Font ResizeOAKLAND — The City Council approved a deal Tuesday that paves the way for a federal court's oversight of the city's Police Department to be extended by up to two years — until 2012.
Approval of the agreement is of little surprise after Judge Thelton Henderson signaled earlier this year that he did not believe the Police Department could meet the terms spelled out in a 2003 settlement stemming from the Riders' police misconduct scandal, despite the considerable progress he credited the department for making toward its reform goals.
The deal is tailored to focus on reform tasks included in the 2003 settlement — which expires Jan. 22 — that have not been met, or have not been sustained for the requisite one-year time period.
Tuesday's vote was taken in closed session, and was not reported during the public portion of the council's meeting because it is still subject to Henderson's approval. The council's vote tally was not released Tuesday, but both City Attorney John Russo's office and the attorneys for the plaintiffs in the Riders case confirmed the council's approval.
Henderson is expected to accept the agreement either before or on Nov. 23, when the parties are due in his court.
In a statement, Russo said the Police Department was "almost unmanageable" 10 years ago. He added that police brass have "done a great deal of work" to reform the department.
"There's no question that those reforms have
The Riders case, in which a group of rogue officers faced accusations of beating and framing residents in West Oakland, cast a pall over the department. Attorney John Burris, who represents the plaintiffs in the case along with attorney Jim Chanin, said he believes the new agreement provides the structure for the department to emerge from court oversight so long as the department's leadership is committed to making it work.
"We would like to get this completed in the next two years," Burris said. "On the other hand, we're prepared to stay as long as we need to in order to get the conditions satisfied."
Capt. Benson Fairow, the department's inspector general, said he believes the reforms can be met within the time period laid out in the agreement, if not sooner. He said there has been a "sea-change of attitude and culture" in the department and the remaining challenge is to demonstrate it to the court.
The 2003 settlement spelled out 51 tasks aimed at improving department standards on a wide range of issues. A report issued this past summer by the group of monitors assigned to keep watch over the reforms found the department was in full compliance with 30 of those tasks — more than at any point.
But the department had been in compliance on 13 of those 30 tasks for less than the one-year period. And there were 21 tasks for which the department was not in full compliance or that have not been recently assessed.
Under the agreement, a new group of monitors — which has not been selected yet — will focus on tasks covering such issues as use-of-force reporting, whistle-blower protection, consistency of discipline and the timeliness of internal investigations.
The new monitoring team could cost the city between $450,000 and $650,000 per year — considerably less than the current team because fewer tasks will be evaluated.
"We're getting close," said Councilmember Larry Reid, who heads the council's public safety committee. "I think Judge Thelton Henderson is certainly a very understanding individual committed to working with all parties to bring about a resolution. We are all committed to doing the same."
Meantime, Terry Francke, general counsel of Californians Aware, said Russo's office was correct that the council's vote did not need to be reported in open session Tuesday because it is still subject to a court's approval.
Reach Kelly Rayburn at 510-208-6435.
