California city fails to discipline problem police: report
Source: Yahoo! News / Reuters
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - An investigator appointed by a U.S. federal judge said the city of Oakland, California has failed to discipline problem police officers "time and again," as police tactics are under increased scrutiny across the U.S., according to a court filing on Thursday.
Disciplining problem officers is viewed by police reform advocates as a crucial tool for maintaining community trust – something that is taking on heightened importance after aggressive police tactics in Ferguson, Missouri and New York City sparked national protests.
The Oakland investigation started after an arbitrator reinstated a police officer who was heavily criticized for firing tear gas at a crowd of protesters during Occupy protests in 2011. That followed a series of other cases in which arbitrators overruled disciplinary actions for Oakland police.
In his report on Thursday, investigator Edward Swanson said Oakland's city attorney frequently lost arbitrations against police officers because the office handled cases "haphazardly, often waiting until the last minute to prepare for hearings or to assign cases to outside counsel."
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