A panel asked to recommend a model for the independent review of officer-involved shootings will travel to San Jose in June to see how the city's independent police auditor program works.
The auditor's office, headed by a retired judge, reviews police misconduct investigations and makes recommendations to government agencies about how to improve police relations with the community. It's one of three Bay Area police review models the group will be looking at as it tries to determine what is best for Sonoma County.
The panel is a subcommittee of the task force created after 13-year-old Andy Lopez was shot and killed last October by a sheriff's deputy. The Sonoma County District Attorney's office is currently reviewing the case.
The panel has already identified a broad range of features it might like to see in a body that would be independent from local law enforcement or government, but has delayed finalizing those ideas until it has had a chance to see how existing review bodies work.
"If we start asking questions, like 'how does this work under an auditor model,' right know we don't know," said task force member Eric Koenigshofer, an Occidental Attorney and former county supervisor.
In its effort to learn more about the pros and cons of various systems, the panel will also interview representatives from the San Francisco Office of Citizen Complaints, a group of civilians that investigates complaints against San Francisco police officers and makes recommendations about police practices, and BART's independent auditor office.
At its Monday meeting, the panel did not indicate what type of model it was leaning toward.
Whatever the model, it is important to have buy-in from local law enforcement agencies, said Task Force member Jose Casta?da, owner of Casta?da's Market in Windsor. "It's gotta be a partnership between entities" for it to work.
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