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 67 policies and training by the court-ordered deadlines. General Order K-4, Reporting and Investigating the Use of Force, incorporates some of the Settlement Agreement’s requirements for this task. As discussed above, OPD also trained relevant personnel on this policy. During the tenth reporting period, OPD revised General Order K-4 to reflect stipulations it reached with the Plaintiffs’ Attorneys modifying several of the NSA’s use of force provisions. 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, some of the compliance standards for this task were lowered from 95% to 90%. OPD addressed most of the other provisions in Internal Affairs Policy & Procedure 05- 04, Level 1 Force Investigations/In-Custody Death Investigations; Homicide Policy & Procedure 01, Lethal Force/In-Custody Death Investigations; and Lethal Force Investigations Information Bulletin. Additionally, both Internal Affairs and Homicide have created detailed investigative checklists used for conducting officer-involved shooting investigations. These policies were completed and approved during the ninth reporting period. The IMT has verified that OPD trained at least 95% of relevant personnel on Internal Affairs Policy & Procedure 05-04. The IMT has confirmed that the Department has trained at least 95% of relevant personnel on Homicide Policy & Procedure 01, Lethal Force/In-Custody Death Investigations; and the Lethal Force Investigations Information Bulletin. During the eighth reporting period, the IMT completed a comprehensive review of OPD’s officer-involved shooting (OIS) investigations. We conducted this review pursuant to Section XIII.H of the Settlement Agreement which requires us to assess the quality and timeliness of the investigation of use of force incidents and to review and evaluate the actions of the force review boards. We provided OPD with an 85-page report detailing our findings, including an analysis of each shooting, along with global observations and recommendations. During the course of our review, we shared with OPD a number of our observations and recommendations regarding the Department’s handling of officer-involved shootings. Our recommendations were based on our review of the files provided and on the IMT’s on-scene observation of several investigative scenes, subject and witness interviews, and Executive Force Review Board deliberations. The Department was extremely receptive to our investigative recommendations and implemented a number of these recommendations. A detailed summary of our review and findings is contained in our eighth status report. In addition to assessing the quality and timeliness of every officer-involved shooting investigation that had occurred since the inception of the NSA, our report offered a number of global observations and recommendations regarding officer tactics and other risk management issues. Many of our observations and recommendations arose in the context of shootings that may have been avoidable had proper tactics and/or alternative measures been taken. During the ninth reporting period, OPD attained policy compliance with the final outstanding provision of this task. OPD and the District Attorney’s Office reached an agreement requiring that, when appropriate, the District Attorney’s office or another appropriate outside agency will conduct the criminal investigation of officer-involved shootings in lieu of OPD.