City Government

Opinion: City Attorney Attempts to Block Police Commission

Published

6 years ago

May 2, 2019

Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker made a last-minute change to the City Council agenda before Tuesday’s Council meeting, altering the title of—and adding content to—a proposed resolution giving the Oakland Police Commission authority to hire and supervise its Inspector General.

The change to the title of the agenda item and addition of an alternate resolution was made by the City Attorney’s office late Thursday, April 25, after the regular Rules Committee meeting for the day was canceled due to lack of quorum, and without contacting the Rules Committee Chair.

After the change, the title of the item on the agenda reflected the City Attorney’s proposed legislation in the agenda package, a resolution that bolstered the City Administrator’s authority to control Inspector General position.

The changes seem to have been rushed Thursday evening to fit within the required 72-hour framework according to the date stamps on the document.

The City Attorney’s document package was posted to the City Clerk at 5:41 p.m. on Thursday. The City Attorney’s ‘independent’ legal opinion memo from Remcho, Johansen and Purcell is dated the same day, April 25.

Before the April 25 change, the title of Kaplan’s item read:

“Adopt a Resolution Directing The City Administrator To Proceed with The Job Description For The Position of Inspector General, As Approved By The Police Commission.”

But the version of the item title that appeared on the City Council agenda for April 30 was effectively for the opposite intent:

“Adopt A Resolution Requesting That The City Administrator Expedite The Process To Obtain Civil Service Board Approval Of And Post The Job Description For The Position Of Inspector General To Support The Police Commission And Bring A Report To The Council Regarding The Anticipated Time Frame”.

Jaime Omar Yassin

Posts by Jaime Omar Yassin

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

2 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

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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

1 week 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.