By Jennifer Sawhney

The Petaluma Police Department is a “true learning organization” that showed declines in calls for service, arrests, citations, and complaints in 2025 compared to prior years, an independent police auditor told Petaluma City Council Monday night.

“The role of the [independent police auditor] here is to assess the accuracy, completeness, and transparency in the reporting and presentation of the data,” said auditor Jeff Schlanger of IntegrAssure, a Florida-based firm that specializes in oversight of police departments. “It is important to state clearly what our review does not do. It does not by itself establish bias or explain causation in any way.”

Schlanger noted during his presentation to council that the city codified police oversight last September, which he called “the single most significant institutional development of the year.”

Other major themes he identified included work toward formalizing a course-correction process, less officer profanity in high-stress situations, improved supervisor leadership and self-review, and synergy between the auditor, police command staff, and city officials.

The auditor reviewed 141 incidents (53 uses of force, 33 displays of force, 22 pursuits, and 33 complaints) in 2025, of which 24 led to recommendations for improvement.

Of the 22 pursuits, one involved a fatality and is undergoing a criminal review, he said. In July 2025, Petaluma police attempted to pull over a car within city limits. A pursuit ensued and ultimately resulted in a rollover crash on Lakeville Highway where a Novato teen died.

“We have had substantive discussions with command staff concerning pursuits involving suspected impaired drivers and the city's overall risk tolerance. This remains an important policy area going forward,” Schlanger said.

Mayor Kevin McDonnell asked why call volume decreased, and if there was an imbalance in the types of calls that are down.

Chief Brian Miller said that officer-initiated calls is where that greatest decrease lies. He attributed that change to “a high level of training” as seasoned officers are paired up with training officers, and cautioned that, as officers get through training and return to solo patrol, the community may see calls for service and arrests rise.

“[An increase in calls] doesn't necessarily mean things have gotten worse,” Miller said. “It means instead of, you know, 50 police officers, we may have 70 police officers out on the street, which generally speaking, means that this is a safer community and it's doing exactly what we're hoping to do.”

In 2025, the independent police auditor switched from providing general oral updates to monthly statistical reports to the city’s Public Safety Advisory Committee. 

In addition to improving transparency, consistency, and clarity, this change “allows the committee and the public to track activity in a more structured way.”

On top of specific incident investigations, the auditing firm also completes broader operational audits to ensure proper compliance around policy and training. It reviewed 33 complaint investigations performed by the police department, and agreed with their findings.

A few council members wondered about enforcement around e-bikes and noted ongoing concerns around speeding vehicles, which Councilmember Brian Barnacle called “the biggest safety issue we have in our community.”

Schlanger said Petaluma’s independent audit model “is having a meaningful effect” across the police department. “That does not mean there are no longer any issues to address. There will always be issues, but it does mean that there is now a functioning structure in place to identify those issues, to address them, and to learn from them.”

Looking ahead, Schlanger’s team has been working on developing a policy for a formal early warning system for officers “whose performance indicators suggest a need for intervention, support, or closer review before issues accumulate further,” he said.

Across the police department, he added, “The combination of policy refinement, tactical training, and analytic capability is essential if the department is to continue maturing as a learning organization.”