City Government

Judge Backs Placing Civilian Complaint Intake in Police Department

Published

12 years ago

September 13, 2013

Federal Judge Thelton Henderson and federal Compliance Director Thomas Frazier surprised police accountability activists this week when they announced they have decided to place civilian complaint intake technicians within the Internal Affairs Division of the Oakland Police Department.

Their decision effectively overrules the Oakland City Council, which had voted to allocate funds in the budget to hire intake technicians within the Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB).

Frazier said that he had met with Henderson this week and that they had decided that the intake unit should be part of the Oakland Police Department, according to an email Frazier send Wednesday to Rashidah Grinage, executive director of PUEBLO, who has been one of those spearheading recent police accountability efforts.

Rashidah Grinage, Executive Director of PUEBLO speaking to the Finance and Management committee of Oakland City Counci

Rashidah Grinage, Executive Director of PUEBLO addressing the Finance and Management committee of the Oakland City Council on Tuesday.

Frazier had previously sent an email to Grinage saying he wanted the civilian intake technicians to be trained within the police department but that he did not object to having the technicians housed at CRBP, which means they would be under civilian supervision.

Henderson’s office said the judge did not take calls from the media. At press time, Compliance Director Frazier had not returned a request for an interview from the Post.

Grinage said she understands why Compliance Director Frazier might want to place all intake of complaints against police within the OPD., though she does not agree with him.

“My guess is the compliance director’s primary goal is to bring the police into compliance with the Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA),” which commits the city to police reform and assigns the federal court to oversee the agreement.

“He probably doesn’t think this is worth making the police angry,” said Grinage. “If I were in his place, I might have the same point of view.

However, Grinage said, “I am in the process of writing a letter to the judge because he did not have a full picture or the full context for this, when he made his decision.

“He’s entitled to know how the community views this. We don’t believe he received that perspective from Tom Frazier, ” she said, adding that she hopes City Council members will also write letters as will members of the Citizens Police Review Board.

“We can give this our best shot to try to convince Judge Henderson that this is misguided and it is not going to advance the objectives of the NSA, which is to advance police community relations and is going to set that back substantially.

Given all the backroom maneuvering over this issue with the City Administration and the Oakland Police Officer Association, she said, “We believe it’s time to go to the ballot. The final decision should be in the hands of the voters.

“We will be working with others on crafting the entire overall of civilian oversight functioning in Oakland, to create a much more vigorous and complete civilian oversight agency, similar to what exists in San Francisco and other major cities.”

Such a reorganization would redirect the authority to discipline officers from the city administrator to a police commission, she said.

In response to questions from the Post, Mayor Jean Quan said she supported placing all complaint intake workers at the CPRB, though she said the city’s options are limited by federal oversight.

“Since I was on the City Council, I’ve worked toward an independent, civilian model for taking in complaints about police officers,” said Quan. “This will free up sworn officers to go out on patrol where we need them the most, and help make residents feel more comfortable filing their complaints.

“Right now we are working with Compliance Director Tom Frazier on how the process of these changes will work.”

Civil Rights Attorney John Burris said his work for the past 10 years with the NSA has not involved the intake of complaints.

However, he said, “It’s always been important for the citizens and those that come in contact with the police to have an individual group to conduct an investigation.”

“If you want independence, it should be outside (the police department),” Burris said.

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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

Published

2 hours ago

May 25, 2025

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IN MEMORIAM: Nate Holden, State Senator and Longtime Los Angeles Councilmember, Dies at 95

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.” Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Published

6 days ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Former Los Angeles Councilmember and California State Sen. Nate Holden. File photo.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Former Los Angeles City Councilmember Nathaniel “Nate” Holden, a prominent figure in the city’s politics, passed away at the age of 95, his family confirmed on May 7.

Holden, who represented South Los Angeles for 16 years on the City Council and served one term in the California State Senate, was widely regarded as a forceful advocate for his community.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.”

Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Holden’s journey to political prominence began in the segregated South, where he was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1929. He often recalled the childhood moment when he first heard the governor of Georgia vowing to continue suppressing Black people.

“Doing the best you can for the people. Law and order. Make sure that people’s communities are safe. I did it all,” said Holden, reflecting on his legacy.

Holden is survived by his sons, including former California Assemblymember Chris Holden, who represented a district in Southern California that includes Pasadena and Altadena in Los Angeles County and cities in San Bernardino County.

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Oakland Hosts Town Hall Addressing Lead Hazards in City Housing

According to the city, there are 22,000 households in need of services for lead issues, most in predominantly low-income or Black and Latino neighborhoods, but only 550 to 600 homes are addressed every year. The city is hoping to use part of the multimillion-dollar settlement to increase the number of households served each year.

Published

7 days ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Magaly Muñoz

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department hosted a town hall in the Fruitvale to discuss the efforts being undertaken to remove lead primarily found in housing in East and West Oakland.

In 2021, the city was awarded $14 million out of a $24 million legal settlement from a lawsuit against paint distributors for selling lead-based paint that has affected hundreds of families in Oakland and Alameda County. The funding is intended to be used for lead poisoning reduction and prevention services in paint only, not water or other sources as has been found recently in schools across the city.

The settlement can be used for developing or enhancing programs that abate lead-based paint, providing services to individuals, particularly exposed children, educating the public about hazards caused by lead paint, and covering attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing litigation.

Most of the homes affected were built prior to 1978, and 12,000 of these homes are considered to be at high risk for lead poisoning.

City councilmember Noel Gallo, who represents a few of the lead-affected Census tracts, said the majority of the poisoned kids and families are coming directly from neighborhoods like the Fruitvale.

“When you look at the [kids being admitted] at the children’s hospital, they’re coming from this community,” Gallo said at the town hall.

In order to eventually rid the highest impacted homes of lead poisoning, the city intends to create programs and activities such as lead-based paint inspections and assessments, full abatement designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint, or partial abatement for repairs, painting, and specialized cleaning meant for temporary reduction of hazards.

In feedback for what the city could implement in their programming, residents in attendance of the event said they want more accessibility to resources, like blood testing, and information from officials about lead poisoning symptoms, hotlines for assistance, and updates on the reduction of lead in their communities.

Attendees also asked how they’d know where they are on the prioritization list and what would be done to address lead in the water found at several school sites in Oakland last year.

City staff said there will be a follow-up event to gather more community input for programming in August, with finalizations happening in the fall and a pilot launch in early 2026.