City Council Set to Empanel Diverse Community Police Oversight Commission on Monday

With City Council approval Monday, the city’s new 11-member Community Police Oversight Commission will be composed of seven women and four men, including a retired Superior Court judge and retired Sheriff’s Department lieutenant.
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Former Superior Court Judge Philip Argento, who was appointed to the Municipal Court bench in 1982 by former Gov. Jerry Brown and served on the Superior Court bench from 2000 up to his retirement in 2005, is up for appointment to a commission post by Mayor Victor Gordo.

Donald R. Matthews, nominated by Councilmember John Kennedy, said he spent most of his adult life in law enforcement. If approved, Matthews would be the panel’s only Black male member.

Three commissioners — Juliana Serrano, Florence Annang and Alexis Abernethy — have already been appointed.

Local consideration of forming a civilian police oversight commission dates back to the early 1990s with the L.A. Riots sparked by the acquittal of the four LAPD officers who beat up Altadena’s Rodney King in 1992. In 1993, the officer-involved death of popular local barber Michael Bryant, who was killed following a police pursuit, reignited the debate.

The subject resurfaced a decade later after the officer-involved deaths of Maurice Clark and LaMont Robinson in 2004, and again in 2012 following the officer-involved shooting death of 19-year-old Kendrec McDade.

But none of those cases were enough to garner the votes needed from a majority of City Council members to back a commission to oversee local police. At times, former Councilmember Jacque Robinson and Councilmember John Kennedy, who are African American, were the lone voices pushing for independent oversight.

Ultimately, the murder of George Floyd by former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin moved a majority of the council toward supporting some form of citizen oversight.

After protests swept the nation in response to George’s May 25, 2020 killing, a majority of council members said they supported police oversight, although an exact model had not been formally discussed.

One candidate up for approval Monday, Argento, said he has years of experience judging police behavior.

“My experience as a judge included oversight of police work such as reviewing applications for search warrants, handling motions to suppress evidence arising from alleged violations of the Fourth Amendment, and accessing police personnel records concerning incidents of excessive force and falsification of records,” Argento wrote on his application.

“I have completed education and training in anti-bias as required by the Judicial Council,” he continued. “I recently completed a 20-hour workshop, “Racism in America: What Is Mine to Do?”

“I grew up in South Central Los Angeles,” wrote Matthews, the lone African-American man set to be appointed, in his application. Matthews also served with the L.A. County Marshal’s Department.

“I raised my family and two sons for 44 years in Pasadena. I spent the majority of my adult life in law enforcement related employment. Based on my personal and professional life, I can relate to the community needs as well as the law enforcement needs.”

With council approval, the commission would have five African-American members.

Women will make up a majority of the commission with seven members: Esprit Jones, Noemi Emeric-Ford, Barbara Stacy, Patricia Kinaga, Serrano, Annang and Abernethy.

“Based on my research and conversations with stakeholders, I see the Commission’s objective as providing oversight, counsel and advice,” Emeric-Ford wrote in her application.

Stacy said she saw the commission’s objectives and goals as “Receiving community feedback and complaints which relate to the Police Department. Making recommendations to city leaders and the Police Department. Working effectively with the Police Department and the Independent Police Auditor. Monitoring and publishing statistics on use of force, personnel complaints and outcomes within the Police Department. Respecting the confidentiality of police files.”