ninth-report.pdf

Independent Monitoring Team Ninth Status Report of the Independent Monitor Delphine Allen, et al., v. City of Oakland, et al. May 13, 2006, to November 30, 2006 Page 51 deadlines. General Order K-3, Use of Force, and General Order K-4, Reporting and Investigating the Use of Force, incorporate the Settlement Agreement’s requirements for this task. During this reporting period OPD completed and the IMT approved the following critical subsidiary use of force policies: General Order C-4, Safety Equipment; General Order K-9, Department Canine Program; Training Bulletin III-B.4, Handcuffing Techniques; Training Bulletin V-G, Use of Police Canines; Training Bulletin III-H.1, Use of Taser; Training Bulletin III-H.2, Use of Handheld Impact Weapons; Training Bulletin V-F.2, Use of Chemical Agents; Training Bulletin III-X, Deadly Force and Vehicles; and Training Bulletin III-N, Recognizing and Handling Mentally Disturbed People. The Court ordered completion of the majority of the subsidiary policies by August 1, 2006, and the remaining policies by October 1, 2006, with training on all policies to be completed no later than December 30, 2006. OPD met the policy publication deadlines and has reported that it already has met or is on target to meet the training deadlines established by the Court. The IMT will verify OPD’s training figures and report on them in our next status report. The new use of force reporting policies represent a significant enhancement over prior policy which did not require officers to report all uses of force. Consistent with contemporary law enforcement practices, the new policies require OPD officers to report whenever they point their firearms at an individual or use force of any type. The new policies also require officers to summon their supervisors to the scene whenever force is used or there is an allegation that force was used. During the upcoming reporting periods, the IMT will determine whether OPD’s actual practices comply with this Settlement Agreement provision. 2. Use of Force Investigations and Report Responsibility (Task 25; S.A. V.B.) a. Settlement Agreement Requirements • By July 20, 2004, OPD must develop and implement a policy for conducting use of force investigations. b. Status of Compliance and Assessment The compliance deadline for this task occurred in July 2004. During the last reporting period, OPD completed its primary use of force policies, and trained over 95% of relevant personnel on these policies. OPD committed substantial time and energy to this project and was able to complete both the policies and training by the court-ordered deadlines. General Order K-4, Reporting and Investigating the Use of Force and General Order K-4.1, Force Review Boards incorporate the Settlement Agreement’s requirements for this task. OPD had previously published a compliant policy, Special Order 8066, Use of Force Reports-Witness Identification, relating to one discrete component of this task. OPD has incorporated the provisions of this Special Order into the new use of force policies.