Posted on 10/05/2012 1:35:47 AM PDT by thecodont
A historic fight over whether Oakland can reform its own police force began in earnest Thursday when civil rights attorneys asked a federal judge to take the unprecedented step of appointing a receiver to ensure the changes are made.
The attorneys said a broken culture in the department had turned a decadelong reform effort into a "chronic failure," endangering citizens - especially minorities - and costing the city tens of millions of dollars to settle police-abuse lawsuits.
The lawyers represented more than 100 people who sued the city after four officers, who called themselves the Riders, were accused in 2000 of imposing vigilante justice in West Oakland. In a resulting settlement, Oakland had to implement a raft of reforms - which remain incomplete.
"A receiver is now required to do what city and (Oakland Police Department) officials have refused to do," John Burris, James Chanin and Julie Houk wrote in a 57-page motion to U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson.
"There can be little doubt that further extensions will result in more constitutional violations," they wrote, "and cause injuries, and even death, to innocent human beings, including members of the OPD."
Oakland officials, who have spent recent months trying to head off the prospect of federal intervention, disagreed sharply on Thursday. They said finishing the reforms was a top priority for the department, and full compliance was on the horizon.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Federal-takeover-of-Oakland-cops-urged-3920827.php#ixzz28Pa2n9O7
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
For the general FYI, here’s some background on the “Riders” case and settlement:
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/OAKLAND-Riders-lied-brutalized-man-2629441.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_Riders
If they did anything wrong....then you could sue the federal government, and win millions....thus avoiding bankrupting the city itself.
The problem here is that they’ve recruited and accepted sub-standard police within the force. They won’t dare fire them or force them to go.
nothin new- gang of 8 Oakland cops were known as the “Cowboys” in the 1980`s in East oakland-
Along with about three thousand others.
Once again, congratulations to the Democrats.
The question, as always, is: why would anybody other than the eaters in the concentrated Democrat parasite nests ("cities") vote Democrat? It perplexes me that there are still some normal, working, taxpaying, proud American families who vote Democrat.
/headshake
I am sure the Oakland PD has very few white cops by now. So any shooting of minorities is done by minority cops. IOW leave whitey out of this BS! Minority cops are responsible for the millions being paid out in lawsuits
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