By Ali Tadayon, The Mercury News, July 10, 2019.
OAKLAND — If police don’t have a warrant, they will be limited as to when they can search parolees and probationers under a new Oakland policy, the first of its kind in the state.
State law allows police to search parolees and probationers without a warrant and without a reason, even during routine traffic stops. Oakland’s policy — approved by the City Council unanimously last week — requires officers to have a reason to conduct a warrantless search on someone who is on probation or parole, and bars police from immediately asking people who they stop about their parole or probation status.
The policy will not go into effect until it gets the go-ahead from federal monitor Robert Warshaw, who was appointed to oversee the department as it complies with a negotiated settlement agreement reached in 2003 stemming from the infamous Riders class-action lawsuit. The city settled the lawsuit by paying out $11 million to 119 people who claimed they were brutalized by a group of rogue officers known as the “Riders,” and agreed to reforming department policies.
Officers must also be trained on the new policy before it’s implemented.
“It would be a sea change; it would be completely different from any other law enforcement agency,” Sgt. Joe Turner said at the July 9 meeting. “We would not be riding the wave, we would be generating the wave.”
Katie Dixon, an activist who also spoke at Tuesday’s meeting, said the policy gives her and her family peace of mind knowing that a simple traffic stop won’t turn into a “whole situation of embarrassment.”
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