BART Police Auditor Presses for Records in Review of Deputy Chief's Hiring
BART's top police watchdog says legal roadblocks are preventing a full review of the controversial hiring of Deputy Chief Antwinette Turner from San Leandro PD
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Vol. VI, No. 1,320
—The independent auditor overseeing the BART Police Department says the agency is still withholding records needed to complete a review of the hiring of a senior police executive, raising broader questions about transparency and civilian oversight.
According to the Office of the Independent Police Auditor’s May report, the office has been seeking background investigation records related to the hiring process.
Additional files held by the police department were referred for legal review, delaying the investigation.
The BART deputy police chief under review is Antwinette Turner, a former San Leandro police officer whose hiring drew scrutiny because of her role in a controversial December 2024 incident.
Police Auditor Inez Gonzalez said her office’s records request was challenged by BART’s police unions and sent to BART’s counsel. Outside counsel was subsequently hired to review the record request, she added.
A draft response was delivered to the police auditor’s office on Monday, Gonzalez said, but was deemed attorney-client privilege and not allowed to be publicly released.
“The issue extends beyond any single review and raises broader considerations regarding transparency, accountability, and the ability of civilian oversight agencies to access information necessary to carry out their responsibilities,” Gonzalez, wrote
—Turner, then a San Leandro police lieutenant, was among the officers involved when the man was detained, had a clump of his hair pulled out during the police stop, and was later driven to Oakland and left there rather than returned to San Leandro, prompting widespread criticism and an internal investigation.
The incident has drawn monthly scorn at the BART Police Civilian Review Board meetings by groups, including the Anti-Police Terror Project, who have called for Turner’s firing along with that of BART’s police chief.
Turner also drew scrutiny for her role in the department’s response to San Leandro Police Chief Angela Avierett’s alleged hit-and-run incident, which later became the subject of public controversy and independent review. Avierett’s is currently on paid administrative leave.
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—For 24 years, Haggerty represented the East County and Fremont on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, leaving an outsized mark on the region through his advocacy for transportation, economic development and local government. We also discuss Haggerty’s colorful political style, and the legacy he leaves in Alameda County politics.
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