The lawsuit on behalf of Berkeley’s Director of Police Accountability, Hansel Aguilar, seeks records related to officer misconduct alleged during a homeless encampment sweep in June. A city resident filed a complaint against Berkeley’s Police Department alleging that during the sweep, three officers acted improperly toward people who were recording their actions.
Investigating misconduct complaints is one of the main roles of the Police Accountability Board, which was created by a city ballot measure that passed with 85% of voters’ support in 2020.
Aguilar requested records related to the sweep for an investigation into the complaint in July, and the department said in court filings that it handed over the incident report, body-worn camera footage and other video of the officers engaging with the person who filed the complaint. In August, Aguilar escalated his request, subpoenaing additional materials.
In response, BPD provided one additional document — an operations plan related to the city’s encampment resolution, which allows police to sweep encampments even when shelter isn’t available — in response to the subpoena, but declined to produce the remaining records. It said that those documents were either unrelated to the incident or “jeopardized the integrity of an active criminal case, and/or contained sensitive information that could compromise the privacy and safety of victims, community members, and officers.”
Aguilar’s suit alleges that Police Chief Jennifer Louis has failed to comply with Berkeley’s city charter by refusing to turn over those remaining documents. He’s asking an Alameda Superior Court Judge to demand they be released, or schedule a hearing where the police department must provide cause for not doing so.
Additionally, he’s asking the judge to declare that Louis has “failed to comply with her duties” under the charter, and is “legally required to cooperate and assist the Director of Police Accountability” in this case, and moving forward.
Aguilar and the Police Accountability Board have raised concerns in the past about struggling to obtain records from the department without subpoenas.
