Modesto releases details on police oversight plan amid renewed tension over shootings

John Holland
·2 min read
Interim Modesto Police Chief Brandon Gillespie addresses the Forward Together committee at its first meeting at Greens on Tenth in Modesto, Calif., on Tuesday, July 20, 2021.

The city of Modesto released details Friday on how it might carry out the police oversight urged by the Forward Together committee.

The City Council on Tuesday will consider creating a nine-member Community Police Review Board. The proposed by-laws said the members, to be appointed by the council later, should represent the city’s diversity but have no one from law enforcement.

At the same meeting, the council could launch the search for an independent auditor of police operations. The firm would work with the review board and issue public reports “to the extent allowed by applicable law” on officer privacy, the city staff said.

The auditor would have access to internal investigations but no authority to discipline officers for misconduct. That would remain with police management and prosecutors.

The firm would get a three-year contract with an option for two more. The staff report did not estimate the cost to the city.

Forward Together launched in spring 2021 amid concern in Modesto and beyond about officer-involved shootings and related issues. The committee has 27 members representing civil rights, business, law enforcement and other groups.

Just last Tuesday, the City Council heard impassioned complaints about a decision not to prosecute the officer who fatally shot Paul Chavez Jr. on July 14. Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager had announced a day earlier that Officer Sam Muncy was justified because Chavez continually resisted and was holding a trailer hitch.

The speakers also included Darlene Ruiz, whose son, Trevor Seever, was shot and killed by Officer Joseph Lamantia in late 2020. The officer has since been fired and charged with voluntary manslaughter.

Ruiz endorsed the Forward Together plan, including its call for social workers to help out when officers encounter mentally ill people.

“I just hope we can count on you guys to put forth Forward Together and bring some trust into our city,” she told the council.

The review board members would serve four-year terms without pay. They must be registered to vote in Modesto and submit to background checks. No one who works for the city government or for a law-enforcement agency anywhere could apply.

The by-laws envision a board “representing diverse ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, professional experience, organizational affiliations and neighborhoods/districts in Modesto.”

The City Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13, in the basement chamber at Tenth Street Place, 1010 Tenth St.

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