OAKLAND -- The federal judge overseeing the Oakland Police Department accused city leaders Tuesday of lagging on reforms to make discipline stick against officers punished for misconduct.

In a three-page order issued late Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson wrote that city leaders had not moved forcefully enough to improve its disciplinary system in the wake of a report he commissioned last year finding that outside arbitrators frequently dismissed or reduced punishments meted out to officers.

To induce compliance, Henderson rehired the author of last year's report, attorney Edward Swanson, to review the city's progress. Swanson, who must file a report by March 7, will be paid by the city.

City Attorney Barbara Parker, whose office shouldered much of the blame for failing to adequately prepare appeals of the arbitration cases, did not return a phone call late Tuesday.

Fixing its disciplinary system is a requirement the city must achieve before it can emerge from more than a decade of court oversight that began following the 2000 Riders police corruption scandal.

Swanson's report last year found that an arbitrator upheld the department's discipline in only seven out of the 26 cases reviewed. The arbitration process amounted to a "get-out-of-discipline-free card," he wrote.


In follow-up reports, city officials have stated that they have implemented most of Swanson's recommendations, but Henderson said he was unconvinced. He noted that the city reported all six arbitration cases in December as victories even though one case was reduced from a termination to a suspension -- "a reversal that resulted in the reinstatement of an officer whom the city believes is unfit to police its community," Henderson wrote.

The judge also cited recent reports from the department's federal monitor, including one instance in which a supervisor involved in the incident conducted the investigation and another in which an investigator failed to punish an officer even though "the investigation clearly substantiated the allegation."

"That these issues occurred while the city and department are still being monitored raises concerns as to what will happen when the court and plaintiffs' counsel (in the Riders case) are no longer holding them accountable," he stated.

Contact Matthew Artz at 510-208-6435.