Changes are happening at Fort Worth's Office of the Police Oversight Monitor

Bonycle Sokunbi noticed a lot of police oversight offices pop up after the 2020 killing of George Floyd.

So, before she took the job of director of Fort Worth's Office of the Police Oversight Monitor, she wondered: “I want to look into this city and see: 'Did we just create oversight because it was popular?'"

The former New Orleans prosecutor felt that wasn't the case in this city.

One indicator: The conviction of former officer Aaron Dean in the 2019 fatal shooting of Atatiana Jefferson.

“Seeing Aaron Dean being prosecuted, which we know doesn’t happen very many places, gave me comfort knowing that I was coming to a place that was ready to hold police accountable," Sokunbi said.

She said other things also indicated to her that Fort Worth was committed to meaningful change.

“What I noticed for Fort Worth is that the community has buy-in, as well as the city of Fort Worth; there’s been financial investment, there’s been conversations, and there’s been policy changes," she said. "And so, it was important to me that I was coming to a city where I was actually going to be able to implement change, and change that was wanted.”

Sokunbi filled the seat in September, nearly a year after her predecessor left.

In the past two months, she's implemented a few changes, including starting a new, quarterly newsletter, and publishing data on police complaints every month online.

It's part of her effort to get more neighbors educated on and engaged with her office.

“Meeting people in the community and trying to hear what’s been happening in the past and I heard recently that a lot of people didn’t know what the office did," she said.

Sokunbi has also stepped up meetings with Fort Worth Police.

“We are having monthly meetings with internal affairs, getting caught up on their cases, in addition to having meetings with the legal team, while also having meetings with Use of Force and the chief," she said, crediting the police department with the increased face-time.

Sokunbi is also in the process of creating a new community-police mediation program.

The program, according to its website, aims to improve relationships between the neighbors and the police department by having face-to-face conversations to address conflict.

Sokunbi, with a team of five, said she hopes to expand her team next year.

She's also been meeting with neighbors and community leaders, including Pastor Michael Bell of Exciting Greater Saint Stephen First Church.

"Her credentials are impeccable," he said. “The vision is great and crisp and new."

But he said he also thought that about Sokunbi's predecessor, Kim Neal.

The problem, he said, was that Neal faced pushback from city and police leaders for some of the initiatives she and the community wanted.

"What happens when she brings up some information, when she brings up some issues, or when she deals with something that the chief of police and others don’t embrace? Then what happens? That’s the litmus test," Bell said.

He said her initiatives so far are great, but he's worried about the long term.

"You see, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, right? So, we will see," he said.

Sokunbi said she's optimistic, even though her position doesn't come with any authority or legal teeth, because of the buy-in she's already seen from city and police leadership.

"I can’t make anyone do anything, but I have a department who’s at least been willing to come to the table and hear me out," she said.

Not just about the negative cases

You can submit a complaint of police misconduct to the police department, or to the Office of the Police Oversight Monitor.

“We also monitor those investigations to make sure that the investigation’s complying with their own general orders and it’s a quality and thorough investigation," Sokunbi explained.

But she also wants to hear about positive interactions between neighbors and their police officers.

“Change isn’t just, ‘Oh, we move away from the bad things.’ It’s, ‘People are doing fantastic things in the neighborhood, people are having positive interactions with the police, they’re having quality investigations,'" Sokunbi said.

She said those positive reports are important.

"We want to be able to look at that, make a pattern assessment and figure out. Is there training that needs to go to somebody else? How can we actually implement this district-wide or department-wide? How do we sing the praises of these officers?" she said.

"We do hear about the bad officers, and we should, but we also want to say, 'If something is going right, can we repeat it? Can we implement it? And, how do we make a sustainable change for everyone?'” Sokumbi added.

She's soliciting more community input.

“Please reach out. I want to hear from everyone. If you’ve had great interactions with the police, if you’ve had negative interactions with the police, if you just have some ideas, or if you’re confused about what police oversight is, we have an open door," she said.

The Fort Worth Police Department said they're optimistic, too.

"At the Fort Worth Police Department, we believe that Ms. Sokunbi’s experience and extensive knowledge, not only of police oversight but the criminal justice field in general, is a great asset to our department and city. We are continuing our relationship of open cooperation with the Police Oversight Monitor as we pursue the highest standards of excellent service and accountability to our community," a spokesperson said in an emailed statement to NBC 5.

You can find out more about the Office of the Police Oversight Monitor here.