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OCC reports fewer complaints, steady mediations and 11 sustained cases year-to-date
Summary
The Office of Citizen Complaints told the Police Commission it opened 282 cases Jan'May 2013 (down 13%), had 297 pending, mediated 23 cases to date and recorded 11 sustained allegations; the OCC said budget cuts proposed by the Board of Supervisors had been reduced and staff positions were retained.
Director Harris of the Office of Citizen Complaints presented the OCC's monthly comprehensive statistical report, covering January through May 2013 and comparing it to the same period in 2012.
Harris said the OCC opened 282 cases in the period, a 13% decline from 323 cases opened in 2012, and closed 293 cases over the same interval. As of the reporting date the OCC had 297 pending cases. The OCC mediated 23 cases to date, representing 7% of closed cases, and said officers accepted mediation in 83% of offers, down from acceptance rates above 90% in prior years.
'From January through May of this year, the OCC opened 282 cases. That is 41 fewer cases than were opened during the same period in 2012,' Director Harris said.
Harris also summarized chief adjudications of OCC-sustained investigations between April 1 and May 31, including admonishments and suspensions for neglect of duty, discourtesy, failure to prepare incident reports, failure to issue certificates of release, and findings of unlawful warrantless entry and unnecessary force in one case that resulted in suspension(s) and admonishments.
Harris told the commission he had appeared before the Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee to contest analyst-recommended cuts to the OCC budget; the proposed cuts were reduced and the OCC's 35 staff positions and most budget lines were retained. He also introduced the OCC's summer law clerk, Mila Knovelchuck.
Commissioners asked about the decline in mediations and whether the OCC could further encourage officer participation; Harris said the OCC would monitor the trend and work with the department to sustain mediation levels.
Director Harris also described a plan to fill a deputy director/chief investigator vacancy sooner after negotiations reduced an attrition cut from $37,000 to $16,000, allowing an earlier hiring timetable.
