December 2012
Federal judge takes control of Oakland police reform efforts
The judge will appoint a full-time 'compliance director' with sweeping powers to implement the reforms mandated in 2003 but in some cases still unachieved.
A federal judge has placed Oakland Police Department reform efforts under his direct control, citing nearly a decade of inadequate attempts to comply with a legal settlement in a case that unmasked systemic police brutality and racial profiling.
U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson on Wednesday signed off on an 11th-hour agreement reached last week between the city and plaintiffs' attorneys under which he will appoint a full-time "compliance director" with sweeping powers to dictate changes related to the case.
That director will have the ability to order expenditures of up to $250,000 without city approval, revamp police policies pertaining to required reforms, demote personnel or order other staffing changes. With Henderson's approval, the director would even be able to fire Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan if progress to revamp the department stalls.
In his order, Henderson said he was "hopeful that the appointment of an independent compliance director …will succeed — where city and OPD leaders have failed" in helping the department achieve compliance and "become more reflective of contemporary standards for professional policing."
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/14/local/la-me-oakland-police-20121214
