Events that Led to DOJ Oversight in the Form of a Consent Agreement

Introduction

Four police officers from the Oakland Police Department (OPD) were accused planted false evidence and made false arrests (Cruz-Rosas, 2011). The two are unlawful according to the provision for police misconduct ("Addressing Police Misconduct," 2015). The officers were known as "riders." A young officer, Keith Batt, who was under the tutelage of the "riders" gave a statement confessing these accusations. He stated that he initially had great admiration for the team, but all changed when he began working with them.

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Batt alleged that while he worked with the "riders," he saw them on several occasions plant false evidence on their victims (Cruz-Rosas, 2011). These evidence were drugs which they planted on these victims after which they then detained them. Batt also stated that the "riders" recorded false police reports. Furthermore, the "riders" were also accused of beating up suspects and making unjustified arrests. Batt made the report to the internal affairs department of the OPD; after which he resigned.

The accusations prompted a criminal investigation against the "riders." The group constituted Clarence Mabanag, Frank Vazquez, Matthew Hornung, and Jude Siapno. The four were arrested and fired in November 2000 (Cruz-Rosas, 2011). However, Frank Vazquez escaped as he fled to Mexico (his home country) some days before the arrest was made. Following the investigation, the three officers were charged with criminal offenses including false imprisonment, kidnapping, making false police reports, and assaulting with a lethal weapon.

The three were tried in 2003 and 2005 and were acquitted on some charges and some charges deadlocked. News accounts of the time report that the jury did not entirely believe Batt's testimony since he confessed that he had ever made false police reports when working with the "riders" (Cruz-Rosas, 2011). There were no other criminal trials against the three. However, in December 2000, a group of victims (fifteen) of the "riders" filed a legal lawsuit against Oakland city (Cruz-Rosas, 2011). The number increased to one hundred and nineteen. They accused the officers of planting drugs on them to detain them and brutally beating them. They demanded monetary compensation for the damages caused to them by the OPD. The civil trial was settled in 2003, with the victims receiving 10.9 million US dollars as compensation and attorney fees (Cruz-Rosas, 2011). It was also agreed that OPD would comply with reforms that would prevent the same incident from recurring. Selected civil rights and law enforcement experts were to oversee OPD's compliance with the changes to be carried out offering training and assistance where necessary.

Provisions of the Consent Agreement

Following the lawsuit by 119 plaintiffs, the court ordered the OPD to comply with 51 conditions of the Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA) ordered by the court. The agreement was meant to promote professionalism and integrity in all undertakings of police officers in the OPD. The agreement was also made to improve the capacity of the police to protect the rights, dignity, property, and lives of the Oakland people.

The timeline within which these reforms were to be made as specified in the NSA. It was agreed that the stated reforms should be fully implemented within five years from the time the ruling was made. The NSA required the OPD to undertake some changes to prevent the recurrence and continuance of police misconduct in the City of Oakland. The agreement stated the OPD should make the necessary changes within the time-frame stated in the agreement.

The agreement required that the OPD would provide the NSA team overseeing the implementation of the reforms with the necessary resources and documents. It was also agreed as part of the agreement that all the expenses to be encountered during the process would be taken care of by the City of Oakland. The expenses include costs encountered during monitoring of the process of compliance with the reforms.

A federal monitoring group would also monitor the compliance of the OPD with the reforms stated in the settlement agreement. Where the federal monitoring team had concerns about the compliance by OPD, they were mandated to respond demanded by the team. In essence, the agreement stated that the OPD would not interfere with the federal team's activities and also they would not withhold information or access to documents.

The NSA reforms entailed several significant internal changes to be made by OPD. They included strictly adhering to constitutional standards of policing, improvement of supervision and training of field officers and facilitating the reporting and investigation of cases relating to the use of force by police and complaints of police misconduct. Furthermore, OPD was also required to improve the access of Oakland residents to the complaint process and to acquire a computerized system to facilitate early detection of high-risk individuals.

The relationship between the Provisions of the Consent Agreement and the Initiating Causes

The agreement entailed 51 reforms to change the manner in which OPD operates to prevent the continuance or recurrence of police misconduct. The initiating cause of the agreement comprised of the police misconduct, specifically of the "riders" that resulted in the civil lawsuit. These included physical abuse, planting evidence, making unjustified arrests, and falsifying police reports.

The consent agreement (between the court, Oakland officials, and the plaintiff's attorney) was concerned with ensuring that the defects in policies in OPD that made the activities of officers such as the "riders" go undetected for a long time are addressed. It includes policies that promoted independent practice by the police without any monitoring. Such include making arrests and use of physical force, especially the use of lethal weapons without proper justification. Among the reforms to be made (as stated in the agreement) was that officers should report any use of deadly weapons and adequately justify any use. Also, the police reports made by officers were subject to being monitored. According to the agreement, any discrepancies should be investigated.

Another area in which the consent agreement (in this case NSA) was the manner in which training of the officers in OPD was conducted. The professional behavior of the Oakland officers is the fundamental cause of the issue that resulted in the formation of the agreement in the first place. One of the reforms started in the settlement agreement stated that the training of officers would be done more effectively to ensure that they understand how to carry out their sworn policing duties constitutionally and that they are adequately equipped to serve the neighborhoods within which they are located.

In general terms, the settlement agreement consisted of reforms that would ensure the policies that led to the problem are eliminated, and other aspects of policing by OPD are improved to reduce and prevent incidences of police misconduct. Furthermore, these reforms would improve service delivery by OPD.

Steps the Virtual Police Department Can Take to Avoid Finding Itself Subject to DOJ Oversight

The virtual police department can initiate staffing review procedures to assess areas in which police officers are not performing well. Also, it can also help to determine areas in which civilian staff can be used to carry out some tasks which do not require police training. Such services include receiving feedback and complaints from the community about policing.

Creation of a civilian complaints intake procedure will encourage citizens to report instances of police misconduct. The reason is that when a civilian is taking complaints, victims are more comfortable presenting allegations of police misconduct (De Angelis & Kupchik, 2007). Another reason why civilian complaint intake is more useful is that when a fellow officer is responsible for taking complaints about his colleagues, it is likely that they may be inclined towards protecting their colleagues. Thereby, this measure will go a great way to ensure that complaints regarding police conduct are adequately responded to.

Police officers should be made to justify any instance where force is used, or weapons are used. Documentation of incidences in which lethal weapons are used should be made mandatory and the incidence properly reviewed to verify the information recorded. Accountability will ensure that situations, where the justification for the use of force is unclear or seemingly unnecessary, are detected to prevent recurrence and make the responsible officers account. It will also help identify officers who use force more frequently since it can be because they use excessive force without reasonable cause. Employing this will ensure such a happening as the "riders" case does not recur, as rogue officers can be detected early thereby prevent instances of police misconduct from spiraling.

The police department can also foster a trusting relationship with the community which they serve. The association between the police and the community can be built and strengthened during the training years of officers (De Angelis & Kupchik, 2007). Thereby, assigning officers to communities where they served during their first year of training will promote the formation of a trusting relationship. In neighborhoods with high crime rates, the police department should form programs that will help create and reinforce a trusting relationship. It is especially important in such neighborhoods since people from such areas are highly likely to be subject to police brutality.

The police department can invest in specialized staff and technology to effectively assess the performance and conduct of officers. Computer programs and specialized personnel can help detect high-risk officers that are likely to be engaged in unorthodox practices. Such officers could include those with emotional instability or racial prejudice. Specialized staff may entail professionals such as psychiatrists or psychologists who can assess the mental capacity of officers; which in some instances is related to misconduct. Early identification will enable corrective measures to be taken early; thereby preventing the escalation of police misconduct to the point where DOJ oversight is mandated.

The police department can provide exposure and consistency to the best policing practices. It can be achieved by emphasizing higher education qualifications for officers, demonstrating the commitment of the department to community policing, and creation of a team of sworn staff and civilians to conduct a review of standards and policies. Also, the promotion process should encourage recommendations by the community (Hryniewicz, 2011). Better qualification requirements and more rigorous training of officers will ensure recruited officers are sufficiently nurtured and skilled to handle cases effectively and within constitutional limits. These measures will promote better service delivery by the police department, thereby reducing the incidences of police misconduct.

When equipping the police department with officers, particularly in high crime areas, those with skills and knowledge essential for effective policing of urban areas. It can be done by setting the lower age limit for recruitment higher to ensure that those recruited have necessary knowledge by having experience serving as armed forces or recruits should at least a college have a college degree. Training of police officers should be improved; to ensure officers are equipped with the relevant analytical and problem-solving skills (Hryniewicz, 2011)....