Citizens' Police Review Board to postpone forum on OPD, Occupy Oakland

Citizens' Police Review Board to postpone forum on OPD, Occupy Oakland

The Citizens' Police Review Board has postponed a public forum on the Oakland Police and Occupy Oakland originally scheduled for Feb. 9 at Oakland City Hall.

"The forum has been postponed," CPRB Administrator Patrick Caceres said in an email on Wednesday. "We do not have (another) date yet. The board is in the process of scheduling a special meeting to discuss the postponement."

Caceres did not give a reason for the delay.

According to the CPRB website, the focus of the forum was supposed to be the Oakland Police Department’s response to the Occupy Oakland encampments and protests between Oct. 25 and Nov. 14.

"In the wake of recent Oakland Police Department’s response to Occupy Oakland protests, the Citizens’ Police Review Board received a petition, formal complaints from Oaklanders and numerous calls from around the nation and the world, prompting the opening of eight investigations into officer misconduct," the website states.

CPRB's website lists several goals for the forum including, obtaining testimony from people affected by the police response to Occupy Oakland. The forum also will be an opportunity for the city's police to respond to CPRB and "about the planning and implementation of police actions around Occupy Oakland and how the department is addressing misconduct."

Information about OPD’s policies on use of force, protests, crowd management and mutual aid, also were slated to be a part of the discussion.

Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan, along with community groups and people associated with Occupy Oakland, were expected to attend.

Caceres said in an email that, he expects the board to meet in the next couple of weeks.

"The board is set to meet again either the 16th or 23rd," he wrote.

 

A writer and photographer, Jennifer Inez Ward has been documenting Oakland neighborhoods for more than 10 years. A graduate of UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, she focuses on the uniqueness and beauty of everyday life in a city that is too often overlooked for its treasures and pleasures. Throughout the years, Jennifer has had the honor of showcasing her work at a number of venues, including a permanent loan of images that are displayed on the front wall of Barnes and Nobel in Jack London Square. Jennifer is a featured artist documented in “Images of America: Black Artists in Oakland."