By Khalida Sarwari
Nearly 100 San Jose residents showed up Thursday night to share ideas and discuss the hiring of a new independent police auditor at a meeting held by Asian Americans for Community Involvement.
The two-part meeting, comprised of a panel discussion followed by group sessions, was held in response to complaints of inadequate community outreach by the human resources firm Avery & Associates, which was selected by the City Council to recruit a new independent police auditor.
On Tuesday, the council approved a four-week extension of the outreach period in the recruitment process to find a replacement for acting independent police auditor Shivaun Nurre to Feb. 26. The initial phase of the recruitment process was completed Jan. 22 and garnered nearly 50 applicants.
Much of the meeting, titled “Rebuilding Trust Between Community and the San Jose Police Department: Examining the Role of the Independent Police Auditor,” was focused on the role of the independent police auditor, who is charged with conducting reviews of police misconduct investigations. It also focused on strengthening the relationship between the Police Department and the community.
Nurre opened the meeting with a presentation about the history, mission, and functions of the police auditor, as well as the complaint process and issues reviewed during an audit.
The independent police auditor ideally should be independent, politically savvy, have knowledge in law enforcement and peace officer confidentiality, and the ability to work with different people, Nurre said.
The issue of neutrality relating to the office of the independent police auditor was a hot topic of discussion by the panelists, who, along with Nurre, included Richard Konda, executive director of the Asian Law Alliance, Anne Im, director of community programs and advocacy for Asian Americans for Community Involvement, and Assistant Chief of Police Daniel Katz.
“Neutrality is key,” Katz said, echoing the sentiments of the other panelists. “You represent the best interests of the public, you need to be objective.”
The discussion also centered on the Police Department’s conduct with particularly the minority community, scrutinized in two high-profile cases last year – the fatal shooting of Daniel Pham, a mentally ill Vietnamese man, on May 10, and an incident Sept. 3 in which officers used a baton and Taser stun gun against 20-year-old San Jose State University student Phuong Quang Ho.
Addressing a question by an audience member asking what the Police Department should do to rebuild trust with the community, Nurre said communication must go beyond the complaint process and include outreach meetings to help bridge the gap. She said she believes most police officers are good, but that problem officers must be proactively identified.
Konda acknowledged police officers’ interaction with mental health patients especially needs improvement.
Katz noted more than 300 police officers are trained in crisis intervention, which includes mental health education.
But Im said questions as to who is conducting the training and whether the Police Department is representative of the community it serves have yet to be answered.
“My vision is a place where people feel safe, they’re not complaining about the Police Department and they feel like they’re being treated with respect and dignity,” Im said.
Following the panel discussion, attendees gathered in groups to discuss the effectiveness, accessibility and limitations of the independent police auditor.
Leon Kimura, president of the San Jose chapter of Japanese American Citizens League, afterward said he thought the program was a success.
“It was great for increasing awareness,” Kimura said. “It showed the value of having an interconnected community working in conjunction with the city. The panel was a good mix of representation of points of views and issues. It had the potential to be very explosive, but they handled it very well.”
Avery & Associates representatives did not immediately return a call today seeking comment regarding Thursday night’s meeting.
Paul Kimura, from Avery & Associates, attended the meeting to observe and distribute flyers announcing a final community meeting scheduled for Feb. 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Roosevelt Community Center, located at 901 E. Santa Clara St., in San Jose. Kimura will facilitate the discussion and gather additional input from the public.