Thread by @tasha_mente

Listening into Police Commission mtg 9/10/20. Manheimer is discussing officer's alleged lack of awareness of Boogaloo Boys. #oakmtg

She claims she had to Google the Boogaloo Boys after finding out they were linked to the murder of federal officer Underwood. I'm sorry, what planet does she live on? How was she so unaware of Charlottesville? #oakmtg

Manheimer says it's "disturbing" that OPD officers would be associated with such a group. They've adjusted their dress policy, apparently. #oakmtg

Onto reporting crime stats: this current 24 wks is the period of COVID-- "we are seeing an incredible spike in gun violence." She says she compares to either the previous period or the year before. #oakmtg

Manheimer is explaining that the increased gun violence is coming from the health and fiscal crisis. School and health challenges are creating additional family issues. She is now promoting OPD CARES again. #oakmtg

On overdue PRAs: they've had 2 lawsuits filed about PRAs, YTD there have been 3553 requests -- more than all of 2019. Senate Bill 1421 made more officer records subject to disclosure. There is also a mandate around audio and video recordings. #oakmtg

Manheimer says this "caught cities off guard" as lots of requests have come in from academics and the media but OPD's IT infrastructure is not set up to handle that many requests. #oakmtg

There are new large 1421 requests but also usual community member requests. She briefly acknowledges the need to redact personal information. For legal issues there is needed coordination with the courts. They will be adding 5 records specialists in the next few months. #oakmtg

Dorado says "I don't buy for a minute" that the officer did not understand the significance of that shirt. "I would ask you to go back and do another investigation of this officer specifically around any connection to right-wing or extremist groups." Eff yeah. #oakmtg

"Are you aware of the Dept of Homeland Security reports that discuss dangerous right-wing groups?" Dorado presses, "There are three of them. Are you aware of those reports?" Bless him. #oakmtg

Manheimer says she didn't know about this report and "wanted to make sure it wasn't just me" that didn't know about the Boogaloo boys. There has since been an executive-level briefing. "This has been a learning moment." #oakmtg

"It may well be that the Boogaloos claim the palm tree and other elements of a Hawaiian-style shirt but so do millions of Americans... it is sort of a double-edged sword. We don't want to appear dismissive of the real threat of the Boogaloo Boys." #oakmtg

Harris: "Words are everything, and people really listen when you speak." Protestors were initially accused of being part of Underwood's murder. There was no action taken to clear the protestors and explain the role the Boogaloo boys had and how to identify them. #oakmtg

"You know know what they wear... especially if they're coming to our town... There've been 4-6 shootings in Alameda. It's not just Oak, it's everywhere. There has not been a shooting rise where Ceasefire is coming to the rescue, this is a level playing field for E. Oak" #oakmtg

Manheimer says "we've seen a huge decrease in shootings in the last 5 years." There is a rise currently and it's in every major city. OPD CARES "has made incredible arrests." #oakmtg

Jackson: You're in the middle of performance appraisals and I'm concerned. A disproportionate number are given high praise and the bell curve at the bottom is non-existant.

She asks for a report by race and gender on these performance reports to assess training needs. #oakmtg

Juanito Rus makes a surprise appearance. Apparently still in the meeting following union negotiations following his position being cut. #oakmtg

This is how outdated our police policies are: #oakmtg

Holy shit. Manheimer just keeps scrolling: #oakmtg

It is clear that none of the OPD budget is spent on graphic design #oakmtg

https://twitter.com/jadafalls/status/1304249535351398400?s=20

Harris: I don't like Lexapol (I don't know what this is), how many people are you going to hire? You have 2 people on the policies now. #oakmtg

Manheimer: "Comm Harris, I was thinking of you every step of the way." I'm sure she haunts her dreams.

There are no plans to hire more policies so they are using a vendor (ok, this is Lexapol) because "you could not hire enough employees" #oakmtg

MH: Lexapol is generic bc they are used throughout the state of CA and are up to date on all state laws. They used to have a bad reputation. The problem was they were not state-specific so now they have state advisory boards. "I have beat up on our folks to find another vendor"

... Probably not the best choice of words, no?

Anyway, apparently Oakland used to use Lexapol, so the bad reputation probably proceeds them. #oakmtg

Gage asks why they think they are appropriate for this tasks. Seems like there's no one else to be able to do this for us. #oakmtg

Anderson's upset that only a for-profit company can do this work. Calls for a nonprofit to do this (not sure where this is going to be magicked together). Wants to have checks on the process with community. Where does this compare to other PD's with 431 outdated policies? #oakmtg

Manheimer says there aren't alternatives and would welcome an initiative. Most larger agencies have issues like this unless they have a huge staff they are trying to update while creating new policies. #oakmtg

Manheimer says she is "going to be very honest." It's unlikely that we'll be able to do customization of a lot of policies vs. the ability to update them. "If you really need each policy to be customized," we won't be able to sustain updating them all. #oakmtg

It will take about a year to complete this policy updating project #oakmtg

@jtu asks Manheimer through the chair about her plans to address white supremacy. "The Brown Act doesn't allow engagement with the public during comment." This breaks with previous precedent, I have definitely directly questioned Manheimer and she has answered me. #oakmtg

Cathy Leonard says she doesn't buy Manheimer's claims about OPD ignorance about the Hawaiian shirt incident. Great comment. #oakmtg

Commenter says Lexipol's exec board is all a bunch of white guys, ask why we are even considering them. #oakmtg

Hazzard: What policy did you put in place that the dept will not tolerate any white supremacist activity? Have you looked at ACLU and how they could help with the policies? He is not happy about Lexipol. Calls it a whitewash, bunch of crap. #oakmtg

Caller has been tracking this issue for 15 months. She bring ups policy 609: OPD has their own cellular site simulator to locate missing persons but has never been used for missing persons cases. How many cases has this been used on? #oakmtg

Rashidah Grinage asks about who owns the policies. @meganasteffen asks about stop data, lack of response to PRAs, PRAs put in because of lack of information/disorganization at OPD. #oakmtg

Saleem Bey calls bs on Manheimer and essentially says the OPD is made of white supremacists and she is part of it.

Terri McWilliams is a ceasefire coordinator & says they will be out in the community on Friday #oakmtg

Assata Olugbala -- Philando Castille accumulated fines and fees over the course of years before he was killed by the police. We need more up to date data. "I could care less if one police officer wears a Hawaiian shirt." #oakmtg

The Judge asks about the Hawaiian shirt incident. Requests that OPD re-investigate & look at the officer's social media accounts as well. "I find it difficult to believe" that 4-5 months after this incident that OPD is clueless. If they are, that suggests larger problems. #oakmtg

Manheimer: we are not advising people that wearing a Hawaiian shirt is related to gang affiliation. We are aware the community is sensitive to these shirts and letting officers know. "It's kind of like saying a red or blue shirt is worn by a gang member." #oakmtg

MH: We don't put our training manuals online. We have policies in place to not affiliate with extremist groups & conduct random searches for that. Not all policies are required to go through meet & confer, are reviewed by either pol comm or city attorney. #oakmtg

re: racial stop data, coincided with "intense period of demonstrations. We did not have the complete data but now we do." Manheimer claims it will be ready by Sept. 30th. #oakmtg

Harris: "Ignorance is not an excuse. I see civilians arrested that are told that all the time." #oakmtg

We're about to hear an update from Brandom and Rania from RAHEEM re: the use of force community survey. #oakmtg

Jesus, the technical difficulties. Here is the link for you all to follow along: medium.com/raheem-an-inde… #oakmtg

Here is the community police use of force survey, if you haven't taken it yet, it CLOSES TOMORROW. #oakland #oakmtg raheem.org/ca/oakland/use…

Some interesting graphs-- most complaints were about being racially profiled: #oakmtg

This is the breakdown of filed reports with Raheem: #oakmtg

There are two upcoming community events that will affect the use of force policy draft: #oakmtg

Harris brings up it is extremely important that Districts 6 and 7 have their voices counted as they are the most marginalized. She's glad about the canvassing. I'm still concerned about how underrepresented they are--they have a less than 10% turnout. #oakmtg

Rania Adwan is now speaking. Her voice is like slicing into an indulgent dessert. It is distracting from her content. I might have a slight crush without ever having seen her face? Maybe I should stop externally monologuing. #oakmtg

Anderson: A vote on the final draft policy will be at a special meeting on Sept 21 #oakmtg

I think Anderson also has a crush on Rania #oakmtg

Apparently only 2 of the canvassers can speak Spanish. That seems... like not a lot, given how many people only speak Spanish in Oakland. #oakmtg

Gene Hazzard gives the commission shit for dumping Ginale Harris again. Even though it wasn't up to them. Again, I get it. Bruce Schmiechen is annoyed the Medium post wasn't included in the agenda (we all are), wants to know about surveys of people at dia de los muertos #oakmtg

Anne Jenks: what document is being addressed with OPD on the 14th? When are we gonna see docs after the 21st? They haven't been shared publicly. #oakmtg

More transparency issues, team.

Assata Olugbala says that the distraction of the Hawaiian shirts is gentrification of the Black Lives Matter movement, away from the real issue of Black men dying. #oakmtg

The commissioners are talking about scheduling a retreat that seems to be a focused, working retreat. No white water rafting trips for them, I guess. #oakmtg

OMG please don't public comment on this item, please. #oakmtg

I'M DYING. 😂

Gene Hazzard: It's a tragedy if Commissioner Harris isn't invited to be a participant of that retreat! #oakmtg

Assata: you refuse to address how the selection panel chose the new commissioners starting Oct 16th. "Your credibility is zero." #oakmtg

Final application date for police chief closes tomorrow at COB. Jackson says they will not sacrifice quality over speed. They are expecting a couple dozen applications. If they don't feel like they have enough qualified candidates, the ad hoc will extend the deadline. #oakmtg

Rashidah Grinage asks if there is public participation or access for this process to be able to engage with them in a forum. #oakmtg

Jackson: we will review and discuss that at a meeting tomorrow night. #oakmtg

Hazzard: Is this large response a result of reducing qualifications for candidates? Also asks about explaining the PRAs and notifying individuals. Jackson says they were notified. #oakmtg

Assata says there's a rumor that someone has already been chosen and they are from within the police department. She doesn't want anyone from OPD to be the new chief because of corruption. #oakmtg

Cathy Leonard and Assata both say a civilian would be better than a previous police officer for chief. #oakmtg

It's hard to hear Alden as he gives his report on CPRA cases. I think he said their caseload has doubled from 40 to 80+ due to the protests. They also have 3 new hires. It sounded like they don't have the resources to look into all the cases? #oakmtg

CPRA is doing direct interviews, collaborative process with investigators. There are more sustained allegations in the report--many are serious. CPRA staff are excited about the extra support. #oakmtg

The audio is so rough. They put out an RFP about OBOA but I'm not sure for what. So far 4 bids are received. Does anyone know what this item is/could you understand Alden? #oakmtg

Here's some more detail about how CPRA is capturing more info and sustaining cases than IA:

https://twitter.com/hyphy_republic/status/1304282187424915457?s=20

https://twitter.com/hyphy_republic/status/1304280435887808512?s=20

Alden is speaking about tasers, and how that is used as a medium use of force when officers feel there is a threat of violence. They are also looking into how cops stop bikes. He thinks there should be more training. Alden also wants to discuss the use of K9s. #oakmtg

There are cases due in October. The protest cases is setting them back but when they are done he can hope to get the rest of the cases done sooner. #oakmtg

OPD has a matrix of search/seizure arrests that distinguishes between intentional vs. unintentional searches. #oakmtg

Assata says CPRA is a complete failure. In 9 pages of a report, there are only 7 sustained items. Excessive force is not being stopped under CPRA. #oakmtg

Hazzard: Wants to know how long officers with sustained findings have been on the force. Couldn't get his second question. Jackson says she's interested in the answer. #oakmtg

Hazzard asks a procedural question about how the Judge voted. Conor Kennedy says there isn't an issue. #oakmtg

Alden says he cannot answer Hazzard's question due to high level CA privacy laws. The level of info we provide per case is dramatically more than other agencies provide. #oakmtg

Noah Baustin asks about K9s. Alden says there's a question about having dogs bite people. This is a fraught issue, but it is lawful if someone is either brandishing a weapon or hiding from police. He thinks we should re-evaluate this as a city and use alerts instead. #oakmtg

Assata speaks to agenda setting item-- insists that the selection committee process is put on the agenda. Anne Jenks wants more transparency in policies. Grinage shares a feel-good story about juvenile diversion org NoAb, over 20 juveniles referred to them by OPD. #oakmtg

Gene Hazzard associates himself with Assata's recommendations. Wants to know why tenure is sensitive information. #oakmtg

@meganasteffen wants Cespedes from the dept of violence prevention on the agenda at some point. #oakmtg

Harris thanks the coalition on police accountability for providing documents that people have been asking for. She says everything is being reported out to multiple agencies. #oakmtg

Interesting she thanks the CPA given the beef she/APTP had with them when she was kicked off. Not sure if that was resolved? #oakmtg

Oh, no, she was thanking out of politeness. It's clear she's still upset with CPA. Says Jim Channin supplied CPA's recommendations and they are in the policy, which is public. #oakmtg

It has to do with disorganization of the policy process according to several in my network. The policy is being fed into specific stakeholder groups, but isn't really available to the public on a specific platform. If anyone has links to the contrary, I'd <3 to share #oakmtg

On that note, I need to sleep and will pick up any comments later. Cheers.

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