Sacramento Community Police Review Commission Meeting - September 13, 2021
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Sacramento Community Police Review Commission Meeting - September 13, 2021
The Sacramento Community Police Review Commission held a regular meeting on Monday, September 13, 2021, from 6:03 p.m. to 7:18 p.m. via teleconference. The meeting included updates from the chair, staff reports, a consent calendar, a presentation from the city auditor, a follow-up log review, ad hoc committee updates, and commissioner comments. No public comments were made.
Consent Calendar
- Item 1: Approval of August 9, 2021 Meeting Minutes – The commission passed a motion to approve the minutes. The vote was 6 in favor (Bliss, Carter, Castillo-Krings, Elkarra, Guerrero, Marion) and 3 abstentions (Falcon, Jefferson, Zamora). Commissioner Escobar was absent. The motion carried.
Discussion Items
- Chair’s Update – Chair Guerrero provided an update on several commission recommendations that were pulled from the city council’s August agenda. He highlighted three key recommendations:
- Independent legal counsel – The commission expressed concern that the city attorney’s focus on limiting liability conflicts with the commission’s community-centered mission. Commissioners Bliss and Zamora-Graziano added their support, noting that AB 392 implementation showed the need for outside counsel.
- Liaison with Sacramento Police Department – The chair clarified that the recommendation includes requiring SPD to attend commission meetings, agenda-setting meetings, and respond to requests. Commissioner Castillo-Krings noted SPD has generally been responsive but emphasized the need for a formal process.
- Process for council voting on recommendations – The chair urged the commission to follow up with the city council on adopting a formal timeline for considering recommendations, as a previous meeting on this topic was canceled. Commissioner Castillo-Krings agreed to re-engage.
- The chair also mentioned recommendation #5 on inspector general independence from OPSA, noting the commission’s long-standing position. Commissioner Castillo-Krings clarified that subpoena power would require a charter change.
- Office of Public Safety Accountability Staff Update – None.
- Sacramento Police Department Staff Update – Deputy Chief Lester reported that the media relations ad hoc has met and another meeting is planned. SPD is completing a request for protest data and will provide updates.
- Item 2: City Auditor’s 2021 Community Survey Presentation – City Auditor Jorge Oseguera and Principal Fiscal Policy Analyst Farisha Arari presented the survey results. The survey sampled 785 city residents (95% confidence level, ±4% margin of error). Key findings:
- Safety and economy were rated high in importance but low in quality.
- Satisfaction with overall quality of life decreased slightly from 2018/2019.
- Ratings for police services and crime prevention decreased and were lower than benchmark cities.
- 50% of respondents were not familiar with Measure U.
- Commissioners asked about demographic breakdowns and the possibility of adding policing-specific questions in future surveys. The city auditor said custom questions are limited but can be considered. The item was received and filed.
- Item 3: Sacramento Community Police Review Commission Follow-Up Log – Dawood Brewer reviewed the log. Commissioner Bliss raised a request for a total cost breakdown of SPD programs, which the city declined, stating the budget is not structured that way. Commissioner Zamora-Graziano requested a follow-up on a legal observers presentation. The item was received and filed.
Ad Hoc Committee Updates
- Crowd and Riot Control (Vice Chair Carter) – The committee met with the public on August 23 and is documenting feedback and reviewing other agencies’ policies. Draft recommendations are being developed.
- Budget (Commissioner Bliss) – The committee requested cost breakdowns for SPD programs but was told the information is not tracked in that format. They plan to work with city council appointees and may hold a joint meeting with the Measure U committee. A formal vote to schedule a joint meeting is planned for December.
- LGBTQ+ (Chair Guerrero and Commissioner Bliss) – The committee met with the Sacramento LGBT Center and has a draft policy. Public meetings are planned before finalizing recommendations.
- Communications (Commissioner Castillo-Krings) – Ongoing meetings with SPD and local media outlets. Draft media recommendations are being finalized.
- Mental Health (Commissioner Falcon) – The committee faced delays but is back on track with a follow-up meeting scheduled for September 20. The chair confirmed that ad hoc committees can hold community meetings without OPSA as long as fewer than five commissioners attend (per Brown Act).
Key Outcomes
- Consent calendar approved (6-0-3).
- City auditor survey received and filed.
- Follow-up log received and filed.
- Commissioner Bliss requested information on AB 392 training – Deputy Chief Lester will provide data on whether officers have been trained and share training materials.
- Ad hoc committees to submit draft recommendations by Thursday, September 16 for inclusion in the next agenda.
- Commissioner Falcon shared information about community listening sessions on the selection of the next police chief (sent to commissioners for informational purposes only).
- Meeting adjourned at 7:18 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Chair staff is ready when you are. All right, good evening. The Sacramento Community Police Review Commission will please come to order. Will the clerk please uh call the role to establish quorum? Thank you. Commissioner Marion Here. Commissioner Castillo Krings. Here. Commissioner Bliss. Here. Commissioner Alcara. Here. Commissioner Jefferson. Is absent. Commissioner Escobar. Is absent. Commissioner Zamora. Present. Commissioner Falcon. Vice Chair Carter. Here. And Chair Ghetto. Present. We have a quorum. Thank you. Madam Clerk. Let's get started. Public meetings are currently teleconference meetings only to align with local and federal guidelines and social distancing recommendations for the containment of the coronavirus. For staff, commissioners, and those logged into the meeting, please remember to keep your microphones muted when you are not speaking. We will be monitoring the raise hand feature in Zoom for commissioner comments. For members of the public that are tuning in, if you are you are encouraged to submit public comment by using e-comment on the online agenda page. Members of the public participating via Zoom. If you would like to speak on an item on an agenda item, raise your hand when the item begins. The raise hand feature will be uh disabled once the presentation has been completed for items without a presentation. Uh presentation completion will be considered when the chair finishes introducing the item. If you wish to speak on a subsequent item, you will need to raise your hand when that item begins. You will have two minutes per item to address the legislative body and may speak on up to four items. The clerk will call on you and allow you to speak. You will have two minutes to address the commission. If you go over your allotted time, you will be asked to make your final comment and then we'll be muted. Um let's get started with the agenda. First on the agenda is the chair's update. And for that, um, I first wanted to start off uh um advising uh my fellow commissioners that um I would like to have all the ad hocs have draft recommendation by next month. Uh please send a draft in the next week or so to OPSA to include in the agenda next month. I want to make sure that we um have those documents uh posted in uh with a link in the agenda so that the public can uh follow along and see where we are up until this point. Um additionally, uh community outreach and input um should be done in October. I know a number of ad hocs have started to do that already. That's great. And then our uh finalized recommendations should be adopted in either November or December. Uh last year we um the intent was November.
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