Since Michael Gennaco began his stint as Palo Alto's independent police auditor in 2008, his firm has examined Police Department incidents in which officers used Tasers, faced citizen complaints and — in some cases — filed complaints against one another.

One such investigation occurred in 2009, when a male officer who was days away from retirement allegedly surprised two different female officers on the same day by kissing them on the lips, in one case holding the woman's head as he was doing it. The officer was placed on administrative leave and the department took away his right to carry a concealed weapon during retirement.

The same year, a supervising officer was disciplined for using another officer's email account to send messages with "highly personal information" to various department members in what was later described as a "prank." The supervisor was found to have violated a host of department policies pertaining to discourtesy, anti-harassment, making misleading statements and accessing another person's email. The officer was reportedly suspended, according to a OIR Group's audit, which referred to the incident as a "poor attempt at humor."

But as Gennaco and his colleague Stephen Connolly began their 12th year, the job description changed, thanks to the council's decision last December to remove internal conflicts from the purview of his firm, OIR Group. Instead, the city decided to have these cases handled exclusively by the Human Resources Department, where they would be shielded from public disclosure. On Monday, Gennaco told the council that of all the agencies that his firm works with, the Palo Alto Police Department is the only one in which investigations of internal complaints are excluded from the auditor's scope.

Gennaco's update came as part of the council's broader discussion about ways to improve police oversight and promote racial equity in the community. Several council members agreed that as part of this effort, the city should consider revising the auditor's scope of work for the second time in the past year — this time with an eye toward expanding it.

The city's December decision to reduce the scope of OIR Group's contract came shortly after the firm received from an outside source a complaint against a white officer who allegedly used a racial slur when talking to a Black officer. While the audits don't name officers, this incident pertained to Capt. Zach Perron and former Officer Marcus Barbour, according to a complaint that was first publicized by the Palo Alto Daily Post and that was corroborated by this publication.

According to a March 2020 report from the OIR Group, the firm received the complaint in September 2018 and was prepared to include recommendations and relevant findings about that case, as well as three other human-relations-related incidents, in a semiannual draft report that was due to be released in April 2019.

As part of the auditing process, OIR Group shares its findings with the City Attorney's Office, the Police Department and the city's police union, the Palo Alto Police Officers' Association. While the auditor is nominally "independent," in this case city staff asked the auditor not to publicize the report while the city considers whether personnel issues within the department should fall under the purview of the auditor. The firm agreed.

In December, the City Council approved a new three-year contract with OIR Group that includes a clause that "complaints and investigations of internal personnel or human resources matters are not part of these Independent Police Auditor Services."

City Manager Ed Shikada maintained at that time that the new contract represents a "continuation of services" and merely clarifies that personnel issues don't fall under the auditor's purview (notwithstanding that prior internal conflicts, such as the ones described earlier in this story, had been reviewed by the OIR Group).

"Contrary to some reports on this item, the recommended contract makes no changes to the types of reports under the contract that has taken place for years," Shikada told the council in December, shortly before the council unanimously voted to reduce the scope of the auditor's services.

But as Gennaco made clear this week, his firm's scope of work in Palo Alto is now relatively narrow compared to other jurisdictions, even if internal conflicts are excluded. Currently, OIR Group only investigates Taser deployments, shootings by police officers and use-of-force incidents that involve complaints. If there is no complaint, the incident does not undergo an investigation.

"That cuts out a large swath of use of force that is used by a Police Department but that we never see," Gennaco said. "If a canine is deployed and bites an individual, we don't look at that unless a person complains. If a baton is used on an individual, we will not see that unless there is a complaint. Pepper spray, takedowns, control holds … all that force is something we would not see as part of our ordinary responsibilities unless a complaint is filed."

Several council members agreed that the city should revisit the scope for the second time in a year. Councilwoman Lydia Kou said she would like to expand the auditor's scope to "where it was previously, so that we further the transparency and accountability in this."

Vice Mayor Tom DuBois and Councilwoman Alison Cormack both suggested possibly including more types of use-of-force incidents in the auditor's purview. Cormack said she would also like to better understand how the city's auditing compares to that in other jurisdictions.

Others suggested that the council take a more active approach to police oversight. Councilwoman Liz Kniss noted that the council's current role is "passive," effectively receiving reports with no ability to take any actions on them.

DuBois suggested that the city could benefit from regular updates directly from the police auditor. He also recommended that the council consider having the firm conduct annual performance audits targeting particular aspects of the Police Department's operation.

Gennaco additionally noted that when his firm began working with Palo Alto in 2008, it offered regular reports to the city's Human Relations Commission. That, he said, can be resurrected.

Police Chief Robert Jonsen said that it's rare for a police agency the size of Palo Alto to have an independent police auditor. The auditor, he said, "makes us better." Yet he also warned that the area of police reform is full of moving parts, including state legislation and recent reforms announced by the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, which include (among other changes) the creation of a Public and Law Enforcement Integrity Team focused on excessive use of force by police officers.

Jonsen warned against having too many agencies performing the same kind of reviews.

"I hope it's well-thought out and coordinated and that we have all aspects of the Police Department looked at by appropriate agencies," Jonsen said.