San Leandro Community Police Review Board Meeting – February 24, 2026

The board convened at 2:00 PM with all members present except Casey (excused). The meeting covered the police chief's report, the IPA's monthly report, the annual ALPR audit, the 2025 complaints review, formation of a new ad hoc committee on vehicle pursuits, and adoption of the 2026 work plan. Public comment addressed pretextual stops and data privacy concerns.

Consent Calendar

• The minutes from the previous meeting were approved unanimously (6–0) with no amendments or corrections.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Douglas, a community member, expressed concern about pretextual stops and read a Facebook post by JT Reyes describing a traffic stop in San Leandro where the officer had a hand on his weapon, called backup, and issued a citation for a missing front license plate. Douglas urged the board to take this seriously.

Discussion Items

• Police Chief's Report: The chief reported progress on recruit hiring (two in Alameda County Academy, four in Contra Costa County, one recent graduate hired), field training updates, and provided details on a fatal collision on January 31, 2026. An SLPD sergeant attempted a traffic stop on a fleeing vehicle, terminated the pursuit, but the vehicle later collided with an unoccupied parked car and caught fire. The front passenger died; the driver and rear passenger were hospitalized. The CHP is investigating. The chief also distributed remaining workbooks from the transformational policing model training.
• IPA Monthly Report (Denise): For January 2026: 29 use-of-force incidents pending review, 7 new, 6 reviewed by department and IPA, with two agreed courses of action (review BWC policy on personal music; verbal remediation on profanity). Pursuits: 15 pending, 4 new, 3 reviewed by department and IPA, one remedial action for unsafe dragging. Complaints: 18 pending, 5 new, none completed this month. One commendation was issued for an officer who terminated an unsafe pursuit but followed up and secured evidence to identify a robbery suspect. A board member asked why no complaints were reviewed yet; Denise explained that complaint investigations take longer due to procedural requirements.
• Board Secretary's Report (Info Card): The ad hoc committee reported that graphics are finished, but member photos are pending. The chair urged completion before the current fiscal year ends. A deadline of “sooner than June” was suggested for Cherry Festival outreach.
• ALPR Audit (Jeff and Assistant Chief): Jeff presented the IPA’s annual audit of automatic license plate reader data (for July 2025). Key findings: 9,883 queries by 52 distinct SLPD users on 1,103 unique plates tied to 270 case numbers. Six out of ten searches lacked case numbers; reasons for search were inconsistent. No ICE-related inquiries were found. There was a heavy concentration of queries among five to six users. Remedial actions taken: mandatory case number fields, dropdown menus for search reasons, removal of personal identifying info from fields, and disabling the national lookup toggle. The assistant chief confirmed that El Cajon was removed from accessing San Leandro’s system effective that evening. Board members raised concerns about data sharing with ICE and other federal agencies, the need for monthly audits, and the reliability of Flock as a vendor. The chair proposed continuing this item as a discussion topic at the next meeting (no action taken, per rules).
• 2025 Complaints Review (Denise): Denise presented the annual complaints report, covering 17 complaints reviewed in 2025 (10 received in 2025, 7 from 2024/2023). Dispositions: exonerated, unfounded, sustained, not sustained. Of these, 12 complaints were external (from the public) with none sustained; 4 of 6 internal complaints were sustained. Board members asked about the definition of “incompetence” as a category, the time lag for older complaints, and whether officers had multiple complaints. The IPA noted that the categorization system from the software is limited and may be improved. The chief explained that external complaints are often adjudicated through body camera footage. A board member expressed interest in future data linking complaint categories with dispositions and officer-level patterns.
• Ad Hoc Committees: The crowd control ad hoc committee (Joseph, Tim, Chair) submitted a memo to the chief with questions. A new ad hoc committee on the vehicle pursuit policy was formed after a motion by the chair, seconded by Keith, and passed unanimously (6–0). The committee (Keith, Jenny, Tim) will review the department's revised pursuit policy once it is finalized internally.
• 2026 Work Plan Adoption: The board discussed and amended the proposed work plan. Changes included: adding a review of the board’s administrative procedures in September, extending farmers market outreach to all months (April–October) with a goal of at least two appearances, and scheduling an earlier update on the police department’s budget impacts (instead of waiting until December). Eric, the city staff liaison, noted that the normal budget planning process begins later in the year, but agreed to discuss the request further and report back. The motion to adopt the amended work plan was made by Keith, seconded by Saida, and passed with no public comment.

Key Outcomes

• Minutes of the previous meeting approved (6–0).
• Ad hoc committee on vehicle pursuit policy created (6–0).
• 2026 work plan adopted with amendments (including administrative procedures review in September and extended farmers market months).
• ALPR audit discussion will be continued as a discussion-only item at the next meeting.
• The board noted the upcoming City Council Annual Retreat on Friday, March 6, 2026, at 9 AM in the same room, where the public can comment on budget priorities.
• The info card project is to be finalized before the end of the current fiscal year.
• Monthly IPA reports on ALPR usage are anticipated but not yet formally approved.