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 65 OPD is in compliance with Task 29. 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.) 7. Firearms Discharge Board of Review (Task 30; S.A. V.G.) a. Settlement Agreement Requirements • By July 20, 2004, OPD must develop and implement a policy requiring that it convene a Firearms Discharge Board of Review for every officer-involved firearms discharge. The Settlement Agreement sets forth criteria that must be included in this policy. b. Status of Compliance and Assessment The compliance deadline for this task occurred in July 2004. During the eighth reporting period, OPD completed General Order K-4.1, Force Review Boards. This policy incorporates the Settlement Agreement’s requirements for this task. The IMT has verified that OPD has trained over 95% of relevant personnel on this policy. OPD’s commitment to this project enabled it to complete both the policy and training by the court-ordered deadlines. During the tenth reporting period, OPD revised General Order K-4.1 to reflect stipulations it reached with the Plaintiffs’ Attorneys modifying several of the NSA’s use of force provisions. As with the other use of policies modified during this reporting period, the IMT worked closely with OPD and the Plaintiffs’ Attorneys to ensure the language and intent of the NSA was reflected in the revisions. Also during the tenth reporting period, one of the three compliance standards for this task was modified to include a more subjective pass/fail assessment. Even before the new policy was published, the Board began using many of the standards and guidelines set forth in General Order K-4.1, Force Review Boards, to shape deliberations. OPD reviews under the new policy have resulted in more focused and complete incident assessments. We completed a compliance assessment of Task 30 during the twelfth reporting period. A full discussion of our findings is included in our twelfth status report. We found that OPD was not yet in compliance with Task 30 due to a lack of timeliness in convening Executive Force Review Boards and a failure to make disciplinary recommendations for serious policy, training, or tactical violations associated with officer-involved shootings. Our audit report included a series of recommendations to strengthen OPD’s review of officer-involved. A full discussion of our audit findings and recommendations is included in our twelfth status report. During the current reporting period, we continued to attend OPD’s Executive Force Review Boards convened to evaluate officer-involved shootings, in-custody deaths, and other