SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Severe misconduct allegations have surfaced against the Berkeley Police Department by a former officer, voiced by a member of the Berkeley Police Accountability Board.
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Nathan Mizell, Vice Chair of the Berkeley Police Accountability Board, put out a press release on Monday, urging the Berkeley City Council to postpone declaring a permanent police chief for the city due to allegations of arrest quotas and racial profiling.
"The alleged misconduct includes text messages from Downtown Task Force/Bike Unit group chats with racist and anti-homeless statements and texts describing patterns of unlawful police practices," Mizell wrote. "These include the establishment of arrest quotas, profiling, and rewards/punishment for arrest numbers."
Mizell learned of the allegations from a former Berkeley police officer. According to the officer, Sergeant Darren Kacalek, President of the Berkeley Police Association, allegedly ordered Berkeley's bike unit to make 100 arrests per month and suggested that "homeless individuals in the city could be 'wipe[d] out' and that the bike unit would 'ride by the bodies.'"
Acting police chief Jennifer Louis is set to be confirmed as the permanent chief of police at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. However, it is alleged that Louis was aware of the misconduct during her time as captain and took no action.
In the statement, Mizell asked the city council to delay Louis' confirmation until an investigation has been conducted. "Hastily confirming the Interim Chief now would severely undermine public confidence in the independent oversight that Berkeley's citizens voted for in establishing the Police Accountability Board," he said.
KCBS Radio has reached out to the Berkeley Police Department for comment, but has not yet heard back.
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