When San Jose established the Office of the Independent Police Auditor a quarter-century ago, it put the city at the forefront of civilian oversight in the United States.
But now the office finds itself in crisis, with the police union calling on the current auditor Aaron Zisser to resign and the mayor and police chief questioning his judgment after a string of recent controversies.
Community advocacy groups and police watchdog experts supportive of Zisser, however, worry that his ouster could adversely affect the independence of the office and its credibility to the disenfranchised populations the city had in mind when creating the position.
