OAKLAND — Interviews of finalists competing for a seat on the city’s powerful new police commission began Tuesday evening, with prominent developer Phil Tagami facing tough questions about his lawsuit against the city and brandishing a shotgun to keep Occupy Oakland protesters out of the Rotunda Building.

Tagami is one of 28 candidates undergoing public interviews this week for four seats on the seven-member commission, which was established with the passage of Measure LL in November. After the interviews, which continue Wednesday and Thursday, a City Council-selected panel will present a slate of four candidates to the council for approval.

The citizen commission will have broad powers over the Oakland Police Department, including the ability to fire the police chief with cause in a super-majority vote and review Oakland Police Department disciplinary cases.

Others interviewed on Tuesday included Walter Williams, Henry Gage, Tara Anderson, Leigh Davenport, Ernest Brown, Elan Lambert, Mike Nisperos, Elliot Hosman and Vildred Tucker-Dawson. But Tagami’s application drew the most attention.

Tagami told the panel that he wants to join the citizen commission because of instability of leadership at OPD, a lack of accountability in the department and the ongoing federal oversight of the department stemming from the Riders police misconduct case, now in its 14th year.

In his application, the former Port of Oakland commissioner boasted of his work to helped provide jobs to formerly incarcerated people and listed former City Administrator Fred Blackwell and Bishop Bob Jackson of Acts Full Gospel Church as his references.

However, questions quickly turned to whether the Fox Theater developer would be a distraction for the commission.

The Oakland native has clashed with City Hall over his plans to ship coal through a marine terminal near the Port of Oakland. After the city banned the shipment and transportation of the ore last year, Tagami sued. Several anti-coal activists attended his interview Tuesday.

Tagami said the coal lawsuit had little to do with working on police accountability, calling the comparison “apples and pickup trucks.” Then, selection panel member Mary Vail referenced the Occupy Oakland incident, saying she worried council might not approve the slate of four candidates if Tagami was included.

In November 2011, after a day-long General Strike called by Occupy Oakland had turned violent, Tagami stood guard inside the Rotunda Building near City Hall with a shotgun in hand as vandals smashed windows along Broadway and protesters occupied nearby buildings. Tagami has maintained he never pointed the gun at anyone but racked it to scare off the protesters.

“Not a proud moment,” Tagami said, but “in retrospect had I not done that and our building was taken over I would be out of business now.” Twenty-two people signed a letter in support of Tagami’s application, everyone from consultants to business and bar owners.

Panelists also asked Davenport about her affiliation with the Anti Police Terror Project, which opposed Measure LL and called the commission “toothless.” Under questioning from civil rights attorney Jim Chanin, Davenport said she would be able to side with police officers if the commission’s disciplinary investigation found the officer acted appropriately.

The other three spots on the seven-member board are selected by Mayor Libby Schaaf. The names were announced Tuesday, but the interviews were not open to the public. The mayor has appointed Edwin Prather, an attorney and former public defender, Regina Jackson of the East Oakland Youth Development Center and Thomas Smith, an education and public law attorney. Arbitrator Andrea Dooley is Schaaf’s alternate. The council must also approve her picks.

The panel expects to its four finalists by Aug. 14.