OCC director outlines complaint process as community members report alleged officer misconduct

Joyce Hicks, executive director of the Office of Citizens' Complaints (OCC), briefed the Police Commission on the OCC’s mission, staffing and services, telling the commission the office conducts impartial investigations, forwards sustained findings to the chief and offers mediation as an alternative to discipline.

"My office has a 30 member staff, the majority of whom are investigators... We are staffed by a very diverse group of civilians who have never been police officers," Hicks said, listing languages the OCC can serve and noting mediation outcomes (47 mediations last year; 17 in the first quarter of the current year).

During public comment, Carolyn Richardson Alexander described an incident on March 31 in which she said officers used vulgar language and force against a resident and then lifted her from the ground when she objected. She said she had written a letter and filed a complaint and asked whom to contact. "One of the officers really using vulgar language telling this young man, shut up, you so and so MF, you stupid punk," she said, and described physical handling of both the resident and herself.

Daniel Landry, speaking for the African American Community Police Relations Board, said he has filed an OCC complaint after an officer allegedly took private property from his son (he supplied case number 071-071-232) and urged the commission to restore and implement previously discussed community-policing plans for better relations.

Chief Fong and commission staff said some items — including a homicide matter reported in the press that reportedly involved a foreign-government inquiry — are active investigations and offered a closed-session briefing so commissioners can be updated without disclosing details publicly. "We can have the deputy chief brief you because, obviously, it is an active investigation," Chief Fong said, and the commission agreed to calendar that closed session.

Why it matters: The OCC’s outreach and mediation work is part of the city’s civilian oversight framework; multiple public allegations at this meeting illustrate continuing community concerns about officer conduct and investigative follow up.

Follow-up: Commissioners asked OCC staff to meet with complainants; Chief Fong offered a closed-session briefing on the homicide; the commission directed staff to route complainants to OCC and to provide procedural guidance for submitting written complaints.

The meeting closed public comment after several hours of testimony and directed OCC and police staff to follow up with the individuals who raised complaints.