Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii has tapped former Interim Director of Police Accountability Kathy Lee to return to her previous role following the dismissal of Director Hansel Aguilar and as the City Council searches for a permanent successor. Credit: Courtesy of Kathy Lee Credit: Courtesy Kathy Lee
Berkeley’s tentative pick for interim director of police accountability is an oversight veteran and onetime lawyer for the city who, as a bonus, already held the same position for more than a year.
Kathy Lee, who served as the interim director from mid-2021 until the City Council appointed Hansel Aguilar in October 2022, will go before the council for confirmation March 24, Mayor Adena Ishii announced Thursday.
Lee, now retired, previously worked for Berkeley in different capacities for over three decades, including as a deputy city attorney, as a senior hearing examiner for the Rent Stabilization Board and as an officer of the Police Review Commission, the predecessor to the Police Accountability Board. A 2020 ballot measure established the Office of the Director of Police Accountability and shifted the PRC’s responsibilities to the new, supposedly more authoritative, PAB.
If confirmed, Lee will lead an office and staff a board that are both in turmoil. The City Council announced Aguilar’s firing Feb. 9, just 10 days after the two most veteran PAB members announced they were resigning in protest over what they saw as obstruction from the city and resistance to reform from police. The resignations and firings came after months of escalating tensions between the city’s civilian police oversight apparatus on one side, and the council and other administrative city agencies on the other.
Police Accountability Board staff and members in attendance during the February 11 meeting include (L-R) Jose Murillo, Joshua Buswell-Charkow, Leah Wilson, Joshua Cayetano, and Randy Wells. Credit: Kelly Sullivan for Berkeleyside
In a prepared statement included in Ishii’s announcement, Lee thanked the mayor and council and said that “It is vital to keep the ODPA and Police Accountability Board, created by a resounding vote of this community in 2020 to strengthen civilian oversight of our Police Department, functioning during this time of transition.”
Lee’s proposed pay rate will be $122.44 per hour at an estimated 32 hours per week, or just north of $200,000 a year. When she was appointed in 2021 her annual salary was $182,260.65. Aguilar was appointed at a salary of $200,000, plus relocation expenses and a temporary housing allowance. Berkeleyside requested more up-to-date salary information following his dismissal but the city has not yet provided it.
The City Council, meanwhile, continues to search for a permanent director. Policy Analyst Jose Murillo has served as acting director since Aguilar’s departure.
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