{"id":157160,"date":"2026-01-30T23:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T23:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/157160\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T23:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T23:04:09","slug":"6-takeaways-from-oaklandsides-investigation-into-opd-overtime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/157160\/","title":{"rendered":"6 takeaways from Oaklandside\u2019s investigation into OPD overtime"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, we published an investigation<\/a> into overtime spending at the Oakland Police Department, focusing on the city\u2019s highest-paid officer. <\/p>\n

It revealed chronic record-keeping failures, seemingly impossible work schedules, and major questions about the department\u2019s financial management amid Oakland\u2019s budget crisis.<\/p>\n

Nearly 200,000 people have read this reporting to date. But if you just want the topline summary, here are six key takeaways.<\/p>\n

One officer made nearly half a million dollars in overtime alone<\/p>\n

Timothy Dolan, who leads OPD\u2019s traffic unit and serves as vice president of the police union, earned $493,247 in overtime in 2024. Combined with his base salary and other pay, his total paycheck reached $711,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s nearly double the police chief\u2019s salary and almost three times what the mayor earns.<\/p>\n

Dolan worked 3,304 hours of overtime on top of his 1,938 regular hours \u2014 the equivalent of more than two and a half full-time jobs. His total compensation, including pension and healthcare benefits, was $879,000.<\/p>\n

The number of six-figure overtime earners has nearly tripled in three years<\/p>\n

As Oakland\u2019s budget crisis has deepened, forcing layoffs of civilian employees and spending freezes across city programs, police overtime has exploded. In 2021, 58 officers earned over $100,000 in overtime. By 2024, that number had nearly tripled to 169 officers.<\/p>\n

Officers earning over $200,000 in overtime more than quadrupled from six to 27 over the same period. OPD spent over $55 million on overtime in fiscal year 2024 \u2014 $31 million over budget.<\/p>\n

Nearly half of one officer\u2019s overtime hours lacked important documentation<\/p>\n

OPD could produce overtime documentation showing what tasks were accomplished for only about half of Dolan\u2019s logged hours. Officers are required to fill out forms detailing dates, times, and specific activities for all overtime work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For 1,556 of Dolan\u2019s 3,304 overtime hours \u2014 nearly 47% \u2014 the department could not locate these records.<\/p>\n

This follows a pattern identified in 2017, when OPD\u2019s Office of Inspector General requested overtime records for 10 officers, and the department could produce only about a quarter of the requested forms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The department continues to rely on antiquated paper-based record-keeping despite plans to digitize the system.<\/p>\n

If documented work schedules are accurate, they raise serious safety concerns<\/p>\n

The overtime records that OPD did provide show work patterns that some say could lead to safety issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On July 9, 2024, Dolan reported working 23 hours. The next day, he worked 16 hours, followed by three consecutive 15-hour days. In one stretch, he worked at least 19 consecutive days, with 15-hour shifts or longer on all but two of those days.<\/p>\n

Reviewing traffic collision reports accounted for hundreds of expensive overtime hours<\/p>\n

Dolan spent at least 815 overtime hours \u2014 equivalent to five months of full-time work \u2014 reviewing traffic collision reports. This paperwork review was by far his most time-consuming documented overtime activity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The reports are primarily used for insurance claims and engineering purposes and are typically not admissible as court evidence.<\/p>\n

Because Dolan was a sergeant near the top of OPD\u2019s salary scale in 2024 (with a base salary of about $163,000), his overtime rate made this work particularly expensive for the city. Spreading the work among other officers could have significantly reduced costs.<\/p>\n

Doland and OPD told us there is a major backlog of collision reports and that his work reviewing and approving these is a service to the city.<\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t overtime due to understaffing?<\/p>\n

OPD\u2019s $386 million budget represents just under 20% of Oakland\u2019s total spending, making it by far the city\u2019s most expensive department. Yet OPD routinely exceeds its overtime budget by millions of dollars each year.<\/p>\n

While the police union attributes overtime spending to understaffing, data compiled by a union that represents civilian city employees shows a different pattern. From 2011 to 2024, OPD staffing increased by nearly 9%. Over the same period, overtime spending rose by almost 200%.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And historical data suggest that increasing police staffing has not reduced overtime spending.<\/p>\n

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