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In a unanimous 7-0 vote Tuesday night, the Richmond City Council approved seven recommendations to strengthen the Community Police Review Commission, advancing the reforms to mandatory labor negotiations with police unions despite opposition from law enforcement representatives.
The decision came during an emotionally charged meeting where dozens of community members testified in support of the reforms, many invoking the recent death of Angel Montaño, who was shot and killed by Richmond police on August 4, 2025.
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Soren Hemmila
“These recommendations modernize our Richmond civilian oversight body to align with statewide and national best practices, and most importantly, to strengthen transparency, accountability, and trust between RPD and the community,” said Carmen Martinez, chair of the Community Police Review Commission, who presented the proposals.
The approved recommendations include extending the complaint filing period from 120 days to one year, lowering the misconduct review standard from “clear and convincing” to “preponderance of evidence,” and broadening the commission’s authority to investigate all complaints against officers. Additional changes include allowing anonymous complaints with redacted names in public records, granting subpoena power for documents and evidence, requiring annual investigator reports, and posting non-confidential records online.
Ben Therriault, president of the Richmond Police Officers Association, strongly opposed the measures, arguing they would not address the root causes of incidents like Montaño’s death.
“I want to talk about one of the most glaring failures in California today, because it’s not the police, it’s our state’s broken mental health system,” Therriault said during public comment. “Officers are forced into these situations that should have been prevented long before the 911 call.”
Richmond Police address shooting at press conference
At a press conference Monday, Richmond Police Chief Bisa French said 27-year-old Angel Magallan Montaño was fataly shot by officers last week after he advanced rapidly toward them while holding knives in both hands.
Linda Hemmila
Therriault criticized what he called “activist groups like Reimagine Richmond taking this easy route of scapegoating the police,” arguing that social workers would not respond to “a violent encounter” involving someone with a weapon.
Before the meeting, Reimagine Richmond gathered dozens of speakers who shared personal experiences with police misconduct and demanded accountability reforms. Many referenced Officer Nicholas Remick, who was involved in the deaths of both Angel Montaño and Jose Dejesus Mendez within six months.
“This was not an unfortunate event. This was murder,” said Jesus Pedroza, speaking about Montaño. “They took our brother’s life without exhausting nonlethal options. We asked for justice, not only for Angel, but for his family and for our community.”
Sarah Guardian, a classmate of Montaño’s, questioned how an individual with a documented history of violence and a record of wrongfully taking another community member’s life could be entrusted with public protection.
“When Angel’s family called for help, they were not met with care, nor compassion or support,” Guardian said. “Instead, they experienced an unthinkable tragedy. I cannot begin to imagine the pain, the grief, and the betrayal they must be feeling at this moment.”
Councilmember Claudia Jimenez, who made the motion to approve the recommendations, emphasized the importance of maintaining community oversight during the upcoming labor negotiations.
“We had a long process for the community Crisis Response Program. It was because of the meet and confer with our POA,” Jimenez said, referencing previous delays. “So I hope that we have some mechanisms for the community so that they organize and continue to put pressure so these recommendations are implemented as quickly as possible.”
The recommendations must now go through a “meet and confer” process with the Richmond Police Officers Association and Richmond Police Management Association before final implementation. City Attorney Dave Aleshire clarified that Tuesday’s vote was not final action but rather authorization to include the reforms in upcoming labor negotiations.
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