Vallejo says police oversight commission can begin operating after years of delay

VALLEJO - Vallejo’s Police Oversight and Accountability Commission can begin its work after waiting three years for the police union to finish a meet and confer process with the city and move forward under a 2022 ordinance.

The city announced Wednesday that its meet and confer process with the Vallejo Police Officers’ Association has ended, and will result in the dismissal of a complaint which the union filed with the Public Employment Relations Board in 2023. 

The complaint focused on the wording and requirements of the ordinance creating the commission. The Vallejo City Council adopted the ordinance in 2022 following a series of police scandals that led to a reform agreement with the state Department of Justice, which required the creation of a commission. The city said the ordinance will not be modified in any way going forward.

Former and current commission appointees have expressed their frustration that the commission has not been able to perform any oversight tasks or even begin to hold meetings. 

The commission’s goals include improving relations between the community and the Vallejo Police Department and reviewing complaints about law enforcement from community members. 

But the meet and confer process with the union kept it in limbo for three years. During that time, the commissioners’ contact information hasn’t been posted on the city’s website and they don’t even have city email addresses. The commission’s website also doesn’t have working links to the commission’s community engagement documents or sections of the Vallejo Municipal Code, describing the purpose and duties of the seven commission members. 

City Attorney Veronica Nebb told Vallejo Sun in July that this was due to the requirements of the city’s ordinance, which states that the commission “shall not be implemented until completion of any meet and confer process with any affected bargaining unit including but not limited to the Vallejo Police Officers Association.” She said that all commission meetings have been focused on training alone under an interim settlement with VPOA, making them “Brown Act and municipal code compliant.”

The American Civil Liberties Union has accused Nebb's office of misconduct in its handling of police matters, including by holding up the commission.

City officials said that with the meet and confer process concluded, details regarding the next meeting of the Police Oversight and Accountability Commission, including the date, time, and agenda, will be posted publicly in the coming weeks. 

Police Chief Jason Ta said in a statement that, “We believe that the implementation of the commission is in the best interest of both our officers and the community. We are committed to working collaboratively with the commission to uphold the highest standards of policing and to continue serving the people of Vallejo with integrity." 

 The Vallejo City Council’s liaison to the commission, Councilmember Tonia Lediju, said Wednesday that she appreciated “the City Attorney, City Manager, Chief of Police and the Vallejo Police Officers Association’s new leadership for their professionalism and collaboration throughout this process.”

“The successful activation of the Police Oversight and Accountability Commission reflects our collective commitment to meaningful accountability and to fostering stronger trusting relationships between our police department and the community it serves,” Lediju added.

Vallejo police Sgt. Lenard Alamon took over as president of the VPOA earlier this year following the retirement of former President Lt. Michael Nichelini. Nichelini was fired from the department in 2021 and reinstated the following year. He remained union president during that time.

Mayor Andrea Sorce called the completion of the meet and confer process “An important step forward for Vallejo – towards transparency, accountability, and rebuilding the trust our community deserves.”

However, former Santa Rosa City Attorney Brien Ferrell - who voiced his concerns about the commission’s non-status to Vallejo Sun last summer - had a different reaction to the news. “Based on my experience and knowledge, no city in California has so successfully delayed and blocked independent police oversight,” he said.

“I have enormous respect for the POAC members,” Ferrell added. “They are taking on a difficult, complex and vital responsibility.”