City Government

OP-ED: Why a Public Safety Oversight Commission Saves Dollars and Makes Sense

Published

11 years ago

November 1, 2014

The existing Citizens Police Review Board and Community Policing Advisory Board are under the authority of the City Administrator.

This past June the Coalition for Police Accountability, of which I am a member, proposed a ballot measure to amend the city charter to create a Public Safety Oversight Commission (PSOC) that would be totally independent of the Oakland Police Department (OPD). This initiative was supported by City Council Public Safety Committee Chair Noel Gallo who explained that while he personally didn’t see the need for it, he respected the requests of many of his constituents to put this on the ballot.

This past week our coalition met with Council Member Gallo and his Public Safety subcommittee. He reaffirmed his support for putting a measure on the ballot.

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Len Raphael

There are many good reasons to support our modest ballot proposal or a similar one that could be crafted by bringing together even more participants including OPD and the Oakland Police Officers Association (OPOA).

Currently these two existing boards -the Citizens Police Review Board and Community Policing Advisory Board – duplicate much of the civilian complaint investigations done by sworn officers within OPD’s Internal Affairs Department.

The PSOC would consolidate the staff of these boards so there would not be any additional costs.

Using only civilians for the proposed Oversight Commission to perform the investigations would cost about 50 percent less than sworn officers employed by Internal Affairs. That in turn would free up experienced sworn officers for street duty and could eliminate the need for additional expensive academies.

The commission would serve proactively as a early warning system to identify problem officers before their behavior leads to costly lawsuits.

To me as a volunteer Oakland fiscal watchdog for years,there is sufficient reason to get this on the ballot and approve this City Charter amendment is to start the work to gain the “hearts and minds” of many residents who won’t cooperate with OPD because they don’t trust them to police them fairly, let alone to protect them if they do cooperate.

Oakland can’t afford to hire enough police to occupy all of Oakland. Costly surveillance equipment will not compensate for the lack of cooperation from residents. The police department has to earn the trust of residents.

A Public Safety Oversight Commission would be an important step in achieving that trust by using only civilian investigators and having the power to discipline problem officers.

Let’s not study this to death.

Oakland Post

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Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

7 hours ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.