By Guy Ashley, Contra Costa Times (California)
OAKLAND, Calif. - Progress by the city’s police department to adopt reforms outlined in a $10.9 million settlement agreement stemming from the “Riders” police corruption case has slowed in key areas and halted altogether in others, according to a new report.
Findings in the report, completed by an outside monitor hired by the city to oversee the reforms, prompted lawyers for the plaintiffs in the Riders civil case to say they will go back to federal court to see that stricter compliance with the settlement agreement signed nearly two years ago is demanded.
“Two years down the road, we essentially have an agreement that is in default,” said Oakland attorney John Burris, who represented some of the 119 plaintiffs in the civil case.
Burris said he is most disturbed by findings of resistance ingrained in the police department toward many of the 44 changes outlined in the settlement.
“The monitoring team found there were efforts on the part of many officers and command staff to defy the enforcement of the agreement by ridiculing, ignoring or being contemptuous of its provisions,” he said.
Such defiance was not apparent Monday, as city officials and department brass accepted the criticisms outlined in the monitor’s report and pledged a new regime of compliance they hoped would eliminate the need for further court action.
Mayor Jerry Brown said there was “no excuse” for the many missed deadlines cited in the report for adopting reforms, adding that he has ordered the department to attain compliance with 20 key settlement provisions by Jan. 15. Deputy Chief Peter Dunbar said three supervisors have been reassigned to focus on meeting the deadline set by Brown.
“We should have come further than we have,” said Dunbar, one of three commanders running the police department following Chief Richard Word’s departure last month.
“I would hope we don’t have to go back to court ... there’s no greater pressure than being told to do something by your boss and having it made perfectly clear that you are going to be held accountable,” Dunbar added.
The settlement in question, announced in early 2003, aimed to resolve lawsuits asserting that four officers known as the Riders committed civil rights violations by planting evidence, using excessive force, falsifying police reports and assaulting suspects in parts of west Oakland.
The incidents were alleged to have occurred from 1996 until July 2000, when two rookie officers stepped forward to report the misconduct.
The Oakland Police Department fired the four officers, who were later the subject of criminal charges. Three of the officers are currently being retried in Alameda County Superior Court after a mistrial in the case last year. The fourth suspect is believed to have fled the country.