Oakland Public Safety Committee Meeting – April 21, 2026
Oakland Public Safety Committee Special Meeting – April 21, 2026
The Oakland City Council Public Safety Committee convened a special meeting on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at 6:15 PM in the City Council Chamber (3rd Floor, City Hall). Chairperson Charlene Wang presided. The meeting ran until 8:32 PM and covered eight agenda items, including contracts for law enforcement technology, violence prevention funding, police oversight audits, and updates on the Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA). The committee voted on each action item, forwarding most to the May 5, 2026 City Council meeting on either the consent or non-consent calendar.
Determination of Schedule of Outstanding Committee Items (Item 2)
- The committee voted unanimously (4–0) to accept the schedule of outstanding committee items as submitted. One public speaker, Sada Olawala, raised concerns about racial profiling, data on citations and warnings, truancy stops, and the absence of Dr. Everhart’s NSA-related work from the report.
Ceasefire‑Lifeline Contracts (Item 7)
- The Department of Violence Prevention (DVP) sought approval for a $200,000 amendment to an existing contract with the University of Pennsylvania (total now not to exceed $639,952) for a qualitative evaluation of the Ceasefire‑Lifeline strategy, and a new $150,000 grant agreement with Faith in Action East Bay for one year (July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027) to support custom notifications and call‑ins.
- One public speaker (Sada Olawala) questioned Faith in Action’s qualifications, the validity of linking homicide reductions solely to Ceasefire, and the lack of detail on police enforcement under the strategy.
- Councilmember Ken Houston requested a biannual informational report on the contracts, including data and scope of work outcomes. The committee approved (4–0) the staff recommendation and forwarded the item to the May 5 City Council consent agenda with the request for biannual reporting.
Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA) Update (Item 6)
- Deputy Chief Lisa Osmus reported that OPD is now in compliance with Task 5 (investigation quality) and making progress on Task 2 (180‑day investigation timelines) and Task 45 (discipline equity). The 12th sustainability report showed 80% compliance on class‑one cases in Q3 2025. A qualitative study and perception survey are underway to address disparities found in 2024 data, where white officers were less likely to receive sustained findings than Black or Hispanic officers. Preliminary 2025 data showed no statistically significant disparities.
- Two public speakers spoke: Millie Cleveland (Coalition for Police Accountability) urged full funding and independence for the Inspector General; Sada Olawala argued that racial disparities persist at every level.
- The committee voted unanimously (4–0) to receive and file the informational report.
Audit of Oakland Police Oversight Agencies (Item 8)
- City Auditor Michael C. Houston presented an audit of the Police Commission, Community Police Review Agency (CPRA), and Office of the Inspector General (OIG). Key findings: only 26 of 43 select charter and municipal code requirements were met; vacancies, frozen positions, and leadership turnover hinder operations; the OIG has only one audit manager despite a mandate to audit 52 NSA tasks; and conflicts exist between the charter and municipal code regarding hiring/firing of the CPRA director and IG. Two recommendations were made: (1) the City Attorney should analyze resource needs, and (2) the City Council should resolve charter/code conflicts and strengthen independence.
- Four public speakers (including Millie Cleveland, Madeline Stacy, Sada Olawala, and Rashida Granage) generally supported the audit and stressed the need for adequate resources, while Sada Olawala questioned why the Privacy Commission was not audited.
- Councilmember Houston indicated he would pursue charter changes; Councilmember Fife suggested amending the enabling ordinance as a less burdensome route. The committee voted unanimously (4–0) to receive and file the report.
OPD Cellebrite Technology (Item 3)
- The committee considered a resolution to authorize a one‑year, $140,000 professional services agreement with Cellebrite Inc. for forensic extraction devices, waiving competitive solicitation. Staff stated that over 700 phones were extracted in 2025 (33% Android) and that Cellebrite is the only reliable tool for Android phones. The 2024 Cellebrite Annual Report was also accepted.
- Two public speakers: Madeline Stacy objected to contracting with an Israeli‑based company with a history of abuse and urged a competitive RFP; Sada Olawala supported providing police with all available tools and criticized the Privacy Commission’s role.
- Councilmember Fife voiced conscientious objection, citing ethical concerns about Israeli technology used against civilians. Councilmember Brown and Houston supported the contract for its investigative value, especially in homicides and human trafficking. The committee approved (3–1, with Fife voting no) and forwarded the item to the May 5 City Council agenda on non‑consent.
Peregrine Technologies Contract (Item 4)
- OPD requested a three‑year, $1,024,000 agreement with Peregrine Technologies for a law enforcement records search platform (Crime Tracer replacement), waiving competitive solicitation. Staff emphasized that Peregrine provides full audit trails, opt‑in data sharing, and continued access to regional data as neighboring agencies migrate to the platform.
- Two public speakers: Sada Olawala criticized prioritizing data safety over operational efficiency; Madeline Stacy raised concerns about Peregrine’s ties to Palantir, predictive policing, and potential data sharing with federal immigration enforcement.
- Councilmember Fife again opposed, warning of historical precedents where surveillance technology was used against activists. Councilmember Wang noted staff shortages necessitate technology and cited a 21% crime reduction in Atlanta using Peregrine. The committee approved (3–1, Fife no) and forwarded on non‑consent.
OPD Federal Taskforce 2025 Annual Reports (Item 5)
- Captain Jeff Samok presented annual reports from federal task forces (U.S. Marshals, Secret Service, FBI, ATF, DEA) that had previously been reviewed by the Privacy Commission. The Privacy Commission noted that future reports will be more uniform and concise.
- One public speaker (Sada Olawala) emphasized that the Privacy Commission’s oversight protects sanctuary city policies and undocumented immigrants; she opposed policies she believed limit federal cooperation.
- The committee voted unanimously (4–0) to receive and forward the item to the May 5 City Council consent agenda.
Open Forum
- One speaker addressed the meeting during open forum, reiterating concerns about sanctuary policies and expired visas enabling criminal activity.
Key Outcomes
- Ceasefire‑Lifeline Contracts – Approved (4–0) and forwarded to City Council on consent with a request for biannual reports.
- NSA Update – Received and filed (4–0).
- Audit of Police Oversight Agencies – Received and filed (4–0).
- Cellebrite Technology – Approved (3–1) and forwarded on non‑consent.
- Peregrine Technologies Contract – Approved (3–1) and forwarded on non‑consent.
- OPD Federal Taskforce Reports – Received and forwarded on consent (4–0).
- Councilmember Houston and Councilmember Fife each indicated they would pursue separate actions: Houston via charter changes, Fife via enabling ordinance amendments to address audit recommendations.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening and welcome to the public safety committee meeting of Tuesday, April 21st, 2026. The time is now six fifteen p.m. and this meeting may come to order. Before taking roll, I will provide instructions on how to submit a speaker card for items on this agenda. If you're here with us in chamber and would like to submit a speaker card, please pull one out and turn one into myself or clerk representative. No later than ten minutes after the start of this meeting or before the item is read into record. Registering to speak via Zoom is now due 24 hours prior to the start of this meeting time. Council member Brown. Excused. Excused for now. Houston. And Chair Wong. Present. Thank you. We have three members present, one excused five. And Chair, before we begin, do you have any announcements at this time? Uh just we have a packed agenda, so uh committee members keep your comments and your questions tight, otherwise we're gonna be here all night. And then um I am gonna change the order a bit of the agenda just to um allow some of our colleagues to not be here all night. Uh so we're gonna start with number seven with DVP, then we'll go to agenda numbers items number six, then eight, three, four, and then five. Thank you, Chair. Uh, just noting that uh going over the modifications made to the agenda to hear items six, sorry, seven, six, eight, three, four, and five after items one and two. Now reading in item one, as today is a special meeting. There are no minutes to be approved. Item two, determination of schedule about standing committee items, and we have one speaker that signed up to speak. Okay, we'll go ahead to public comment. Mrs. Sada Olawala. I know later on you're gonna be talking about the NSA, and you gotta remember that that primary one of the primary issues is uh racial profiling, and one of the issues I see that could potentially be profiling or based on race is when you report to the media the identification of the individual accused arrested. Now, sometimes they give the names and sometimes they don't. Why is it that you do that practice? And you go always see a picture of a black person with their name if a crime is committed by them. Another thing is citations and warnings based on equity. What is what is the data? Because you don't realize officers have a lot of choice on how they can handle a situation involving a possible arrest, involving a citation, involving a warning. We don't see that data. Lastly, truancy. I've said this before. Stop data required by the NSA has truant stops. And we don't have anything that follows up on what's happening when officers stop these young people for truancy. And of course, the OUSD has nothing in writing on how they deal with truancy. So just a few things about race equity that we need to see the data. And the last thing is Dr. Everhart's report, what she's been doing related to the NSA. That's not in the report today, and I never see it ever. Thank you for your comments. Chair that concludes all speakers on item two. All right, great. Well, let's go ahead and move. Uh oh, wait. ACA Phillips, anything to not at this time through the chair.
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