seventeenth-quarterly-report.pdf

Seventeenth Quarterly Report of the Independent Monitor for the Oakland Police Department April 28, 2014 Page 24 Task 6: Refusal to Accept or Refer Citizen Complaints Requirements: Refusal to accept a citizen complaint, failure to refer a citizen to IAD (when that citizen can be reasonably understood to want to make a citizen’s complaint), discouraging a person from filing a complaint, and/or knowingly providing false, inaccurate or incomplete information about IAD shall be grounds for discipline for any OPD member or employee. (Negotiated Settlement Agreement III. F.) Background: During the previous reporting period, we found the Department in Phase 2 compliance with Task 6. Discussion: As previously reported, OPD published Departmental General Order M-03, Complaints Against Department Personnel and Procedures, which incorporates the requirements of Task 6, on December 6, 2005. General Order M-03 was revised in February 2008, and again in June 2013. The revised policy also incorporates the requirements of Task 6. The requirements of this Task are also incorporated into Manual of Rules Sections 314.07, 398.70, and 398.76. As the Department has trained at least 95% of relevant personnel on this policy, we find OPD in continued Phase 1 compliance with this Task. Task 6 requires that OPD members and employees who refuse to accept a citizen complaint, fail to refer a citizen to IAD (when the citizen can be reasonably understood to want to make a citizen’s complaint), discourage a person from filing a complaint, and/or knowingly provide false, inaccurate, or incomplete information to IAD, are disciplined (compliance standard: 95%). To assess Phase 2 compliance with this Task, we reviewed a random sample of 92 Daily Incident Log entries from October 1, through December 31, 2013; and a random sample of 25 IAD investigations (conducted by both IAD and via Division-level investigation) that were closed during the same period. We found no cases in which an allegation of Failure to Accept or Refer a Complaint went unaddressed. We also queried the IAD database to identify any allegations of MOR 398.70-1, Interfering with Investigations; MOR 398.76-1, Refusal to Accept or Refer a Complaint; and MOR 398.76-2, Failure to Accept or Refer a Complaint; that were investigated and approved during this same time period. We identified two such cases. However, none of these cases resulted in sustained findings for one or more of the applicable MOR violations. In one case, a complainant alleged that an officer used excessive force during the arrest of her sister six months prior. She also claimed that she reported the force to other officers four months after it occurred. The complainant and her sister are apparently well known to OPD, and they are often subjected to involuntary psychiatric holds based on their behavior. The initial and Case3:00-cv-04599-TEH Document979 Filed04/28/14 Page25 of 88