As reported on Berkeleyside, Interim City Manager Christine Daniel today released a statement that "on Monday of this week, the City retained the firm of Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai to conduct an investigation into the events of March 8th and 9th involving Chief of Police Michael K. Meehan. That process will be conducted to its conclusion.”
Those events, you may recall, consist of Berkeley Police Chief Michael Meehan sending his media person, Sgt. Mary Kusmiss, to Oakland Tribune reporter Doug Oakley's house at 12:45 a.m. because Meehan wanted Oakley to make a correction to a story he wrote that was posted on the paper's web site. Meehan then pushed Oakley the next day for further corrections.
Oakley was shaken up by the visit, and Meehan subsequently apologized.
Today's announcement follows a letter released today on behalf of The Berkeley Police Association by the law firm of Rains Lucia Stern, which complains of a double standard concerning official response to Meehan's action and what it calls a zero-tolerance policy for violations by the BPD rank and file.