Oakland Oks Rule That Could Limit Brooks’ Power

The Oakland City Council passed a rule change Tuesday that could lead to the removal of Councilwoman Desley Brooks from her position as a committee chair despite calls from her supporters that it would create abuses of power. Brooks, who directs the prominent Public Safety Committee, was ordered to pay more than half a million dollars in punitive damages last month after a jury found she shoved former Black Panther leader Elaine Brown at an Oakland restaurant in 2015, causing her to fall and suffer bruises and a torn rotator cuff. That was on top of the $3.8 million judgment Brown won from the city.