Free Consultation 1-800-499-9902

Blog

Oakland City Council Delays Renewing Contracts for Court-Appointed Police Monitor

Posted by Seth Chazin | Jan 28, 2017 | 0 Comments

Desley Brooks

Image source: Twitter

The Oakland City Council is being hesitant to extend court-appointed contracts with the Monitor and Compliance Director, who oversees Oakland's troubled police department.

A full year renewal amounts to $887,076 of taxpayer money for both renewals with Warshaw and Associates and Police Performance Solutions

Rather than approve a full year, the council chose to prolong the contracts by 60 days, instead. The monitor's work will be under review through a future public safety committee meeting before further prolonging the work contract. This substitute motion was passed unanimously by the council.

Questions over the monitor's role towards helping the department were raised by councilmember Desley Brooks, as she expressed her concerns.

"The reports that have been given lately are cut and paste" she exclaimed about the monthly updates penned by Police Performance Solution, as they were suppose to audit the fulfilment of the tasks performed by police department listed under the Negotiated Settlement Agreement...We aren't getting any analysis of whether or not the work that is required under the contract is actually being done," she further added. "We're just being asked to re-authorize and re-authorize these contracts." Brooks said that a detailed audit at the public safety committee,which she chairs, is mandatory.

Both Warshaw and Associates and Police Performance Solutions are operated and owned by Robert Warshaw, a retired police chief.

Regardless of paying around $1 million to the monitor last year to oversee Oakland's Police Department, the council was unaware of the recent police scandals such as the alleged drunken home invasion by cop and his sergeant, and the scandalous incident where Cops Sexually Exploited and Trafficked a Teenager. Brooks speculated as to why the monitors weren't aware of these incidents earlier.

See Also: Another Oakland Police officer charged with Obstruction and Prostitution

The city hired a new police chief recently, Anne Kirkpatrick, who lately worked on the reform program of Chicago's Police Department. And Oakland is aiming to create a police commission that will overhaul OPD in terms of disciplinary and investigative matters. However, it is uncertain as to whether OPD will truly complete its court-ordered reform program.

If you need a defense attorney in Oakland or the San Francisco Bay Area, especially if dealing with wrongful arrests, contact our office at 1-800-242-1514 or contact us online. Our consultations are always free and entirely confidential.

About the Author

Seth Chazin

Seth P. Chazin has aggressively defended clients in thousands of felony and misdemeanor cases for over 30 years. He has extensive experience representing criminal defendants in federal and state court, while handling both state and federal appeals as well.

Comments

There are no comments for this post. Be the first and Add your Comment below.

Leave a Comment

ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY

“The death penalty is a lie, a misguided mistake born of anger and frustration. Capital punishment has become a perverse monument to inequality, to how some lives matter and others do not. It is a violent example of how we protect and value the rich and abandon and devalue the poor. The death penalty is a grim, disturbing shadow formed by the legacy of racial apartheid and bias against the poor that condemns the disfavored among us, but corrupts us all. It’s the perverse symbol elected officials use to strengthen their ‘tough on crime’ reputations and distract us from confronting the causes of violence. It is finally the enemy of grace, redemption and all of us who recognize that each person is more than their worse act.”
- Bryan Stevenson

Menu