Common Ground optimistic about Vallejo police oversight model

VALLEJO – As the Vallejo City Council prepares for its final vote on a long-awaited police oversight model, organizers who worked for years to pass police oversight are optimistic that it will start the process of reforming one of the more violent police departments in the country.

The Vallejo Sun spoke with several members of Common Ground, a non-partisan group of religious and non-profit organizations in Solano and Napa counties, about their thoughts on the ordinance aimed at holding accountable a police department which has killed 19 people since 2010.

“When you listen to the residents, you hear people say they started this process 20 years ago,” said Renee Sykes, a member of Common Ground. “If you look at 20 years ago, and if you look at now, we now have something in writing, we have something concrete.”

But Sykes conceded that the ordinance is “not perfect,” and that “it will require more work.”

Another member, Allison Mezzera, called the city’s ordinance “a good step in the right direction.”

“Something that is 99% perfect is better than not putting anything through at all, '' Mezzera said, expressing a fear it could take a year to get that final one percent.

The city council is expected to officially establish the three-prong oversight approach, including outside investigations of serious police incidents, a Community Police Oversight Accountability Commission, and a police auditor.

Under the ordinance, a third-party investigator will be tasked with reviewing serious police incidents, including when an officer shoots at a person, when an officer’s use of force results in death or great bodily injury, any other in-custody deaths, and allegations of sexual assault or dishonesty. Investigations would be conducted in parallel with the department’s internal affairs investigation.

A nine-member police commission will have the power to review all reports from the outside investigator and the department’s internal affairs division regarding every serious incident investigated, and make recommendations to the police chief and city manager.

Each of the seven members on the council will select a commissioner, while the council will appoint one youth member between the ages of 18-25 and one community member as alternate members.

Finally, an office of Independent Police Auditor would be created to review the final investigatory reports and make their own recommendations to the city’s police chief or the police commission.

There has been some criticism that the oversight model doesn’t go far enough and that the police commission will only act in an advisory capacity and not have any real power over the department. Common Ground member Tazamisha Alexander said she disagrees with that assessment.

“This is not an advisory group, and I’m kind of confused why people keep saying that,” Alexander said, explaining that the police commission can ask the auditor to write specific reports, and commission members are required to do its training in public.

Alexander noted that law enforcement is not allowed to serve on the commission, the independent investigator has subpoena power for any records associated with their investigations, and the commission can review and provide a recommendation to the police chief regarding any draft notice of intended discipline. Under the ordinance, the chief of police is required to “consider any such recommendation before imposing any discipline.”

One of the more prominent members of Common Ground is Mike Nisperos, who previously served on the Oakland Police Commission and briefly served as interim executive director of Oakland’s Community Police Review Agency, the civilian investigative arm of that city’s police commission.

Nisperos said Common Ground would like to see additional changes to the oversight process but the organization is restricted by provisions of Vallejo’s city charter. Changing the charter would require a vote by residents.

Nisperos said the group would like to see the police commission be able to “participate in the selection of the police chief.”

“We would like to be able to interview candidates and then come up with a list of three to five people and let the city manager make a selection from the list of the commission,” he added. Nisperos said Common Ground would like to see the commission also have the ability to provide a list of candidates to the city manager when selecting the independent investigator and auditor.

“Currently, we are not allowed to have those levels of participation,” Nisperos added, who said the organization “trimmed back those portions that were in conflict with the charter to make it legal.”

“Of course, the council can change the ordinance, but we don’t want to have an ordinance that is subject to the whim of the council,” Nisperos added. “We want something in the charter that is the constitution of the city and remains regardless of who is on the council.”

Common Ground crafted six versions of a draft ordinance and based its model on the one used in Oakland.

One big difference between the proposed oversight model in Vallejo and the police commission in Oakland is that Oakland’s commission can fire the police chief, but Vallejo’s won’t have that power.

Sykes also addressed the criticism from some in the community that the council rushed the process by holding two workshops and establishing the police oversight model in December, just before three new councilmembers will be seated next year.

But Common Ground’s member said that adoption of a police oversight ordinance is the conclusion of a multi-year process.

“There was a lot of concern in the community about safety with the police department,” said Mezzera. “People were scared to call the police department, we were hearing stories of interactions with the police department, not good ones.”

The organization was looking to establish a mobile health crisis unit but shifted its focus following the May 2020 murder of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. During the subsequent nationwide protests,  Vallejo police Detective Jarrett Tonn shot and killed Sean Monterrosa on June 2, 2020.

“Vallejo has a cycle, where they will have a police killing and then nothing happens,” Alexander said, adding that community members didn’t want another police shooting without some action taking place.

That’s when the organization began recruiting subject matter experts and looked at other police oversight models locally and across the country. The group spoke with the Department of Justice, members of the city council, then-Police Chief Shawny Williams, and impacted families of police violence. Following a presentation before the city council in late 2020, then-City Manager Greg Nyhoff asked Common ground to work on a police oversight model which would work for the city of Vallejo.

Sykes said Common Ground pushed for training police commissioners. Some of the police commissioner training includes completing Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) relating to search and seizure and arrest, crisis intervention training including review of the department’s training, participating in a department “ride along” and attending a police training program with curriculum designed by the police chief.

“We wanted everyone trained before taking action, [especially] when you’re dealing with police officers,” she said. “We are happy that that language is in there, because we want to make sure this is done correctly, and that some of the mistakes that were made in other cities are not done in Vallejo.”

Meanwhile, Liz Hall said “no policy alone will restore trust with the police department.”

“We recognize that this has to be a culture change, this ordinance and the commission need time to take effect,” Hall said. “That is why Common Ground is not going anywhere in terms of building a relationship with the city and police department.”

For Common ground member Greg Carter, reforming the Vallejo Police Department has a deeper meaning.

“For me, I want it to be better for my kids and my grandkids,” Carter said. “The relationship with the police in the Black and brown communities always hasn't been the best and I definitely want that to improve.”

Carter noted his son has had negative interactions with Vallejo police and he doesn’t want his 18 month old grandson to experience the same. He remains optimistic that the ordinance is the right step.

“It’s a process, it's not going to happen overnight,” Carter said. “This didn’t get like this overnight but we got to start somewhere and this is a start.”