SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) -- Outgoing San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo is at odds with the city's police union.
It is over a proposal where the San Jose independent police auditor would have access to police records and subpoena authority. Right now, all investigations of police misconduct are within SJPD’s Internal Affairs unit.
“This is not to disparage the work of internal affairs, but the world is moving on from this model. San Jose should be leading and not following. That’s why we have chosen to move forward as we have,” said Liccardo. The San Jose Police Officer’s Association said the mayor is “chasing a headline”.
They are accusing Liccardo of a scheme that violates the city charter and disregards long-standing labor law and said SJPD already conducts robust and transparent investigations of alleged officer misconduct. The police union said they agree with the independent auditor 90 percent of the time on decisions over internal affairs investigations.
The police department agrees even less at 82 percent of the time. If Liccardo's proposal gets approved, the independent auditor will be able to initiate their own investigations.
“To build our communities trust we must take these initial steps toward more independent investigations of police misconduct,” said Liccardo. The San Jose city council took action on the proposal at its meeting Tuesday afternoon.
KRON On is streaming news live now
“Will this increase transparency and better findings of police misconduct, or is this the wrong move? I couldn’t tell you one way or the other, couldn’t say it’s wrong or right now,” said Raul Peralez, San Jose councilmember. He added the proposal will now move to the public safety committee where the community and councilmembers can talk about it.
“How do you have the most community support of your police department and city, and a lot of that includes how are you policing yourself, how are you conducting oversight,” said Peralez.
The proposal at the Public Safety Committee will mostly likely go back to the council next year in April where it will be voted on.
from KRON4 https://ift.tt/ZRKXFyb
No comments:
Post a Comment