Signatories to the November complaint against Oakland Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick for untruthful statements relating to the August 2017 West Oakland ICE raid issued a letter on January 16 asking for City of Oakland investigator Joan Suape to be removed.
Privacy Advisory Commission chair Brian Hofer states that in a January 12 interview with Suape, the investigator asked questions regarding how the family of a 25 year old Oakland resident placed in deportation proceedings, got into the country and attempted to re-establish the discredited charges of human trafficking.
HSI/ICE and OPD Chief Kirkpatrick claimed the raid was not civil immigration enforcement due to the prescence of a warrant. Later investigation revealed that no criminal charges have been filed in the case against anyone, the person arrested was not named on the warrant, and the only outcome of the raid is a non-criminal deportation proceeding for lack of residency status.
OPD Chief Kirkpatrick claimed in a town hall meeting on September 6, 2017 videotaped by East Bay Express Reporter Darwin Bond Graham, that one person had been charged with a crime after the raid and there was no deportation matter involved in the case. Both statements were false.
Hofer and the other complainants said they had no confidence Ms. Suape was acting in good faith and that Suape’s actions and statements during the January 12 interview demonstrated she was trying to establish the criminal predicate ICE said existed, and focusing her investigation on the family targeted by ICE rather than on the subject of the complaint, the Oakland Police Chief.
January 16 Letter to CPRB ED Anthony Finnell Regarding Investigator Joan Suape.
CPRB Finnell 1-16-18