A federal judge today will hear from Oakland city officials and civil rights lawyers about the possibility of ending more than 20 years of federal oversight of the Oakland Police Department.
U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick will hear from both sides about the state of compliance by the OPD with federally-mandated reforms.
The Oaklandside reports that attorneys for the City of Oakland wrote a court brief last week, hailing the OPD as “a model of constitutional policing.” They added that the OPD is prepared to continue making reforms “absent further court oversight.”
Orrick will also hear from two of the leading local civil rights attorneys, John Burris and Jim Chanin. The two sued OPD a quarter-century ago in the wake of the infamous “Riders” corruption scandal.
That scandal exposed police misconduct of at least four officers, who were allegedly involved in kidnapping, planting evidence and beating civilians.
As a result of the litigation, the City of Oakland paid a settlement of 11-million dollars to more than 100 plaintiffs. The OPD has been under federal oversight to complete internal reforms ever since, but has failed to complete them.
The OPD has had six police chiefs in five years, two of them were fired. The last permanent chief, Floyd Mitchell, resigned last fall after less than a year-and-a-half on the job.
