Official: Oakland Mayor Bungled Police Sex Misconduct Probe
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — From the mayor on down, a court-appointed investigator said Wednesday that Oakland city officials mishandled, downplayed and ignored sexual misconduct allegations about the city's police department that turned into a far-reaching scandal.
In a court filing, investigator Ed Swanson put most of the blame for the bungled probe on former police chief Sean Whent, who resigned under pressure last year. But Swanson also singled out Mayor Libby Schaaf for failing to monitor the case after she vowed dramatic reforms in the police department.
Schaaf declared in 2016 that her job was to run a "police department, not a frat house" after the teenage daughter of a police dispatcher said several officers exploited her while she was working as a prostitute. Swanson credited the mayor with acting quickly when she was first informed of the scandal and a federal judge ordered an in-depth investigation.
"But after the investigation concluded, the mayor and city administrator did not do enough to determine why the department had not investigated the case more thoroughly before the court got involved," Swanson wrote. "Although they took the appropriate step of hiring an outside attorney to investigate this issue many months passed with no investigative progress, and there is no evidence city leaders pressed to ensure this troubling and important question was being answered."
Schaaf responded Wednesday afternoon, saying that she is prepared to implement all of Swanson's recommendations.
Referring to the report Swanson compiled , Schaaf said, "This city is committed to being a learning organization. That will be true with or without court supervision."
Schaaf continued by highlighting the city's hiring of new Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick, who began her job on Feb. 27.
"Best of all, we have put in place a leader who has a track record of culture change and holding officers accountable who has the experience and moral character to lead the department through this difficult period and into a bright future," said Schaaf.
Joining Schaaf at a news conference at City Hall, Kirkpatrick said, "I fully accept and approve this report."
Kirkpatrick said Swanson's report "diagnosed a problem" but also said the shortcomings of top city and police officials in dealing with the sex scandal "are repairable."
Schaaf also said her primary focus shifted away from the investigation in December and January when she and other city officials were tied up dealing with a fire at an illegally converted warehouse that killed three dozen people. Then, she said, her primary focus was on hiring a new police chief.
Schaaf recently announced her plans to seek a second 4-year term as mayor in 2018.
Swanson was appointed by a federal judge who oversees the troubled department as part of a 2002 settlement of a civil rights lawsuit. Swanson has no authority to order changes in the department, but the judge does. Swanson recommended a number of training reforms and policy changes, including involving the district attorney in internal investigations of officers under criminal suspicion and consulting the city attorney.
The department implemented many court-ordered reforms during Whent's three years as chief and was close to shedding the court oversight when officer Brendan O'Brien killed himself in September 2015. O'Brien's in his suicide note denied having sex with the victim despite her claims that he did. O'Brien also implicated several officers who he said had sex with the teen victim.
"It's a pretty devastating report," said lawyer John Burris, who represents the victim and is the lead attorney on the 2002 civil rights case that led to court oversight. "I thought the department was making real progress."
Swanson said Whent appeared disinterested in the case from the start and his attitude set the tone for the rest of the department.
Whent told investigators that he "misread" O'Brien's suicide note and a lieutenant's email message that the case was being sent to internal affairs. Whent said he read the note and the lieutenant's email on his cellphone but did not grasp their importance, an excuse Swanson called "not credible" in his report.
Whent failed to notify the mayor, district attorney and the federal judge about the suicide note and internal affairs investigation. Swanson said it is unclear why Whent downplayed the case.
Whent retired under pressure in June 2016 after news of the scandal emerged. His phone rang unanswered Wednesday after the report was released.
Swanson also said investigators dismissed the victim's claims because she was a prostitute.
Criminal investigators initially closed their probe after a strained, two-hour interview with the victim, who gave muddled and conflicting accounts. During that interview, they watched her delete messages on her phone sent by officers.
Swanson's report also faulted police internal affairs investigators for lackluster work. The victim was interviewed once on the phone. And two officers implicated by the victim were considered witnesses, rather than targets.
One of those officers said he was mentoring the victim to get her out of prostitution, but then admitted he texted her a photograph of his penis.
The city paid the victim almost $1 million to settle her legal claims. Seven current and former officers face criminal charges.
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