City Government

Lack of Progress on Police Reforms is Disappointing, Says Federal Monitor

Published

11 years ago

January 24, 2014

The Oakland Police Department is slipping in its efforts to make substantive progress on court-ordered reforms, 11 years after the City of Oakland agreed to accept federal oversight of OPD to settle a lawsuit against widespread police abuse, according to a new report produced by the city’s court-appointed monitor.

Of the court-required reforms, OPD is in compliance with 32 and has yet to fully comply with 22, said Independent Monitor Robert Warshaw in a quarterly report released Tuesday.

“The decline in compliance is a disappointment, although we noted improvement in our previous report, we find there should be more positive movement,” he wrote.

“Some (tasks) appear to be moving forward – as a result of focused and organized efforts to solve the problems that have been obstacles to progress,” he wrote.

“In other areas, however, the attention has been less systematic; and there are concerns that remain.”

However, Warshaw praised the hard work of Mayor Jean Quan and Interim Police Chief Sean Whent.

“Mayor Quan has been actively engaged in the efforts to bring about reform in the agency – and both she and Interim Chief Whent have been at the forefront of the city’s efforts,” he said

Among the issues raised by Warshaw in his report were the failure of officers in some cases to use their personal lapel video and the inconsistent results of the department’s Force Review Board.

While the police department has been adopting the court-required lapel cameras, in several use of force cases “revealed several serious incidents” where officers “did not have or activate” a video camera, Warshaw said.

In another case, he said that the Force Review Board, a panel of three senior police commanders who review allegations against officers, came to a different conclusion than the department’s Internal Affairs Division during an investigation of an incident in which an officer used a Taser on a person in handcuffs.

Investigators at Internal Affairs found that the officer had properly used his Taser on the suspect, but the Force Review Board found that the officer was “unreasonable and out of compliance with policy,” Warshaw wrote.

“These two very opposite findings in this process are troubling,” because Internal Affairs is responsible for investigating and assessing violations of OPD’s policies, Warshaw wrote

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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.