Police Accountability

The fight against impunity through independent civilian oversight

Where: Inter-American University School of Law, Theatre San Juan, Puerto Rico Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2015 6:30pm

EMILIO ALVAREZ ICAZA LONGORIA Executive Secretary Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (OAS)

Emilio lvarez Icaza Longoria is the Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights of the Organization of American States since August 16, 2012. A Mexican national, Emilio lvarez Icaza has a Bachelors Degree in Sociology from the Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico (UNAM), as well as a Masters Degree in Social Sciences from the Latin American School of Social Sciences (FLACSO-Mexico) and doctoral studies in Political and Social Sciences.

In 1999 he was elected Counselor of the Electoral Institute of the Federal District; later, in 2001, he was elected President (Ombudsman) of the Commission of Human Rights of the Federal District (CDHDF), position he held until 2009. He has been professor of human rights in the Graduate Division of UNAMs Law School, among other scholarly activities. He has been panelist and given conferences in more than 300 forums, seminars, and colloquia in Mexico, the United States, Europe and Latin America. He has published more than 80 articles in Mexico and other countries; and he is author of the book To understand: Human Rights in Mexico.

In addition, he has participated in several civil society initiatives, including as Director General of the National Center for Social Communication (Cencos) and as cofounder of Civic Alliance, A.C. He has been an independent consultant and expert in issues relating to human rights, democracy, citizen participation, civil society and public policy, in Mexico and in international organizations. He has also participated in printed media, and in radio and TV programs. He has received more than 50 recognitions, awards and national and international distinctions.

MICHAEL J. GENNACO Office of Independent Review (OIR) Los Angeles, California

A recognized national expert in the United States in the field of Law Enforcement Oversight, Michael J.

Gennaco has provided independent Review of police department actions for the cities of Pasadena,

Portland, Anaheim, Burbank, Torrance, Palo Alto, Spokane, Fullerton, Santa Monica, Inglewood, Glendale,

and Oakland Police Departments; the San Diego Sheriffs Department; and the California Department of

Juvenile Justice. For thirteen years Gennaco headed a new model of independent civilian oversight for

the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. He devised civilian oversight systems for a number of other

law enforcement agencies, worked as a court expert to help develop remedial plans for Constitutional

defects in policing, conducted independent reviews of critical incidents for police departments, and

conducted independent audits for numerous law enforcement entities, with an emphasis on force,

accountability, and related police practices.

For ten years, Gennaco served as trial attorney for the Civil Rights Division of the United States Justice

Department, with a focus on the investigation and prosecution of law enforcement officers for violations

of federal law and dealt with allegations of excessive force and false arrest in jurisdictions around the

country. For six years he also served as Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California

and eventually worked to create the first Civil Rights Section for the Office. As Chief of the Civil Rights

Section, Mr. Gennaco was responsible for overseeing all investigations and allegations of federal civil

rights violations and has prosecuted judges, police officers, human traffickers, and white supremacists.

Mr. Gennaco is a graduate of Dartmouth College and received a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford

University Law School; he has taught law at American University Washington Law School, George

Washington University - National Law Center, Loyola University Law School, and Chapman University

School of Law.

Gennaco received numerous recognitions for his accomplishments at the U.S. Department of Justice

including the coveted Attorney General Distinguished Service award.

In 2012, Mr. Gennaco was honored by his colleagues and received the NACOLE Flame award for

distinguished service in the field of civilian oversight.

SUSAN HUTSON Independent Police Monitor

New Orleans

Susan Hutson has since 2010 been the Independent Police Monitor for the City of New Orleans, Louisiana. Prior to accepting the position in New Orleans, Ms. Hutson worked at the Los Angeles Police Commissions Office of the Inspector General as an Assistant Inspector General from June of 2007 until May of 2010. Ms. Hutson holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Juris Doctor degree from Tulane University School of Law. After law school, she joined a small firm of lawyers, where she had a general practice. She left private practice to join the Corpus Christi City Attorney's Office where she served as an assistant city attorney prosecuting cases in the Municipal Court. She became Chief Prosecutor and later moved to the Employment Section, where she advised city directors on numerous employment matters, including disciplinary, constitutional, discrimination, and compensation issues. Her primary responsibilities were consulting with the Chief of Police, the Fire Chief, and other supervisors on misconduct investigations and representing the city during arbitrations and civil service hearings. While in Corpus Christi, Ms. Hutson also taught university-level courses to both undergraduate and graduate students. Her experience in dealing with Internal Affairs and civil service law led her to the Office of the Police Monitor in Austin, Texas. She began as the Assistant Police Monitor in August of 2004 and took over as the Acting Police Monitor in January of 2006. While working in Austin and Los Angeles, Ms. Hutson published reports for these offices, which provide valuable information to the community about how their police departments monitor themselves.

WILLIAM RAMIREZ HERNANDEZ Executive Director ACLU of Puerto Rico

Moderator

William Ramirez has been a Civil Rights/Civil Liberties attorney in San Juan, Puerto Rico for over 30 years. Ramirez is co-founder, and for 11 years executive director, of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU of Puerto Rico). Ramirez is also Adjunct Professor of Law at the Inter American University of Law in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Prior to joining the ACLU he practiced civil rights law with the law office of Vargas & Ramirez, known for its vigorous representation of marginalized vulnerable populations; particularly homeless people with HIV disease and other disabilities. He also implemented in Puerto Rico the Agent Orange Class Action Settlement mandate to establish services for Viet Nam Veterans, and their children, exposed to the effects of Agent Orange. Ramirez is a member of the Puerto Rico Supreme Courts Access to Justice Commission and was designated Certified Practitioner of Oversight by the National Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE). For the past 10 years he has been leading efforts to reform the Puerto Rico Police Department and has been actively working to promote criminal justice reform and the establishment of independent civilian oversight for Puerto Rico. In June 2015, John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York invited Ramirez to address the 2015 graduating class in Madison Square Garden, where he also received the degree of Doctor of Laws Honoris Causa. Ramirez holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the State University of New York at Albany and a Juris Doctor degree from the Inter American University School of Law in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 1983 through 1986 he was designated a Reginald Heber Smith Community Attorney Fellowship at Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C. Ramirez has also completed graduate studies in Public Administration and Health Care, and graduate coursework in Criminal Justice and Group Work.