Oakland hires Chicago lawyer to head internal affairs
The Oakland Police Department will have its first civilian director of the Internal Affairs Division, which investigates officer misconduct, as officials announced Friday the hiring of a prominent Chicago lawyer with extensive experience in police oversight.
Traditionally, there has been a rotation, so to have someone in a permanent position establishes integrity with both the public and police officers.
Hong has worked as an attorney on the Independent Police Review Authority in Chicago since 2010 and has been responsible for implementing policy and ensuring legal compliance for the Chicago Police Department, according to his LinkedIn page.
The move comes as Oakland continues to work to rehabilitate the reputation of its police department, which came under federal oversight in the aftermath of the Riders case, in which four officers were accused of running roughshod in West Oakland, beating suspects and planting evidence in 2000.
The city paid $10.9 million to more than 100 plaintiffs and agreed to make more than 50 changes in police practices under the oversight of a court-appointed monitor, who continues to oversee the department.
Oakland police officers have also shot and killed three men in recent months, though in each case officers claimed they fired in self-defense.
John Burris, a well-known Oakland-based civil rights attorney who has litigated numerous police brutality cases against the department, said that civilian oversight has been a long time coming.