Inspector General Search Ad Hoc Committee

Tasked with conducting a nationwide search for the first civilian Inspector General for the City of Oakland, this Ad Hoc Committee will report to the Police Commission before announcing the nominee for the role.

Watch the final interview
Meet the candidates

Oaklanders voted last year for stronger police accountability passing Measure S1 with a resounding majority (81% of the vote, according to an article in SFGate), and establishing for the very first time in the City’s history, a new Office of the Inspector General (IG).

Reporting to the Oakland Police Commission, the role of the IG will be to ensure the Oakland Police Department (OPD) is performing to the highest standards and complying with its policies and constitutional policing practices. The IG will also be responsible for reviewing and investigating how the City of Oakland is handling police misconduct by reviewing the work and efforts of the Community Police Review Agency (CPRA), as well as how OPD is addressing and complying with federal reforms.

Finding and hiring the IG falls to the Oakland Police Commission and an Ad Hoc Committee of three Commissioners (Chair Jackson and Comms. Milele and Peterson) have been diligently screening potential candidates.

Watch the final interview

Join us at our upcoming public forum to meet and hear from the finalists for the role of Oakland's first Inspector General

On Wednesday, October 27, the Ad Hoc Committee held the final interview for candidates in a public forum.

Watch the video recording

Meet the candidates

Rebecca Johnson

Rebecca Johnson is a City of Oakland employee who has 14 years of experience auditing the Oakland Police Department’s compliance with tasks (e.g., uses of force, employee misconduct complaints, employee training, etc.) described in the Negotiated Settlement Agreement in the United States District Court Master Case No. C00-4599 TEH, Delphine Allen, et al., v. City of Oakland, et al. She successfully assisted the Department in complying with the Settlement Agreement via her audit findings and recommendations for improvements to policy, practices, and/or systems, many of which were implemented by the Department. In 2019, she received an award from the Department for her work in assessing a dramatic drop in its reported uses of force, which resulted in the Department updating its policy to provide more clarity for officers and supervisors and to increase transparency around the Department’s uses of force.

Prior to joining the City of Oakland, Rebecca worked for the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (also known as AMTRAK) for 18 years, and, in her last five years of service, she managed a human resources office in Oakland, California. She gained experience in recruitment, interpreting policies and procedures and labor agreements, disciplinary procedures, employee training, and a host of other topics.

Rebecca grew up in Oakland, California, where she attended and graduated from McClymonds High School. She furthered her education and received a Degree of Bachelor of Arts with a major in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley and a Degree of Master of Public Administration, with a Public Management Option, from California State University at Eastbay.

Mac Muir

Mac Muir is a Supervising Investigator at New York City's Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), where he oversees 36,000 members of the largest police department in the United States. Raised in Oakland, he has dedicated his career to investigating allegations of homicide, sexual misconduct, and excessive force by law enforcement personnel. In addition to supervising a team of investigators, Muir leads trainings for the CCRB's Investigations division. He represents the CCRB at the annual National Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) conference, and in that role has interviewed dozens of civilian oversight leaders to improve strategy and organizational management. Outside of the CCRB, he advises presidential, congressional, and local political campaigns on policing policy.

Muir previously spent several years serving on the staff of Colorado Governor John W. Hickenlooper. He was trained in mediation at the New York Peace Institute, taught the Know Your Rights course ‘Street Law’ at Oberlin High School, and spent years teaching performing arts at a Northern California summer camp. He holds a B.A. from Oberlin College in Politics and Africana Studies, where his studies focused on the history of the Oakland Police Department.

Michelle N. Phillips

Michelle Phillips is an accomplished criminal justice professional with over 10 years of experience. As the Deputy Inspector General of Investigations for the City of Baltimore, Ms. Phillips is responsible for all aspects of the Investigations Unit. Under her leadership, the overall investigatory processes were streamlined and improved to meet best practices and uphold accountability. Prior to working for the City of Baltimore, Ms. Phillips held a management position at the National Police Foundation. While at the National Police Foundation Ms. Phillips managed large scale research projects into community policing. Ms. Phillips also assisted in the creation and implementation of a national open source database for officer involved shooting. Ms. Phillips earned her B.S. in Criminal Justice from Coppin State University and her M.S. in Criminal Justice with a specialization in Law and Courts from the University of Baltimore.