More public in public safety | Part 3: How Modesto should approach civilian oversight

The time is right for civilian oversight of the Modesto Police Department, a common and useful extra layer of transparency for the city’s largest and arguably most important public service.

Not because police are evil; of course they aren’t. We need them. Every civilized society needs law enforcement. Most Modesto police officers, as all public servants, are good, decent people who serve with honor and respect in a difficult and dangerous job.

But they aren’t perfect. And all people by nature behave just a little better when they know they’re being watched.

Civilian oversight can save lives. Law enforcement officers throughout California shoot and kill someone every two or three days, on average, according to CalMatters. Police have killed an estimated three Americans every day since 2013, according to the New York Times.

Civilian oversight can reduce police misconduct, saving taxpayers lawsuit costs. In Wednesday’s Part 1 of this three-part series, the dozen local cases cited by The Modesto Bee Editorial Board — far from a complete list — collectively cost taxpayers $11 million in settlements.

Most big United States cities have figured this out, and some smaller ones, too. “Large jurisdictions that do not have oversight now stand as outliers, rather than representing the norm,” wrote the authors of a recent study commissioned by the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement.

With more than 210,000 people, Modesto is the nation’s 107th largest city, according to World Population Review. Yet it is not one of the 144 American cities with civilian police review. We should leave the outlier ranks and give our people what they deserve: the best public safety system, one that doesn’t rely on police policing themselves.

Many cities have launched police oversight boards in the wake of blood-boiling police brutality, such as the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Former police officer Derek Chauvin, who kept his knee on Floyd’s neck until he died, was convicted of murder on Tuesday.

A case could be made that Modesto’s push for civilian review gained momentum with the Dec. 29 killing of unarmed Trevor Seever by then-police officer Joseph Lamantia, who has ended the lives of four people in 11 years under color of authority. In March, Lamantia was fired and charged in criminal court; Seever’s loved ones have been publicly pleading for justice since his death.

Led by Mayor Sue Zwahlen, the Modesto City Council recently agreed to hold a listening session in coming weeks, the first step in what could turn into formal civilian oversight.

That’s exactly what should happen.

What Modesto should do

Backed by extensive research, multiple interviews with experts and people intimately involved with civilian review in other cities, and further informed by an inspired Modesto town hall hosted in February by several local organizations, The Bee offers the following recommendations.

• Establish a civilian review board. Meetings would provide a safe place for people to publicly air grievances, without fear of retribution. Members would review use-of-force incidents, policies and procedures, and would come up with recommendations for change and improvement.
• Hire an independent police auditor. This person would have expertise in law enforcement and investigations. He or she would have full access to police reports and personnel records, and enjoy complete autonomy from the Police Department. The job requires public reporting after major incidents and investigations, as well as annual or semi-annual comprehensive reports for everyone to see.
  
  

These two points are critical elements to successful civilian oversight, nearly all experts agree. Half-baked systems, no matter how well-intentioned, fall apart when leaders cut corners.

The mayor’s desire for Modesto to find its own path is admirable. But she and the City Council should learn from other cities, and recognize that our oversight must include a civilian review board and a police auditor, both independent of police. “They must be insulated,” insists Michael Gennaco, a former federal prosecutor and nationally recognized expert in police reform and accountability. He appeared on the local digital panel in February.

Additional recommendations:

• The City Council must set aside funds for a police auditor. Members of the civilian board should be unpaid volunteers.

Keep it separate from Modesto police

• Civilian board membership can never be screened by police. Some experts likewise frown on selection by city leaders, a common practice for other committees and commissions. “One city pulled names out of a hat,” Gennaco said, so no one could complain about political appointments.
  
  
• Do not make the mistake of allowing police to dictate civilian review activities.
  
  

Various efforts to rethink policing by law enforcement agencies themselves — such as Stanislaus Sheriff Jeff Dirkse’s Project Resolve, or Turlock police’s secretive advisory board — are admirable to an extent. Good for them for being in tune with social currents, and for wanting to improve.

But meaningful reform rarely has come from within an enforcement agency staffed with officers looking out primarily for themselves and not what’s best for the entire community.

“In virtually every case, a history of misconduct has gone unaddressed or underaddressed by the agency for which they worked,” said Gennaco, who supervised more than 20 police misconduct investigations as a federal prosecutor. In many cases, agencies simply reassign offenders rather than tackling the root of the problem, he said.

Advisory panels with no subpoena power and no teeth end up being lapdogs, not watchdogs.

Zwahlen should be careful with her involvement in the sheriff’s project. It’s one thing if she’s trying to learn all she can about police reform to better inform Modesto’s foray into civilian oversight; it’s another if she’s pulled in different directions. Her allegiance must first be to her city.

• Capitalize on the unique timing of this moment. Modesto has a new mayor who is open to the concept of reform, and we’re in between police chiefs. City Manager Joe Lopez, in recruiting the new chief, must put a premium on willingness to work with the auditor and the community, including civilian oversight.
  
  

The fact that interim Chief Brandon Gillespie had the courage to fire Lamantia, and that Dirkse wants to improve, are positive and refreshing signs. But this moment may not last, so make the most of it.

• Reassure police that this is not punitive. The last thing anybody wants is a wall between police and the people. Former Chief Galen Carroll worked hard to keep that wall down. Emphasize team-building aspects of civilian involvement.

“Police unions will always fear this,” said Anthony Finell, a National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement official. He is a former Indianapolis police sergeant whose resume also includes civilian oversight in Seattle and Oakland. “They don’t recognize the importance; they see it only as a threat,” Finell said.

Wendy Byrd, president of the NAACP Modesto-Stanislaus branch, said civilian oversight “should be designed to improve, not attack or punish.”

Oversight builds community trust

• Be patient. Allowing a year for board members to get up to speed is reasonable, said NACOLE’s Liana Perez.

Lastly, The Bee commits to its role in this process, to keep readers and the community informed as Modesto explores this new layer of accountability for those sworn to serve and protect us.

Once Modesto’s civilian oversight takes root, agencies in neighboring cities — and the Sheriff’s Department — should follow the example.

In the end, it’s all about trust.

Policing works best in an environment of mutual trust. The additional layer of transparency brought by civilian oversight will enhance the connection between police and the public, making Modesto a safer and better place for all.

This story was originally published April 25, 2021 at 5:00 AM.