Open letter from BART Director Carole Ward Allen

Commentary by Carole Ward Allen

Dear community:

As the BART director serving District 4, the past year and a half has been particularly difficult and troubling time for me and our community. No words can adequately express the deep regret and sorrow that I and the entire BART organization feel for the tragic death of Oscar Grant and the other young men with Oscar (his friends) who were with him that fatal evening.

As a lifelong resident in Oakland, Oscar Grant’s death hit me especially hard because it happened here in my own backyard — District 4, located at the Fruitvale Station. While we cannot change the past, I am privileged to have been in a position to help lead the actions that BART must and is taking to assure that this never happens again.

Furthermore, as chair of the BART Board Police Review Committee, which was established immediately after the New Year’s tragedy, numerous and important steps have been taken to insure that the BART Police Department lives up to the high standard that the communities we serve deserve. Most of all I acknowledge and appreciate the many victories and gains that have come about from the community holding political leaders like myself accountable for improvements at BART. These steps are the result, in particular, of two independent reviews by the Meyers Nave law firm and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, who we call on to assist us in the review of the Police Department.

In March 2009, we also asked the U.S. Department of Justice for its assistance in determining if civil rights violations occurred as part of this incident.

Just a few of the changes made by the BART Police Review Committee are:

• Reformed the use of force policy so that every use of force will be reported and reviewed.
  
  
• Increased the amount and diversity of the training provided to our officers.
  
  
• Hired a new chief of police, Kenton Rainey, who has a strong record of accomplishment in community-oriented policing.
  
  
• Established a program of citizen oversight of the police department. A high priority for me over the last year has been working with the community to form the Citizen Oversight Committee. Thanks to many long hours, our dedicated committee developed a strong program of citizen oversight, designed to reflect the concerns and values of the communities we serve. We work in close concert with representatives of the community and received extensive public input, and listened carefully to what we heard.
  
  
• Just last week, the California State Senate unanimously approved legislation introduced by Assemblyman Sandré Swanson of Oakland to establish, for the first time, citizen oversight of the BART Police Department. Our last hurdle is to have the governor sign this bill into law and we can then implement this important reform.

Moreover, I have worked diligently with the mayor, BART staff, elected officials, faith-based leadership, minority and small businesses, and union leaders to prepare for this verdict.

I ask all of you who love Oakland as much as I do to remain calm, peaceful and work for peace not only now but for the next few months and years to come.

In closing, we must protect our city, our families and our future. I want to again express my deepest regret and heartfelt condolences to the Grant family and all of the families on behalf of myself and the BART Board. My objective as a public servant is to ensure that we never have another tragic event like this again.

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