BART to Swear in New Deputy Police Chiefs

April 19--BART will swear in three new deputy police chiefs Tuesday, carrying out another change recommended by outside auditors to improve discipline and accountability in the transit system's police force.

The new deputy chiefs will not belong to a union. Previously, all BART police employees except the chief belonged to a union. Those unionized posts included two police commander positions; those jobs have been phased out and replaced by deputy chiefs.

The change will streamline the management structure and give BART police Chief Kenton Rainey a stronger hand in running the department, said Linton Johnson, a transit agency spokesman.

"It's hard to discipline someone in your own union," Johnson said.

The new deputy chiefs are:

-- Benson Fairow, who was an Oakland police captain for the last five years.

-- Janeith Glenn-Davis, who worked the last eight years as police chief for Cal State East Bay in Hayward.

-- Daniel Hartwig, who was promoted from within BART. He was BART's security programs manager.

Switching from unionized commanders to non-unionized deputy chiefs was one of several changes recommended in October 2009 by consultants who did a top-to-bottom review of the BART police force after the fatal shooting of unarmed passenger Oscar Grant III, of Hayward, on the Fruitvale station train platform. Then-Officer Johannes Mehserle later was found guilty of involuntary

manslaughter for the shooting.

In another change coming this month, BART police will switch from a shield-shaped police badge to a new seven-point star design. The star represents the changes at BART police, but remains easily recognizable as a police badge, Rainey said.

Contact Denis Cuff at 925-943-8267. Follow him at Twitter.com/deniscuff. ___

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