19th-quarterly-report.pdf

Nineteenth Quarterly Report of the Independent Monitor for the Oakland Police Department October 30, 2014 Page 44 Discussion: OPD published Departmental General Order K-4.1, Force Review Boards (February 17, 2006), which incorporates the requirements of Task 30. OPD revised DGO K-4.1 on August 1, 2007. The policy also incorporates the requirements of Task 30. As the Department has trained at least 95% of relevant personnel on these policies, we find OPD in continued Phase 1 compliance with this Task. During the last two reporting periods, we found OPD in partial Phase 2 compliance with this Task. Prior to that time, OPD was either in compliance or in partial compliance with Task 30. To assess the Department’s compliance with this Task, we reviewed EFRB documentation and observed the one EFRB held during our May 2014 site visit. (This proceeding, summarized below, was a follow-up to a previously held EFRB). Task 30.1 requires that OPD convene an EFRB within 45 days of the completion of the use of force (UOF) report by IAD (compliance standard: 95%). The EFRB reviewed one incident involving an in-custody death during this reporting period. We observed the EFRB. In this incident, officers responded to a report from a woman who locked herself in her bedroom because she heard her brother screaming, and an additional person threatening to kill her brother and walking around the house. When the officers arrived, they noted that the suspect was likely under the influence of drugs. The subject struggled with the officers, and as they handcuffed him on the ground, he complained that he could not breathe. An officer ordered an ambulance, and during the wait for EMS, the suspect became unresponsive. Medical personnel arrived, and while they attended to the subject, he stopped breathing. He later died, and OPD initiated an in- custody death investigation. The Alameda County District Attorney found no criminality by the involved officers. The subject was found to have died by the Alameda County Coroner’s Office due to “multiple drug intoxication associated with physical exertion.” The officer’s actions were found in compliance with OPD policy. We verified that the EFRB fell within 45 days of the completion of the use of force reports covering the incident. OPD is in compliance with this subtask. Task 30.2 requires that the EFRB has access to recordings and/or transcripts of interviews of all personnel on scene, including civilian witnesses, and is empowered to call in any OPD personnel it believes should testify (compliance standard: Yes/No). In the documentation we reviewed, recorded statements and/or transcripts were available from all officers on the scene and other personnel needed to testify. OPD is in compliance with this subtask. Task 30.3 requires that OPD complies with the policies and procedures set forth in DGO K-4.1, Force Review Boards (compliance standard: Yes/No). This policy outlines several requirements, including who comprises the board, the material to be made available for the