Category Archives: Oakland Police Department

Oakland’s Getting Ready For Its First Measure Z Meeting. Here’s What Should Happen

Posted on April 17, 2019 by | 1 comment

Yes on Measure Z

In 2012, Make Oakland Better Now! and several other community groups got involved in the process of creating a property tax and parking tax measure to replace Measure Y, which funded violence prevention program and was about to expire.  We sought a measure that would fund community policing officers and social services geared toward violence reduction, particularly the then recently re-started Operation Ceasefire program. We helped fund and participate in policy research. We organized community focus groups and other activities to craft a measure that would reduce violent crime and win support. And we actively pursued cooperation with City Council members on drafting the right measure. Continue reading →

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Posted in Cease Fire, City Budget, Events, Oakland Police Department

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Stronger Police Commission, New Compliance Director Needed After the Pawlik Shooting

Posted on March 21, 2019 by | 1 comment


On February 19, Oakland’s court-appointed Monitor and Compliance Director Robert Warshaw issued an addendum to OPD’s Executive Force Review Board’s report on the police killing of Joshua Pawlik. (The full text of the addendum can be found here; other public documents related to this case can be found here.) In this addendum, Mr. Warshaw is highly critical of the Executive Force Review Board’s conclusions, and of Chief Kirkpatrick, leading some in our community to call for Mr. Warshaw to fire Chief Kirkpatrick.

As Compliance Director, Mr. Warshaw has the right to fire the police chief, but we would not only urge that Mr. Warshaw not fire Chief Kirkpatrick. We would also urge the court to appoint a different Compliance Director. Continue reading →

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Posted in Negotiated Settlement Agreement, Oakland Police Department, Public Safety, Transparency / Accountability

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A Guide to the Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA): The Cost

Posted on March 23, 2018 by | 2 comments

 

In our previous post, we gave a brief history of the Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA). Here, we’ll look at the costs and what can be done to get the Oakland Police Department out from under oversight.

How much does the NSA cost Oakland?
In 2015, Rashidah Grinage, from the Coalition for Police Accountability, filed a Public Records Act request with the City of Oakland, asking for all data on the cost of the Negotiated Settlement Agreement. Paula Hawthorn, who serves on the board of Make Oakland Better Now! and is a member of the Coalition, analyzed that data, and found that from 2003 until the time of the request,  the total spent had been about $30,000,000. Continue reading →

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Posted in Negotiated Settlement Agreement, Oakland Police Department, Public Safety

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A Guide to the Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA)

Posted on March 22, 2018 by | 1 comment

15 years and over $30 million later, the Oakland Police Department is still under federal oversight. 

History
On January 22, 2003, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California approved the settlement of a lawsuit between the City of Oakland and 119 plaintiffs who alleged that Oakland police offices had beaten, kidnapped and planted drugs on them in the summer of 2000. The plaintiffs, who were represented by attorneys James Chanin and John Burris, received a payout of $11 million, and the City agreed to reforms embodied in the Settlement Agreement, a list of 51 different tasks which OPD must come into compliance with. These tasks includes reforms in areas such internal affairs, supervision of officers, police use of force, and community policing. Continue reading →

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Posted in Negotiated Settlement Agreement, Oakland Police Department, Public Works

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Make Oakland Better Now’s Budget Positions: Oakland Police Department

Posted on June 14, 2017 by | 1 comment


Introduction

As we analyze Mayor Libby Schaaf’s proposed 2017-2019 budget, we see there are many important issues, some long-term and some short-term. Today we’ll briefly look at long-term budget issues involving the Oakland Police Department, how the budget impacts police and public safety. Continue reading →

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Posted in City Budget, City Council, Oakland Police Department, Public Safety, Transparency / Accountability

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Supporting Public Safety in Oakland: A Conversation with Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick and Public Safety Director Venus Johnson

Posted on March 17, 2017 by | Leave a comment

Make Oakland Better Now! and SPUR are proud to present Supporting Public Safety in Oakland, a special conversation with new Oakland Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick and Public Safety Director Venus Johnson March 29 at 6 p.m!

2017 has brought two major additions in the realm of public safety to Oakland: in January, Oakland-native Venus Johnson was named as the city’s new director of public safety, and in February, Anne Kirkpatrick was sworn in as the city’s new chief of police. In a city where turnover at the top of the police department has been high and in a department over which federal monitors, the Mayor, the City Manager and the police commission all have oversight, these new hires are faced with tough jobs. Join them both for an evening of conversation about the current state, and the future, of safety and the OPD.

This event is free and open to the public. Please join us! You can RSVP here and also share our Facebook event.

When:  March 29,  6 – 8 p.m.
Where: SPUR, 1544 Broadway, Oakland Continue reading →

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Posted in Events, Oakland Police Department, Public Safety

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Police Commission Enabling Ordinance: Our Comments

Posted on March 8, 2017 by | Leave a comment

The following constitute Make Oakland Better Now!’s comments on the February 6, 2017 iteration of the Police Commission Enabling Ordinance introduced by Councilmembers Dan Kalb and Noel Gallo. (Read about Measure LL and Oakland’s new Police Commission on our blog: here, here, and here.)

We also include several comments on features in The Coalition on Police Accountability’s proposed substitute ordinance. There are some areas where we agree with the Coalition’s suggestions, and others where we support adoption of the February 6 draft ordinance.

On March 8, we sent these comments to the Public Safety Committee.  After public discussion and feedback, the Enabling Ordinance will be revised, refined, and returned  to the Public Safety Committee with a recommendation to the full Council for adoption.

Continue reading →

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Posted in City Council, Oakland Police Department, Public Safety

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