The BART Police Department Review Committee and Subcommittee will meet on Monday, Aug. 10, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. in the BART Board Room, which is located in the Kaiser Center 20th Street Mall, Third Floor, 344 20th St., Oakland, CA.
The meeting will include discussion of public comments received on the draft model of citizen oversight of the BART Police Department. Public comment is being taken on the draft model of citizen oversight through Friday, Aug. 7, via email to boardofdirectors@bart.gov or U.S. Mail to: BART Board of Directors, P.O. Box 12688, Oakland, CA 94604-2688.
On July 30, nearly 60 people attended a BART Board of Directors special board meeting to discuss the draft proposal. Go to BARTtv to watch video from that special board meeting.
"We are very pleased with how well the meeting went and the process we implemented to draft the proposed citizen police oversight plan," BART Board Member Carole Ward Allen said. "We used the Helgesen ‘web of inclusion’ model to involve everyone in this vision. To have the members of the community and Oscar Grant’s family participate in creating our oversight model is very significant." Dr. Ward Allen chairs the BART Police Department Review Committee, which was established by BART Board President Thomas Blalock to take the necessary steps to make sure the tragedy of New Year’s Day never happens again. "I selected BART Board Member Radulovich to chair the sub-committee charged with formulating the police oversight because of his interest and expertise in the area," Dr. Ward Allen added.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DRAFT MODEL
The draft proposal of the citizen oversight model includes the following components:
- An independent auditor who is appointed by and reports directly to the BART Board of Directors
- An 11-member Citizen Board
- The power to review BART police policies, practices and procedures, and recommend changes
- The power to investigate complaints against officers
- The power to recommend discipline against officers
You can find a copy of the draft BART Citizen Oversight Model at www.bart.gov, under the Board of Directors' July 30 special board meeting agenda.
"The proposal that we presented at this public meeting is complex, with many checks and balances but it will be one of the strongest police oversight systems in Northern California," BART Board Member Tom Radulovich said. "It will make BART Police Department one of the most accountable in the region."
"I look forward to another subcommittee meeting to discuss comments from the public before we adopt the final resolution," BART Board Member Lynette Sweet said. "We gained a lot from the remarks we heard from the public who attended Thursday’s meeting. We encourage all of our customers to be involved and help us make the BART Police Department the best it can be." Sweet, along with members of the public, is also part of the nine-member subcommittee that’s tasked with developing the proposed model of citizen oversight of the BART Police.