Berkeley police oversight resignations should be a ‘wake-up call,’ officials say

BERKELEY — Resignations by two members of the Berkeley Police Accountability Board on Friday were described as a “wake-up call,” but for who is up for debate.

Kitty Calavita and Juliet Leftwich announced their resignations in a joint letter Jan. 30, accusing city leadership of ignoring the body’s perspectives and overruling its authority to conduct investigations.

Berkeley has had some form of police oversight for decades, starting first with the Police Review Commission, formed in 1973. The Police Accountability Board and Director of Police Accountability Office replaced the commission after nearly 85% of Berkeley voters agreed to amend the city’s charter and create the two entities.

Calavita and Leftwich were the longest tenured members of the Police Accountability Board, having served on both oversight bodies since 2017.

“For more than half a century, Berkeley was a model for other cities seeking meaningful police oversight. No more,” Calavita and Leftwich said in their joint resignation letter. “Because we believe our continued efforts to fulfill the mission of the PAB will be in vain, we regrettably must resign.”

Similar concerns were shared by former Police Accountability Board member Cheryl Owens when she resigned in 2023 as another member, Deborah Levine, termed out of her role, Berkeleyside reported at the time.

Police Accountability Board Chair Josh Cayetano said Calavita, a sociologist focused on law and criminology, and Leftwich, an attorney and former legal director of the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, will be missed. He called them great colleagues who became friends over the two years they served together.

“Whoever replaces them will have big shoes to fill,” Cayetano said. “Kitty and Juliet, out of everybody on the board, had a really strong belief that police accountability could really work in Berkeley if the city wanted it to, so their resignation is a signal of how bad things are.”

There are now five vacancies on the nine-member body. The three other vacancies were in positions appointed by Mayor Adena Ishii and Councilmembers Ben Bartlett and Terry Taplin. An alternate position appointed by the council at large is also unfilled.

Cayetano, who was appointed to the board by Councilmember Cecilia Lunaparra in 2023, said the body has not been fully manned for years now. The troubled relationship between the Police Accountability Board, City Council and leadership in multiple city departments is possibly to blame, he theorized.

“Berkeley is a very diverse, educated, civically engaged community. I’m sure there are people interested, but the council has not shown they’re willing to trust the PAB and that might suppress interest in serving on the board,” Cayetano said.

In their resignation letter, Calavita and Leftwich accused the police chief and offices of the city attorney, human resources and city manager of dragging out the process for developing board regulations. Two key issues are still on the table, but Calavita and Leftwich said they could not discuss them publicly.

Calavita and Leftwich raised concerns that policies crafted by both iterations of the oversight body are being undone, pointing to recent changes to the police department’s use of force policy which they said “completely eviscerated” a version created with support from the board.

They also accused the city of withholding documents they said are necessary for their investigations, and took issue with the city manager and police chief reversing the board’s decisions when they’ve sustained misconduct allegations.

Police Chief Jennifer Louis and City Manager Paul Buddenhagen declined to comment.

In an emailed statement, Ishii shared gratitude for Calavita and Leftwich’s service and said it was unfortunate they felt the need to resign.

“Their departure underscores just how challenging this work can be, and how important it is. With these resignations, the PAB no longer has enough members to function properly, and our focus must now be on filling these vacant seats so the Board can continue its work,” Ishii said.

Councilmember Igor Tregub said Calavita had informed his office directly about her plans to resign and his office is now soliciting applications from those interested in the position.

“We are deeply grateful for Commissioner Calavita’s many years of service on the PAB and its precursor commission (the Police Review Commission) and her thoughtful approach to complex matters related to policing and police accountability. While we regret losing her as our PAB appointee, per our conversations with the Commissioner, there is mutual desire and intention to continue our close working relationship and thought partnership,” Tregub said in an emailed statement.

Councilmember Brent Blackaby, who served with Calavita and Leftwich on the board before being elected to the council, will be responsible for appointing Leftwich’s replacement. He lauded them both for the experience and expertise they brought to civilian police oversight and said he is sad to see them go.

Blackaby said he understands the frustrations that led the two members to resign. He had similar concerns when he was on the board, he said, but his time on the council has given him a new perspective. Transparent police oversight is important, he said, but so is the broader issue of public safety, staff morale in the police department and retaining staff.

“In a lot of ways, we’re still trying to figure out the role of the PAB, department and City Council, and how they all work together,” Blackaby said.

While Blackaby said he agreed with Cayetano’s characterization of the resignations as a “wake-up call,” that warning should be for everyone involved, not just the council and department leadership, he argued.

Not all issues require the full weight of the Police Accountability Board’s authority, Blackaby argued. His recent advice to the body, which he reiterated during a phone interview, was to focus on a few big issues before the city — the use of drones, automatic license plate readers and fixed surveillance cameras — especially given the limited members currently serving.

Finalizing board regulations also needs to happen, and hopefully soon, Blackaby said. The council has been pressuring all parties involved to complete that work which Blackaby said “has taken too long and too much staff time.”

“Things are not working and communication needs to be better. Everyone needs to give a little ground and figure out how we’re going to work this out, whether council or PAB, department or city staff,” Blackaby said.

Better communication and collaboration between the board, council and departments was also raised by Cayetano as a key solution to the divide.

An example would be an invitation to the board to speak when issues related to the police department come up during City Council meetings, rather than board members being forced to weigh in on complex issues during the limited comment period open to the general public.

“I’m hoping that these resignations will cause them to really look inwardly and think about how these relationships should be going forward,” Cayetano said.