Judge ends 23 years of Oakland police oversight

A federal judge ended 23 years of court oversight of the Oakland Police Department on September 29, 2026, closing a case that required the department to carry out reforms after allegations of abuse by officers known as the Riders. U.S. District Judge William Orrick terminated the oversight, returning responsibility for sustaining the reforms to Oakland officials and the department. The court-supervised agreement began in 2003 after the city settled a lawsuit brought by 119 people. The settlement required 51 reforms addressing areas including use of force, discipline, supervision, training and internal investigations. The oversight was initially expected to last several years but continued for more than two decades. Orrick said the department had substantially complied with the reforms and that the court should step aside. The decision came despite a recent shortfall on a benchmark for investigating serious misconduct. In a September report, court-appointed monitor Robert Warshaw said the department completed 77 of 93 serious internal-affairs investigations within 180 days during January through March.