OAKLAND — The Oakland Police Department has complied with all 51 court-mandated reforms stemming from the 2000 'Riders' police misconduct scandal, according to a report issued by the department’s federal monitor in 2025. The department has been under federal court oversight for 23 years following the scandal, which involved officers accused of beating, kidnapping, and planting drugs on West Oakland residents.

Federal monitor Robert Warshaw determined that the Oakland Police Department has met all 51 court-ordered reforms for the first time since the 2003 Negotiated Settlement Agreement, which required sweeping changes to use-of-force policies, racial profiling prevention, internal affairs procedures, officer discipline, and transparency measures. U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick, who oversees the oversight program, signaled optimism that Oakland’s leaders, including Mayor Barbara Lee and Interim Police Chief James Beere, are committed to constitutional policing.

“You have to have the infrastructure, the building, the leadership,” said Judge William Orrick during a courtroom hearing in San Francisco. “I hope to see this proud franchise continue.” He added, “No one can say, ‘Mission accomplished,’ but I do congratulate OPD and the city for getting this far.”

Mayor Barbara Lee called the milestone “a step forward for community trust and constitutional policing in Oakland.” Since taking office, she has dedicated resources to support the department’s exit from federal oversight, including hiring Michelle Phillips as assistant city administrator and interim constitutional policing chief.

Civil rights attorney Jim Chanin, who co-filed the original 2000 Riders lawsuit on behalf of over 100 plaintiffs—most of whom were Black—expressed cautious optimism. “I am close to finishing my job here,” Chanin said, quoting Martin Luther King Jr.: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” He also raised concerns about racial disparities in sustained misconduct complaints among officers, stating, “The way officers treat each other cannot help make me feel that this disparate treatment can be reflected in the way Oakland citizens and visitors are treated on the streets.”

The next court hearing is scheduled for September 29, after which Judge Orrick said Oakland might finally regain complete control over its police force. If oversight ends, the civilian-led Oakland Police Commission is expected to assume much of the monitoring role, though advocates say its effectiveness will depend on adequate city funding and expanded authority over internal investigations.