City Government

Oakland Council Limits Police Warrantless Searches of Parolees, Probationers

Published

7 years ago

July 14, 2019

The Oakland City Council this week unanimously approved a policy requiring officers to have a reason before searching someone who is on probation or parole.

The new policy, the first in the state, limits the right of officers to conduct warrantless searches of parolees and probationers without reason, which is currently allowed by state law, even during routine traffic stops.

The policy will not go into effect unless it is approved by Robert Warshaw, Oakland federal court-appointed monitor.

After the adoption of the policy, Council President Rebecca Kaplan said that Oakland must “ensure that OPD is not stopping and searching people unless there is a valid reason to do so. This policy can also help reduce racial disparities in policy and strengthen community-police relations.”

Police Commission Chair Regina Jackson said, “This policy content sends a message to the community that the Oakland Police will no longer presume our citizens’ engagement with criminal history…This is a huge step in the right direction concerning culture shift.”

Rashidah Grinage of the Coalition for Police Accountability called the council decision “a major victory for the Police Commission and a landmark reform in police practice in Oakland.”

The council debated two versions of the policy change on Tuesday – one proposed by the police department and a stronger one from Oakland’s police commission, which the council adopted.

Henry Gage III of the Oakland Coalition for Police Accountability supported the commission’s version, saying it “reduces the wiggle room that officers so often use to avoid discipline when the spirit of the policy is violated.”

Speakers supporting the new policy included four women from Urban Peace Movement, KD Dixon who works with All of Us Or None, and Youseef Elias from the AC Public Defenders Office, who provided important perspective for the commission’s draft.

“This is an amazing accomplishment by the Oakland Police Commission and the City of Oakland,” said Public Defender Brendon Woods, writing on Facebook.

“Happy that our office was able to contribute to this historic policy,” Woods said. “It will prevent Oakland police officers from arbitrarily stopping and automatically searching members of our community simply because they are on probation or parole.

“Too often, police use searches and detentions to target people of color. This policy will help eliminate public mistrust and result in a safer community for everyone. However, in order for the policy to have an impact, there must be consequences if it is not followed.”

Ken Epstien

Posts by Ken Epstien

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

Published

6 days ago

July 5, 2026

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Inaugural Juneteenth Awards Ceremony Celebrates the Fillmore’s Black History, Leadership and Resilience

Addressing more than 100 Black and Asian attendees, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie stated “San Francisco is reliant on the Black community, and we must invest in this community.”

Published

2 weeks ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown, Pastor Emeritus of Third Baptist Church, SF Mayor Daniel Lurie. Photo by Linda Parker Pennington.

By Linda Parker Pennington

The Fillmore Community Ambassadors held its first annual Juneteenth Wesley Johnson White Horse Awards ceremony on June 19 inside the newly reopened Fillmore Heritage Center.

The event featured awards for former San Francisco mayors London Breed and Willie Brown, along with Third Baptist Church Pastor Emeritus, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown.

The Koret Heritage lobby at the newly reopened center at 1330 Fillmore St. held a standing-room-only, culturally diverse and multi-generational audience while the art gallery featured photos of Fillmore community members in action, red Japanese lanterns, art and calligraphy, and Chinese artwork, giving the space a multicultural feel.

Addressing more than 100 Black and Asian attendees, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie stated “San Francisco is reliant on the Black community, and we must invest in this community.”

District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood acknowledged that “the Fillmore community has had a difficult history. Thanks to Rev. Amos Brown’s continuous focus on accountability and resistance, you hold us accountable and continue to inspire us.”

Mahmoud is referring to the Fillmore’s Japanese residents who were forced from their homes and sent to concentration camps during World War II. Black people occupied those homes until the return of their Japanese neighbors and then gave them back, while homes that had been unoccupied were lost. The presence of the Asian community on Juneteenth is a testament to that shared history.

In receiving his honor, Amos Brown elicited a powerful spontaneous call-and-response, where members of San Francisco’s many Black churches proudly shouted out the names: “Bethel AME! Providence Baptist! Jones Memorial! Glide!”

Awards program Master of Ceremonies Shawn Richards of Brothers Against Guns warmly introduced Breed, highlighting her many accomplishments, particularly on “March 16, 2020, when she became the first mayor to shut down a major U.S. city due to COVID-19, saving thousands of lives.”

The audience was captivated by Breed’s emotional speech touching on past traumas, present conditions, and future hopes for the neighborhood where she grew up.

She recalled another trauma of the neighborhood during the City’s redevelopment era in the 1960s, where Black residents were forced to move with a promise of being able to return that was largely unfulfilled.

“We remember when this land was just a field because they bulldozed hundreds of Victorian homes that Black people owned. They built the Fillmore Center, where most Black people can’t afford to live or start their own business. But we are still here.”