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OCC director highlights grand jury report and outlines recent sustained complaints and charter amendment measures
Summary
OCC Director Joyce Hicks told the Commission the civil grand jury released a report calling for timelier, more transparent investigations of fatal officer-involved shootings; she reviewed April–May OCC statistics, recent sustained findings and possible Charter amendments that would rename OCC the Department of Police Accountability and give it audit authority.
Joyce Hicks, director of the Office of Citizen Complaints (OCC), told the Police Commission that the San Francisco civil grand jury published its report, "Into the Open: Opportunities for More Timely and Transparent Investigations of Fatal San Francisco Police Department Officer-Involved Shootings," and that the Board of Supervisors Government Audit and Oversight Committee is expected to hold a hearing on the report in September.
Hicks summarized two pending charter amendment measures that could affect civilian oversight: a measure sponsored by Supervisor Malia Cohen that would, among other changes, rename the OCC to the Department of Police Accountability (DPA), give it audit jurisdiction and separate its budget from the police department; and an amended measure by Supervisor David Campos that would change some OCC reporting relationships and appointments. Hicks said the measures have been revised multiple times and will appear before the Board of Supervisors.
Hicks then reviewed OCC statistics for April and May 2016: the OCC mediated several complaints (four in April, five in May) and issued a number of sustained findings with proposed discipline ranging from admonishments and retraining to a one-day suspension in a neglect-of-duty domestic-violence-related case. She explained that OCC can recommend discipline but the chief imposes discipline; OCC may request a meeting with internal affairs or the chief on discipline packages and can also bring commission-level cases directly to the Commission.
Commissioners pressed the OCC director and the chief on the timeliness of reports and the staff shortage at OCC that has slowed report delivery. Director Hicks said she has secured promotions and expects additional investigators in coming months and that the OCC aims to improve timeliness and coordination with internal affairs so there is time for dialogue before the chief imposes discipline.
What happens next: Director Hicks will provide the Commission with the OCC’s 2015 annual report (delayed but expected soon) and work with the chief to reissue a language-access bulletin after two recent cases where officers failed to obtain interpreters. OCC and the Department will also schedule process-improvement meetings and staff increases are planned through upcoming budget amendments.
Notes: Director Hicks described the OCC’s procedural options when OCC disagrees with chief-level discipline decisions, including filing commission-level charges if necessary.
