Court warns Oakland's Quan on deposition OAKLAND

Mayor Jean Quan greets Oakland Raiders fans before the game against the San Diego Chargers in Oakland, Calif. on Monday, Sept. 10, 2012. Mayor Jean Quan greets Oakland Raiders fans before the game against the San Diego Chargers in Oakland, Calif. on Monday, Sept. 10, 2012. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Court warns Oakland's Quan on deposition 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, who attorneys working to impose changes on the city's Police Department say is avoiding testifying about the pace of those reforms, will be in serious trouble if she skips another scheduled deposition, a federal magistrate says.

Federal Magistrate Nathanael Cousins warned the mayor to show up at a deposition later this month or face possible punitive actions.

Attorneys trying to put the Police Department under federal receivership requested the action after Quan canceled an all-day deposition scheduled for Aug. 30, saying her job required her elsewhere.

The attorneys, Jim Chanin and John Burris of Oakland, want Quan's answers before an Oct. 4 deadline for submitting arguments on whether U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson should impose receivership on the department. Henderson will hold hearings on the issue in December.

Interviewed Monday outside the O.co Coliseum, where she was campaigning to save the city's sports teams, Quan said she had met with the attorneys several times since the summer and would appear for a deposition Sept. 25. She canceled her Aug. 30 deposition because she had to appear at a last-minute City Council meeting, she said.

"I absolutely plan to," Quan said when asked if she would attend the new deposition date. "I didn't plan to have a closed session. I had to do it."

The dispute stems from assertions that the Police Department has failed to fully implement a host of reforms required under a 2003 court order.

The department is supposed to improve the monitoring of officers who rack up use-of-force complaints, tighten internal affairs investigation procedures, and root out racial profiling through detailed "stop data" analysis, among other things.

City Administrator Deanna Santana and Police Chief Howard Jordan have been deposed, but Quan canceled her session less than 48 hours before it was to be held.

Cousins issued his warning to Quan on Friday when he denied attorneys' request to charge Quan with contempt of court for missing the scheduled deposition, but added that the mayor must testify by Sept. 25 or face consequences.

Chanin, a co-plaintiff's attorney, said he would again ask the judge to charge Quan with contempt of court if she missed the next meeting.

"She is the highest-ranking person in Oakland who makes decisions in regard to the Police Department," Chanin said. "Of course we want to hear what she has to say as to why the city has failed to come into compliance."

Chanin acknowledged meeting with Quan since the summer.

"But if the meetings had produced any results, then we wouldn't be filing a motion for federal receivership," he said.

Quan's attorneys stopped short of guaranteeing her appearance by noting the mayor's duties and time constraints are "neither predictable nor avoidable."

City attorneys also argued that Quan should not be compelled to testify, citing laws that protect high-ranking public officials from discovery that will "burden the performance of their duties."

But Cousins appeared unswayed by the arguments, calling them "poorly timed and not well supported."

In a separate action on Monday, Judge Henderson denied a request by Oakland officials to cut off all communications between the city and the court-appointed monitor overseeing the police reforms - a request that, if granted, could have had a major impact on the long-running case.

The monitor, Robert Warshaw, has been critical of the city's progress since his appointment in January 2010.

Last week, the city attorney's office filed declarations to Henderson from several Oakland officials, records show, including Santana and Jordan.

The declarations, which the city said were "highly sensitive," are under seal. Sources have told The Chronicle that Warshaw made remarks in private conversations with Santana that she took as inappropriate, and also allegedly used abusive language when talking to Santana about Jordan. The matter is being looked at by an independent investigator brought in by the city.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writers Demian Bulwa and Matthai Kuruvila contributed to this report.