US judge ends 23-year federal oversight of Oakland police

A federal judge on Tuesday terminated federal monitoring of the Oakland Police Department, bringing to a close 23 years of court supervision — the longest-running oversight of a police force in United States history.

Judge William Orrick, sitting in San Francisco, praised the department for reaching substantial compliance with the reforms imposed on it. "May it ever be thus," he said, expressing particular gratitude to the officers who had met the requirements.

The oversight traced back to 2000, when a rookie officer came forward to expose abuse of power by a group of officers known as the Oakland "Riders." Four officers were accused of making false arrests, planting evidence, using excessive force, falsifying reports and assaulting residents of west Oakland, a predominantly Black neighbourhood. Two separate juries deadlocked on most charges, and three officers were acquitted. The fourth remains a fugitive and is believed to have left the country.

The scandal led to federal oversight of the department in 2003, along with a requirement to implement dozens of reforms and report progress to an outside monitor and a federal judge. That same year, the city of about 400,000 people settled a class-action police abuse lawsuit involving 119 people for $11 million.

In May, the department's federal monitor reported that Oakland police had complied with all 51 court-mandated reforms stemming from the 2000 case. Orrick said at the time that it was the first occasion in 23 years that the department had achieved every one of the 51 tasks in the settlement agreement, while cautioning that no one could declare "mission accomplished."

Some civil rights organisations had urged Orrick to delay releasing the department from oversight for at least a year. Their request followed a progress report this month from court-appointed monitor Robert S. Warshaw, who found that the department had again fallen below the required threshold for timely investigations into serious misconduct violations.

Orrick nonetheless said it was important for the court to "get out of the way." Plaintiff attorneys noted at the hearing that the department had failed to complete 85% of its serious misconduct investigations within 180 days, but they did not oppose ending federal oversight.

Oakland Police Chief James Beere acknowledged the shortfall to the judge, attributing many of the cases to complex officer-involved shootings. "We did slip a little bit," he said. "But we own our mistakes."

Civil rights attorney John Burris, reflecting on more than two decades of reform, said the focus now shifts to what comes next. "For me, it's not today that's important, it's tomorrow … whether or not what's been put in place here stands the test of time," he said.