San Rafael plans police oversight board amid calls for accountability

San Rafael is forming a new police oversight board as part of a strategy to mend its relationship with a community roiled by a violent arrest last summer.

The City Council unanimously approved a plan Monday to recruit residents to the Police Advisory and Accountability Committee starting in July. Although critics have been calling for police oversight, they say the city’s plan falls flat.

“Stop this vote tonight and collaborate with the people to bring meaningful self-determined oversight that transforms our city’s culture of policing,” resident Tara Evans told the council. “Because only then will the behavior of police officers change. Policies don’t drive behavior, the culture does.”

Evans is a member of the Marin Justice League, a coalition formed in response to the bloody arrest of Julio Jimenez Lopez last year in the Canal neighborhood. The group proposed an alternative it calls the “People’s Plan,” which it says would ensure effective oversight by the community.

The group members said the city’s plan lacks a mechanism for citizens to safely make complaints, exacerbating trust issues, and that it doesn’t offer a voice to homeless or undocumented residents. They said the board should be structured as a commission rather than a committee to give it more teeth.

“The city’s plan doesn’t prioritize people from the community that are more impacted by the problems of policing in San Rafael, and the People’s Plan does,” said Debra Taube, a member of the coalition.

The debate comes after protests over the city’s decision to maintain secrecy over the results of an eight-month internal investigation into the arrest of Jimenez Lopez. The city cited employee privacy rights.

The incident, which occurred on July 27, was captured on video. The footage sparked outrage and protests in the city.

The events unfolded as police officers Daisy Mazariegos and Brandon Nail approached Jimenez Lopez and two other men as they allegedly drank beer in the street. Jimenez Lopez, 37, was injured after police questioned him and other men about their open containers of alcohol next to a street. Police alleged that Jimenez Lopez refused commands to stay seated and then put an officer in a headlock during the ensuing struggle to detain him.

The Marin County District Attorney’s Office initially filed a felony case against Jimenez Lopez, but decided not to pursue it after reviewing footage from the arrest.

Jimenez Lopez has filed a claim against the city that alleges assault, battery, negligence, false arrest, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unreasonable search and seizure and excessive force by police.

After public outcry, the San Rafael Police Department, along with city officials, held several community forums about policing in San Rafael.

Since the forums began in October, police have narrowed their goal to five principal objectives: to “improve feelings of safety and security”; “increase cultural competencies, empathy and customer service skills”; “build trust and improve relationships with the community”; “increase diversity of the police department workforce”; and “improve transparency, communications and accountability.”

David Spiller, chief of the San Rafael Police Department, told the council that the new committee will help cultivate trust between the agency and residents. Spiller said officials had been considering a police oversight committee even before the Jimenez Lopez arrest, and recommended forming the advisory panel regardless of that incident.

“Our goal, our pursuit in this, is to build what is right for San Rafael,” Spiller said.

Councilmember Maribeth Bushey said the plan lacks detail, and that makes her nervous.

“Is the department really ready to take input, possibly difficult input — and is this the best way to get it to the department?” Bushey asked Chief Spiller.

“Law enforcement is often difficult,” Spiller responded. “And we may not always like what we hear, but the intention here is to raise the bar to make us better. We have got to get it right in the eyes of the community.”

The plan calls for seven committee members, including four who would represent each of the council districts. The panel also would have two at-large members and potentially a youth member.

A call for applications will begin in July. After applications are vetted, officials plan to interview candidates in September. Spiller said the staff will continue to work with community members to propose bylaws that would govern the committee. The proposed bylaws would require City Council approval.

Spiller said the bylaws would likely include a $50 stipend for members for each meeting and training session they participate in.

“We’re going to be looking for people that can address all of the concerns we have heard here tonight,” Bushey said ahead of voting. “It’s going to be about the people, because that’s what this sort of has to be about or it’s not going to work.”

“I think the opportunity to craft and design and co-create what it’s going to be is up to the group,” said Councilmember Rachel Kertz. “And I think that’s really powerful to be able to do that because it’s really starting with a blank sheet of paper.”

Mayor Kate Colin said she hopes that those who are upset about the city’s decision will keep participating in the process.

“Whether you like what we’re doing or not,” Colin said, “continue to engage and have that next conversation so we can truly start to create this community that we want, and the type of policing we want in San Rafael.”