Division;

5. The date by which the investigation must be completed if the Agency is to meet the one-hundred-and-eighty-day (180) goal specified by City Charter section 604(f)(3);

6. The deadline by which the investigation must be completed, as specified by California Government Code section 3304;

7. The date of the incident that is the subject of the complaint; and

8. If City Charter section 604(f)(1) requires the Agency to investigate the complaint, whether the complaint involves uses of force, in-custody deaths, profiling based on any of the protected characteristics identified by federal, state, or local law, and First Amendment assemblies. If City Charter section 604(f)(1) does not require the Agency to investigate the complaint, a brief, general description of the type of complaint. This brief, general description must be similar in length and generality to the description of the types of complaints the Agency is required to investigate, as stated in City Charter section 604(f)(1); and

9. The number of times the Department and/or a Department employee refused to comply with a written request for information, and the number of times a Department sworn employee refused to comply with a valid subpoena.

E. Conducting annual job performance evaluations of all Agency staff;

F. Responding to questions and issues raised by the public, as permitted by applicable law; and

G. Any other duties assigned by the Commission, consistent with the Agency's powers and duties as described in section 604 of the City Charter and subject to any constraints imposed by the Agency's budget.

(Ord. No. 13498, § 3, 7-10-2018)

In accordance with federal and state law and consistent with section 604(e)(7) of the City Charter, background checks shall be performed on all new Agency Complaint Investigators and on the Agency Director, before hiring. The City Administrator's Office shall retain an outside person or entity to perform these background checks, which shall include:

A. Verification of educational and employment background, and any other information that may be verified by a public records search; and

B. Results of a Criminal Records Search. The results of the background checks may be used solely for the purpose of evaluating the candidates for the Agency Director and for Agency Complaint Investigator. The results of any background checks of candidates for the position of Agency Director shall be submitted only to the Commission. The results of any background checks of candidates for the position of Agency Complaint Investigator shall be submitted only to the Agency Director.

(Ord. No. 13498, § 3, 7-10-2018)

Upon the agreement of the Chief, the Agency Director, the complainant(s) and the subject officer(s), the Agency Director shall appoint a qualified mediator with at least five (5) years of experience in mediating employment or other relevant disputes, from a conflict resolution company or association that employs mediators, to mediate a final resolution of the complaint in accordance with the Commission's established rules and procedures. Any Commissioner, City employee, or former Department sworn officer shall not be appointed mediator. Both the Chief and the Agency Director must approve of any settlement offer before it is proposed to the subject officer and/or before any such offer is accepted.

(Ord. No. 13498, § 3, 7-10-2018)

If the Agency does not receive the files and records requested pursuant to section 604 of the City Charter or pursuant to this Chapter 2.45 within fifteen (15) business days of its request, the Public Ethics Commission shall have the authority to investigate allegations that the head of the offending City department or agency failed to provide the requested files or records to the Agency as required by section 604 of the City Charter or this Chapter 2.46. Such requirements shall be subject to enforcement by the City in the same manner as violations of Chapter 2.25 of the Oakland Municipal Code.

(Ord. No. 13498, § 3, 7-10-2018)