Berkeley PD’s $24,000 chat with a reporter

The city of Berkeley will spend up to $24,000 for a consultant to review the police department’s media policies. The move follows the chief’s decision to have an officer make a midnight call on a reporter whose story irked the chief.

Chief Michael Meehan ordered Sgt. Mary Kusmiss to the home of reporter Doug Oakley at 12:45 a.m. March 9. Meehan was dissatisfied with a story on a town hall meeting about whether police should have responded more vigorously to a 911 call by resident Peter Kukor, who was killed by a trespasser.

According to the Oakland Tribune, Meehan, who later apologized, said the goal is to make the department “open and transparent.” Meanwhile, the city has declined to respond to inquiries about a city-commissioned investigation into the incident being conducted by a San Francisco law firm.

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