fourteenth-report.pdf

Independent Monitoring Team Fourteenth Status Report of the Independent Monitor Delphine Allen, et al., v. City of Oakland, et al. July 31, 2009 to January 13, 2010 Page 37 14. Investigation of Allegations of Manual of Rules Violations Resulting from Lawsuits and Legal Claims (Task 14; S.A. III.M.) a. Settlement Agreement Requirements • By June 15, 2004, OPD must develop and, by October 1, 2004, implement, a policy requiring that it investigate allegations of Manual of Rules violations resulting from certain lawsuits and legal claims, treating them in the same manner as other citizens’ complaints. The Settlement Agreement sets forth certain criteria that must be included in this policy. b. Status of Compliance and Assessment The implementation deadline for this task occurred in October 2004. During the seventh and eighth reporting periods, OPD completed General Order M-3, Complaints Against Departmental Personnel or Procedures, and trained its personnel on the policy. This policy incorporates the requirements of this task. During the tenth reporting period, OPD proposed a series of changes to General Order M-3 and to its Internal Investigations and Internal Affairs policies and procedures manuals. As discussed above, during the eleventh reporting period, the IMT worked closely with the Department to revise these policies. During the seventh reporting period, the IMT conducted an audit of OPD’s compliance with Task 14 in actual practice and found that OPD is in actual practice compliance with this task. OPD now routinely investigates misconduct allegations contained in lawsuits and legal claims. We also found that OPD was not delaying these investigations because they involved matters in litigation. A complete discussion of our audit findings is included in our seventh status report. During the tenth reporting period, all of the compliance standards for this task were lowered from 95% to 90%. OPD continues to investigate misconduct allegations that are made in lawsuits and legal claims. As discussed in our last status report, OPD’s search warrant investigation arose in the context of OPD’s investigation of misconduct alleged in a routine legal claim. Prior to the NSA, OPD rarely investigated allegations that were made in legal claims or lawsuits, leaving them to be addressed, if at all, solely through the claims and/or litigation process. OPD’s investigation of officers’ alleged misconduct that was initially revealed in a single legal claim underscores the importance of this Settlement Agreement provision. OPD is in compliance with Task 14. This task will not be actively monitored under the MOU. If the Monitor observes material non-compliance with this task, the Monitor may conduct reviews as necessary to determine whether the City has fallen out of substantial compliance and the extent and nature of the alleged deficiency. (MOU, paragraph 11.)