Oakland Police officer (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

By Ria Bagga and Mia Wagley

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Oakland City Council’s unanimous 7-0 vote Tuesday night rejecting the reappointments of Ricardo Garcia Acosta and Omar Farmer to the Oakland Police Commission was met with sharp backlash from the Anti Police-Terror Project, which called the decision “a politically motivated attack on independent oversight and a blatant step backward toward unchecked police power in Oakland.”

According to APTP’s official press release, the Police Commission Selection Panel had already unanimously voted to reappoint commissioners Garcia Acosta and Farmer. But with Councilmember Kevin Jenkins leading the effort to insert the council into the process, APTP said the council “ignored the law” and “disrespected the democratic will of the Oaklanders who fought to create the Police Commission in the first place.”

The press release said the controversy stemmed from what it described as a “false complaint letter” sent by civilian Rajni Mandal, who had “zero expertise in public safety,” to Jenkins. APTP said the Police Commission’s attorney confirmed that every claim in Mandal’s letter was “false and unsupported by any facts.” Still, Jenkins allegedly stalled the reappointments and led the council “into an illegal and illegitimate process.”

APTP accused Jenkins and Councilmember Ken Houston of manipulating procedure and removing two commissioners “who had the courage to hold OPD accountable.” The group said councilmembers knew the outcome was predetermined and claimed Houston is now “on social media platforms gloating about his ‘win,’” knowing he is one step closer to deconstructing the Police Commission.

The APTP emphasized that the Police Commission, created in 2016 and expanded in 2020, was “born in response to the bloody reign of the Oakland Police Department who in 2015 murdered 11 Black men with impunity.” The group warned that dismantling the commission would allow OPD to “return to terrorizing Oakland with zero accountability.”

The decision to reject the reappointments of Garcia Acosta and Farmer—“the only Latinx commissioner and a Black alternate who both stood firm in their commitment to community oversight and police accountability”—followed the death of Doug Martin, who died in OPD custody. APTP said the death underscored how the department remains unequipped to “respond to crises without violence.”

Cat Brooks, co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project, said Jenkins “took a baseless letter from a right-wing agitator and used it to attack the only civilian body that holds OPD accountable.” She said the action was not democratic but an attempt to expand political power. “The conspicuous nature of his acts directly proves that he looks to discriminate against minority communities to further his political agenda,” Brooks said.

“We have been here before,” Brooks said. “Where right-wing forces implemented harmful and violent policies on the heads of our people. We fought and won a progressive Oakland then, and we will beat back this conservative pull and win again—in the streets, in City Hall, and anywhere else this right-wing effort rears its ugly head.”

“The people of Oakland will remember this injustice and who is behind it,” she added.

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Categories: Breaking News Everyday Injustice Tags: Anti Police-Terror Project Cat Brooks Doug Martin Ken Houston Kevin Jenkins Oakland Police Commission Oakland police department Police Accountability