Council to revisit auditor contract
The Vallejo City Council is expected to review an already approved city contract for an independent police department auditor — a position the council authorized in 2021 that has yet to be filled.
Councilmember Mina Loera-Diaz requested future discussions on the auditor role following the Vallejo Police Department's special council meeting presentation last week that provided updates for the department's implementation of reform recommendations.
Those 45 recommendations come from a VPD audit that the OIR Group, an independent policy consultant focused on police practice reform, published in 2019. Vallejo's police department has successfully implemented eight of those recommendations that the California Department of Justice has signed off on, according to VPD's presentation.
The OIR Group, in addition to its reform recommendations, further suggested the implementation of a VPD independent auditor who would make policy recommendations and work with the department to address recurring issues. “Effective monitors build collaborative relationships with both the police department and various communities,” the report reads, “to enhance transparency, increase accountability, and improve public awareness and involvement.”
The contract with the OIR Group has been council-approved since February 2021 but remains vacant due to what city staff describes as a conflict of interest between Vallejo and the consulting group. According to reporting from the Vallejo Sun, the OIR Group is serving as an expert in a litigation case for the city. Assistant City Attorney Randy Risner told Loera-Diaz in December that the city is unable to have some
one serve both as an auditor and a case expert.
“The conflict issue was certainly not raised with us when there was an initial interest in having us serve as interim independent police auditor a couple of years ago,” wrote OIR Group Attorney Michael Gennaco in a statement to the Times-Herald. He said that Vallejo requested the OIR Group to conduct an investigation into the death of Sean Monterrosa, whom VPD Detective Jarrett Tonn shot and killed in 2020.
Gennaco also said that the OIR Group has contracts in place with Davis and the counties of Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties that allow it to concurrently conduct investigations and regular audit work under certain circumstances.
Both conversations surrounding the position and VPD's collaborative reform efforts with the state DOJ are scheduled for the council's June 27 meeting. VPD's agreement with the DOJ is set to expire on June 5. Loera-Diaz, who also requested to agendize talks about the city's relationship with the DOJ, is advocating for a five-year extension to the city-state partnership.
Vallejo Police Surveillance Advisory Board Chair Andrea Sorce told the Times-Herald that the partnership with the DOJ should continue and is most likely what has spurred VPD to make efforts to implement the OIR recommendations. She mentioned VPD's failure to proactively implement a privacy policy on its gunshot detection technology prior to installation as an indication that the department may not be used to oversight, thus stressing its importance.
“I think we have an institution that has structured itself in such a way that it's incredibly averse to reform,” Sorce said, “and the only way we're going to see any progress is if we bring in some external oversight.”