Correspondence- #22 - Laserfiche WebLink

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October 18, 2022 Mayor Sarmiento and City Councilmembers 20 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92701 ocaullne t same-ana.orb Via Email RE: Santa Ana Police Oversight Commission and Agenda Item 22 Dear Mayor Sarmiento and City Councilmembers, As a long-time resident of Santa Ana, and a CLUE Justice volunteer and community faith leader with various churches across denominations in Orange County, I am writing with respect to the October 18, 2022 City Council agenda item 22, "Police Review Commission Draft Ordinance Discussion," and Exhibit 1. We commend the City Attorney's willingness to meet with community-based organizations to discuss our policy recommendations. We also commend the City Council for directing city staff to examine the Police Oversight Ordinance drafted and supported by community-based organizations. We are concerned, however, that the policy language of Exhibit 1 profoundly differs from the model policy that was discussed by the City Council on July 29, 2022, supported and written by community-based organizations. The Exhibit 1 policy language will establish an oversight model that largely mirrors the City of Anaheim's Police Review Board, which a majority of this council and the community have rightly labeled as insufficient. The Police Oversight Ad Hoc Committee previously recommended a hybrid investigation-focused and auditor/monitor-focused model of police oversight. The policy language of Exhibit 1 will fail to accomplish the Ad Hoc Committee's recommendation and the City Council's goal to establish an effective police oversight model. We cannot support the ordinance as written unless the fundamental police oversight provisions, listed herein, are included in the policy. We urge the City Council to introduce pivotal amendments to establish an effective police oversight commission. Structural Failures of Exhibit 1 Policy Lan,-ua,-e As previously stated, an ineffectual and powerless police oversight model will be far more detrimental to the residents of Santa Ana than simply not having any police oversight, as it will give the false impression that meaningful accountability and investigation into police misconduct is occurring and potentially stall more effective reform methods. This is not acceptable for Santa Ana residents who largely prefer investigation-focused and auditor-focused models. 1. Fails to establish commission independence. The National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) defines an investigatory oversight model as "allow[ing] for investigations to be conducted by the oversight agency and does not rely on investigators from within the police department." The Exhibit 1 policy language will not establish an investigatory police oversight commission. Rather, the language will effectively establish a police review commission with an auditor. The language also fails to establish meaningful independence from the police department, as the Chief of Police or