seventeenth-quarterly-report.pdf

Seventeenth Quarterly Report of the Independent Monitor for the Oakland Police Department April 28, 2014 Page 43 During this reporting period, we reviewed five Level 4 use of force incidents that involved the unjustified pointing of firearms. These five reports did not comport with NSA-required elements; each of the incidents involved an unnecessary escalation to potentially using lethal force in situations where other less lethal force options were available to the officers or should have been considered. The remainder of the cases, however, contained information showing that the force was used for a legitimate law enforcement purpose, was reasonable to the resistance encountered, and was de- escalated when resistance decrease or stopped; and that verbal means were used to attempt to resolve the situation without force. OPD’s compliance rate for this subtask is 94%. OPD is in compliance with Task 25.4. Task 25.5 speaks to the review process, which includes chain of command review, making assessments as required by the NSA and policy, and ensuring that any violation of policy results in the incident being referred to Internal Affairs to conduct additional investigations or analysis (compliance standard: 95%). During this reporting period, we found that the supervisors included the required details, and the chain of command conducted critical reviews. In all of the Level 2, 3, and 4 reports – with the exception of the five Level 4 cases involving the unjustified pointing of firearms– the chain of command reviewed and commented on the quality of the investigations, any corrective action that was identified, and the appropriate documentation required for Supervisory Notes Files. We also noted during this reporting period, especially in the unjustified cases of officers pointing their firearms, officers citing their “training and experience” and the location (high-crime area) of the event as justification for their initial encounter with citizens. The officers did not, however, document the additional and/or specific circumstances present justifying the particular stop. Of course, all citizens who live in high-crime areas are not all involved in criminal activity – and that should not be assumed from the outset. There has been an increase of these types of justifications for lethal encounters; we will address this with the OPD command staff and training personnel during our next site visit in an effort to ensure continued compliance with this requirement. OPD’s compliance rate for this subtask is 95%. OPD is in compliance with Task 25.5. Task 25.6 addresses the need to keep officers involved in use of force incidents resulting in serious injury or death, or involved in a shooting, be separated from each other at the scene, and kept apart until they have been interviewed and completed their reports (compliance standard: 95%). We found the applicable Level 2 reports in compliance with this requirement. OPD is in compliance with Task 25.6. OPD is in Phase 2 compliance with Task 25. Case3:00-cv-04599-TEH Document979 Filed04/28/14 Page44 of 88