Oakland begins interviewing for citizen police commission

OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - The city of Oakland is taking more steps towards creating its new citizen police commission.

KTVU has learned that on Tuesday, city leaders will start interviewing candidates for the nine-member board. A total of 144 people applied for positions on the commission. A panel has selected 28 of them for  the board is in place, it will have the power to fire the police chief, subpoena police personnel and be involved in disciplining officers for misconduct.

People who applied for the positions include community activists, local attorneys and leaders in the faith community. Under the rules of the commission, ex felons can join the group but Oakland police officers cannot. One of the highest profile names on the list includes Phil Tagami, a major real estate developer and Chiquita Tuttle, president and CEO Marketing, Management and Health Care Consulting.

The list includes 14 men, 12 women, one transgender person and one  person who declined to state their gender. Half the panel includes people of color.