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Lack of Progress on Police Reforms is Disappointing, Says Federal Monitor

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The Oakland Police Department is slipping in its efforts to make substantive progress on court-ordered reforms, 11 years after the City of Oakland agreed to accept federal oversight of OPD to settle a lawsuit against widespread police abuse, according to a new report produced by the city’s court-appointed monitor.

Of the court-required reforms, OPD is in compliance with 32 and has yet to fully comply with 22, said Independent Monitor Robert Warshaw in a quarterly report released Tuesday.

“The decline in compliance is a disappointment, although we noted improvement in our previous report, we find there should be more positive movement,” he wrote.

Some (tasks) appear to be moving forward – as a result of focused and organized efforts to solve the problems that have been obstacles to progress,” he wrote.

“In other areas, however, the attention has been less systematic; and there are concerns that remain.”

However, Warshaw praised the hard work of Mayor Jean Quan and Interim Police Chief Sean Whent.

“Mayor Quan has been actively engaged in the efforts to bring about reform in the agency – and both she and Interim Chief Whent have been at the forefront of the city’s efforts,” he said

Among the issues raised by Warshaw in his report were the failure of officers in some cases to use their personal lapel video and the inconsistent results of the department’s Force Review Board.

While the police department has been adopting the court-required lapel cameras, in several use of force cases “revealed several serious incidents” where officers “did not have or activate” a video camera, Warshaw said.

In another case, he said that the Force Review Board, a panel of three senior police commanders who review allegations against officers, came to a different conclusion than the department’s Internal Affairs Division during an investigation of an incident in which an officer used a Taser on a person in handcuffs.

Investigators at Internal Affairs found that the officer had properly used his Taser on the suspect, but the Force Review Board found that the officer was “unreasonable and out of compliance with policy,” Warshaw wrote.

“These two very opposite findings in this process are troubling,” because Internal Affairs is responsible for investigating and assessing violations of OPD’s policies, Warshaw wrote

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Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025

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Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025

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IN MEMORIAM: William ‘Bill’ Patterson, 94

Bill devoted his life to public service and education. In 1971, he became the founding director for the Peralta Community College Foundation, he also became an administrator for Oakland Parks and Recreation overseeing 23 recreation centers, the Oakland Zoo, Children’s Fairyland, Lake Merritt, and the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.

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William "Bill" Patterson, 94. Photo courtesy of the Patterson family.

William “Bill” Patterson, 94, of Little Rock, Arkansas, passed away peacefully on October 21, 2025, at his home in Oakland, CA. He was born on May 19, 1931, to Marie Childress Patterson and William Benjamin Patterson in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Dunbar High School and traveled to Oakland, California, in 1948. William Patterson graduated from San Francisco State University, earning both graduate and undergraduate degrees. He married Euradell “Dell” Patterson in 1961. Bill lovingly took care of his wife, Dell, until she died in 2020.

Bill devoted his life to public service and education. In 1971, he became the founding director for the Peralta Community College Foundation, he also became an administrator for Oakland Parks and Recreation overseeing 23 recreation centers, the Oakland Zoo, Children’s Fairyland, Lake Merritt, and the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.

He served on the boards of Oakland’s Urban Strategies Council, the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, and the Oakland Workforce Development Board.

He was a three-term president of the Oakland branch of the NAACP.

Bill was initiated in the Gamma Alpha chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.

In 1997 Bill was appointed to the East Bay Utility District Board of Directors. William Patterson was the first African American Board President and served the board for 27 years.

Bill’s impact reached far beyond his various important and impactful positions.

Bill mentored politicians, athletes and young people. Among those he mentored and advised are legends Joe Morgan, Bill Russell, Frank Robinson, Curt Flood, and Lionel Wilson to name a few.

He is survived by his son, William David Patterson, and one sister, Sarah Ann Strickland, and a host of other family members and friends.

A celebration of life service will take place at Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center (Calvin Simmons Theater) on November 21, 2025, at 10 AM.

His services are being livestreamed at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1250167107131991/

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Euradell and William Patterson scholarship fund TBA.

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