Rohnert Park Council Approves Police Accountability Measures

ROHNERT PARK (BCN) – The Rohnert Park City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved several measures related to law enforcement accountability and community relations with its Department of Public Safety.

The city will retain an independent police auditor to review public safety investigations into civilian complaints and provide reports with recommendations to the Director of Public Safety. These reports will be available to the public.

The measures also include adopting a public safety presentation calendar, creating a community roundtable with a diverse group representing underrepresented minority groups, implementing a response model to enhance crisis intervention, restarting the Civilian Public Safety Academy, expanding trainings regarding explicit and implicit bias, sensitivity and de-escalation, augmenting staff resiliency programs, continuing existing officer stewardship and mentoring and engagement of community stakeholders.

"I'm very pleased that the City Council came together on this challenging issue," Rohnert Park Mayor Gerard Giudice said in a statement. "We take our role in police oversight seriously. These measures will help us reach the next level, including engaging all members of our community."

The plan approval comes following a May report that provided updates on laws, policies and practices being reviewed or enacted to address police accountability, city officials said.

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