As some may known, due to past practices the Oakland Police Dept. is subject to a court order requiring an independent monitor to report on its compliance with police procedure.
The independent monitor, Robert Warshaw has just released his latest report. As part of the report, Mr. Warshaw discusses OPD's treatment of Occupy Oakland. It states that the monitor has "deep concerns over what we observed regarding these events, and by the reinforcement of those concerns through our preliminary analyses." (pg 80) and "[t]he events around Occupy Oakland appear to raise some serious concerns about the capacity of the Department to, on its own, adopt and hold true to the best practices in American policing." (Pg 81).
The monitor assures that members of his team were present throughout the October through December Occupy-related activity, met with police command staff and local official during those times and made observations on the street. His team reviewed reports and videos from official and unofficial sources. He states that based on his preliminary examination of police activity connected with Occupy Oakland he was "in some instances . . . thoroughly dismayed by what we observed. I cannot overstate our concern that . . . advancements may have been put in doubt in the face of these events." (Pg. 82).
The monitor promises to consider the issues posed by Occupy Oakland events in more detail in his next report. The monitor concludes "[f]or the moment, we find ourselves facing an uncomfortable reality: the path forward [for OPD] is not clear." Stay tuned.
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