21st-quarterly-report.pdf

Twenty-First Quarterly Report of the Independent Monitor for the Oakland Police Department May 4, 2015 Page 57 Task 37: Internal Investigations-Retaliation Against Witnesses Requirements: OPD shall prohibit retaliation against any member or employee of the Department who: 1. Reports misconduct by any other member or employee, or 2. Serves as a witness in any proceeding against a member or employee. The policy prohibiting retaliation shall acknowledge that retaliation may be informal and subtle, as well as blatant, and shall define retaliation as a violation for which dismissal is the presumptive disciplinary penalty. Supervisors, commanders and managers shall be held accountable for the conduct of their subordinates in this regard. If supervisors, commanders or managers of persons engaging in retaliation knew or reasonably should have known that the behavior was occurring, they shall be subject to the investigative, and if appropriate, the disciplinary process. (Negotiated Settlement Agreement VI. E.) Discussion: We have found OPD in continued Phase 1 compliance with this Task. OPD published Special Order 8092 on November 23, 2003, which incorporated the requirements of Task 37. This policy consists of two Manual of Rules (MOR) Sections: 398.73, Retaliation Against Witnesses; and 398.74, Retaliation Against Witnesses, Accountability. These MOR provisions (revised in lieu of a City policy on retaliation) incorporate the requirements of Task 37. OPD has trained at least 95% of relevant personnel on these policies. Following our review of retaliation cases in the fourteenth reporting period, we found OPD not in Phase 2 compliance with Task 37. In that report, we cited a case we regarded as involving serious retaliation after an officer provided information about another officer’s beating of a handcuffed prisoner. We noted that the Department did not do enough to identify the perpetrator or protect the reporting officer when the retaliation came to light. During the current reporting period, the Chief personally provided training regarding retaliation to seven Continuing Professional Training (CPT) courses for both officers and sergeants. During the period from October 1, through December 31, 2014, he spoke to a total of 56 officers who attended CPT. Task 37.1 requires that officers be held accountable for retaliating against employees or members who report misconduct or serve as witnesses in proceedings against other members/employees (compliance standard: 95%); and Task 37.2 requires that supervisors, commanders, and managers be held accountable if they knew or reasonably should have known that persons under their supervision engaged in retaliation (compliance standard: 95%). During the first three quarters of 2014, we found only one completed case in which an employee of OPD alleged retaliation by another employee of OPD. We reviewed the IAD investigation in that case and determined that the OPD investigation was thorough, and the unfounded finding for the allegation of retaliation reasonable. During the current reporting period, we found one