The city of San Jose has launched a new way for people to track complaints made against police.
There is a new web portal, where anyone can quickly look up and view complaints against San Jose officers that were investigated by the city’s independent police auditor.
“San Jose is taking a significant step forward in our public safety journey today,” said Stephen Caines, Deputy Information Officer, Moti.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. said that while state laws require cities provide the records, San Jose is going above and beyond to make it accessible.
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“The reality is we know there are those few who violate our principles our laws. For that reason, we need to have accountability, and this is one of many tools,” he said.
Now, anyone can go on the independent police auditor’s website – and look up records by date, incident type, or even by officer name.
It includes cases of officer involved shootings, and ‘great bodily injury’ between 2014 and 2020. Though, cases continue to be uploaded.
One of those police shootings was on July 4, 2016. The portal shows the notes and records made by the police auditor. That case ended with a jury awarding $2.6 million dollars to the family.
But will any of this help improve policing?
“I have to say we don’t know. We did see some significant change in officer behavior after body worn camera [footage] was made available to my office and to defense attorneys and the da. It may be something similar but it’s too early to tell,” said Shivaun Nurre, a San Jose independent police auditor.
Next year, the portal will include records of officers accused of engaging in biased or discriminatory behavior, conducting unlawful arrests or searches, using excessive force, or failing to report other officers who used such force.
“I strongly encourage other departments and municipalities to follow the lead of san jose. Public safety is not merely providing services, it also involves robust oversight mechanisms overseeing the delivery of those services,” said Caines.
The auditor said it only includes complaints made to her office and urges people who feel they’ve been wronged by to file reports so she can investigate.
