RICHMOND — Still split over how to handle allegations of bias among Community Police Review Commissioners, a proposal to investigate the citizen oversight body failed to gain enough support by Richmond councilmembers Tuesday.
About eight months ago, former Commission Investigator Jerry Threet resigned in a letter in which he alleged there was “a steady erosion in adherence to evidence based, objective” reviews by the city’s Community Police Review Commission.
Two councilmembers, Soheila Bana and Jamelia Brown, officially called for an independent third-party investigation into those claims this week that also proposed pausing the commission’s work while the review is conducted.
“I bring forward this agenda item tonight not as a criticism of the existence of the CPRC, but as a defense of its purpose. Oversight, to be meaningful, must be both independent and trustworthy,” Bana said. “If these concerns are unfounded, then an independent investigation will validate the commission and restore confidence. If the concerns are substantiated, then we owe it to both the public and our officers to take corrective actions.”
Formed in 1984, the nine-member civilian oversight body has been charged with conducting investigations into community complaints of excessive force, discrimination or assault against officers, reviewing instances in which officers discharge a firearm toward another person or when a death or serious bodily injury occurs by an officer’s actions, evaluating police department practices and procedures and developing programs to strengthen police-community relations.
Much of the commission’s work over the last few months has focused on developing a list of 13 recommendations meant to strengthen transparency and accountability among officers.
Among the recommendations was an expansion of the time period the public has to file a complaint against a police officer, greater authority for the commission to conduct investigations without a complaint being filed and a change in the evidence standard that would need to be met to sustain a complaint from “clear and convincing” to a “preponderance of the evidence.”
The commission also recommended they receive more training, a proposal Threet also made in his resignation letter, and for the city to hire a full-time investigator instead of the part-time position they’ve had in the past.
Implementing those recommendations would have been paused under Bana and Brown’s resolution, which gained support from Vice Mayor Cesar Zepeda who agreed with Bana that the investigation could renew trust in the body while also potentially saving the city from legal trouble down the road.
Members of the Richmond Police Officers Association, the union representing sworn personnel, also backed the proposal along with at least two members of the commission itself.
“You can’t just put your head into the sand,” said police association President Ben Therriault during the City Council meeting Tuesday. “This isn’t about dismantling oversight. It’s about ensuring that it functions as intended.”
Opposition to the measure among councilmembers, members of the public and at last one commissioner was strong.
Some public speakers shared concerns that the commission’s work being paused would further prevent the community from having their complaints heard and noted the commission’s recommendations aligned with Threet’s suggestions. Those arguments convinced Bana to amend the proposal to allow for the commission to continue reviewing cases while the investigation was ongoing.
Community Police Review Commissioner Daniel Lawson also argued that the commission’s job isn’t to “rubber stamp” the investigator’s findings but to review all evidence and make their own determinations which, he noted, are only recommendations the city manager or city attorney can overrule. Disagreements among the body are not indicative of a “corrupt or broken” system, he said.
Lawson’s role on the commission has been raised as an example of conflict of interest because he is the husband of Councilmember Sue Wilson, who Mayor Eduardo Martinez proposed placing on an ad-hoc committee to review the commission’s recommendations.
Councilmember Claudia Jimenez, who Martinez was considering placing on the ad hoc committee, was also accused of having a conflict of interest for her connection to another member of the commission. Bana requested Wilson and Jimenez recuse themselves from the vote on the resolution Tuesday, which both councilmembers opted against doing after being advised by City Attorney Dave Aleshire that no conflict of interest existed.
Wilson, Jimenez, Councilmember Doria Robinson and Martinez shot down the investigation after concerns about the timeline and strength of the allegations were raised. Wilson said Threet’s concerns seemed “thin” and didn’t rise to the level of justifying an investigation while Jimenez noted Threet had already secured a new job, moved to Canada and intended to leave the position.
Robinson also questioned why Threet never expressed concerns about the commission’s conduct before his resignation, characterizing the issue as “suspicious” given that he as a lawyer knew the importance of maintaining a record of evidence.
“I do believe in due process,” Robinson said. “But I do not believe launching a witch hunt in this moment will do anything but destroy this commission.”
Brown, on the other hand, pushed back on assertions that Threet’s claims were weak by noting he cited a section of the California State Bar Rules of Professional Conduct that says attorneys should resign from positions if that role would assist in violating the law.
She further noted the commission’s work reviewing complaints has already been on pause since the city has been without an investigator, making now the ideal time to conduct the review before a new investigator is hired.
Ultimately, Brown said, she was disappointed to see the investigation characterized as an attempt to shut down the oversight body which she said she supports, and that the city has a duty to ensure operates effectively and efficiently without bias.
“I have never witnessed so much pushback for simply trying to ensure that systems we have in place that are highly sensitive in nature function adequately. These are not baseless claims. These are real and serious allegations,” Brown said. “Accountability must apply to everyone including those tasked with ensuring it.”