Civil-rights advocate named police auditor
Zisser to play pivotal role in helping bring department, community closer
Aaron Zisser, a South Bay native and former federal civil-rights attorney who recently consulted with the reform commission for the Santa Clara County jail system, is the new Independent Police Auditor for San Jose, the city announced Tuesday. Zisser could play a critical role in reshaping the San Jose Police Department’s relationship with the community as it rebuilds staffing after a yearslong exodus that shrunk the number of officers by one third in the Bay Area’s largest city.
His appointment was made after a closed-session
meeting by the City Council. Zisser was an attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division from 2009 to 2015, and served on the San Francisco Office of Citizen Complaints and BART’s Independent Police Oversight System.
In the South Bay, he spearheaded the survey of Santa Clara County jails that was at the heart of a multitude of reforms recommended by the blue ribbon commission aimed at improving the jails, which was formed in the wake of the murder of mentally ill inmate Michael Tyree in 2015 that led to the convictions of three jail deputies earlier this year.
“We’re honored to have someone of Aaron’s qualifications and abilities,” Mayor Sam Liccardo said, adding that Zisser “brings a breadth of experience and a familiarity with our local community.”
Zisser, a Saratoga High School alum who was born in San Jose and grew up in Campbell, praised the relationship between police and the Office of the IPA that he is now set to helm, calling it a “model” for other cities.
“It’s been frankly very humbling. I have a lot to learn,” he said. “I got to know the community working with the blue-ribbon commission, and was impressed with the culture of openness and inclusiveness.”
Prospectively, Zisser said he plans to bring to the office his experience with police bias issues and officer interactions with mentally ill people, and will closely watch the effect that increasing staffing will have on SJPD’s ability to carry out policing reforms.
“There are very good intentions by agency leadership of getting the job right, and wanting to be part of the community in a positive way,” he said.
Zisser’s appointment fills the void created when Walter Katz, a police watchdog who made a national name for himself in Los Angeles County, left the San Jose post after about a year to become a public-safety adviser to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Liccardo said a multimonth search that evaluated six candidates resulted in Zisser’s selection. The Rev. Jason Reynolds, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church and member of the advocacy group People Acting in Community Together, sat in on the interview panels and said he came away “impressed” with Zisser and his background working with disenfranchised communities.
“His engagement and vitality, and his desire to be here and really work in San Jose, was very important,” Reynolds said. “The IPA is a space for the community to go to, and needs someone the community feels comfortable with, who they will bring their grievances to.”
Katz’s unexpected departure left an array of initiatives — including a protracted community outreach campaign — up in the air. Longtime IPA senior analyst Shivaun Nurre, who had been the acting auditor, shepherded the office’s annual accountability report, which among several recommendations, called for more detailed reporting on the use of force by the department.
Some of that outreach was effective: In 2016, for the first time since the IPA’s office was created in 1993, a majority of police complaints were submitted to the auditor rather than directly to the police department and its internal affairs division. The office is now looking to bring internal SJPD complaints, initiated by staff, within its purview.
Katz’s appointment in 2015 was lauded as a home run after the departure of former Superior Court Judge LaDoris Cordell, a civil-rights pioneer who raised the profile and pedigree of the office.
The police department has largely agreed with many of the recommendations put forth by the office over the years, and Chief Eddie Garcia has led a parallel push to adopt more progressive policing policies since he took over last year.
“We’ve had a very positive relationship and have successfully implemented several initiatives for both my officers and the community with the previous IPA,” Garcia said, “and hope to continue that relationship with our new IPA, but only time will tell.”
Technically, the IPA office — forged as a compromise between city leaders who wanted a police commission and the police union who opposed additional civilian oversight — functions as an advisory body and cannot legally compel the police department to adopt its recommendations, which is why Cordell’s political pressure and Katz’s pedigree were essential to its success.
“Those are huge shoes to fill. LaDoris Cordell and Walter Katz did a lot with the mandate they had,” Zisser said. “They made (the office) into something that resonates with the community.”
Cordell lauded Zisser’s appointment, citing her time working with him in the jail-reform commission she led, and said he deftly balanced law-enforcement and community concerns while showing necessary political acumen.
“I watched him maneuver, being able to walk that fine line without alienating people, and get the job done,” she said. “He absolutely understands community outreach. He’s the person for the job right now.”
Zisser has a law degree from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley. Currently an Oakland resident, he said he plans to move to the South Bay with his wife Beckie and two young sons, Calev and Adlai.