Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee has nominated two candidates for the city’s Police Commission, a civilian law enforcement oversight body that, among other things, is currently working to hire a new police chief.
The mayor’s office on Thursday presented the candidates — retired judge Evelio Grillo and retired firefighter Doug Wong — to the city’s Rules and Legislation Committee, which sent them to the City Council for a vote at its Jan. 20 meeting.
Grillo was a judge for over 20 years, during which time he presided over more than 200 trials involving criminal, civil and family law matters, according to the mayor’s office.
He holds a law degree from Harvard Law School, as well as a master’s degree in public policy and a bachelor’s in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. He has also taught at UC Berkeley and Stanford University law schools.
Wong retired after almost 30 years as a firefighter from the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, has worked as staff for the Oakland Unified School District board, was chief of staff to former Berkeley City Council member Diane Woolley for 10 years and is currently on the American Red Cross Leadership Council, East Bay.
He is also president of Chinese American Citizens Alliance’s Oakland chapter, among other things.
Both men said that one of their top priorities is getting the Oakland Police Department out from under the control of a federal monitor.
The monitor was installed in 2003 as part of a federal court settlement following the so-called “Oakland Riders” scandal, during which police officers routinely falsified police reports, planted evidence, beat suspects and generally abused Oaklanders’ civil rights.
The “Negotiated Settlement Agreement” requires the department to initiate reforms focused on use of force policies, racial profiling, internal affairs investigations, officer discipline and transparency, among other things.
In addition to helping OPD initiate these reforms, the Police Commission is also responsible for finding a slate of candidates that Lee can pick from to replace recently departed chief Floyd Mitchell.
“Oakland needs steady, experienced, principled leadership on the Police Commission, especially during a police chief transition and as we redouble our commitment to completing the NSA,” Lee said in a news release Friday.
Currently, the commission is still working with City Administrator Jestin Johnson and the city’s Human Resources Department to identify a recruiting firm, which will help the commission find a slate of three candidates to present to Lee for her consideration.
Also on Thursday, the Rules and Legislation Committee forwarded to the City Council the Police Commission candidacies of current incumbents Ricardo Garcia-Acosta and Omar Farmer.
Both men’s terms have expired and they’ve been serving in a “hold-over” capacity since the City Council rejected their re-appointments in October.
At the time, several council members expressed concern that the city didn’t do a thorough job when seeking candidates to replace the pair.
Since then, city staff created a recruitment strategy to “encourage a broader pool of applicants,” according to a city staff report, and on Dec. 18, the Police Commission Selection Panel again opted to send Farmer and Garcia-Acosta to the City Council for another vote.
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