City Council Unanimously Approves Mayor’s Nomination for Acting Independent Police Auditor (IPA)
Karyn Sinunu-Towery, award winning prosecutor and victims’ rights advocate, will continue her lifelong pursuit of justice as City’s Acting IPA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 27, 2023
Media Contact:
Tasha Dean, Chief Communications Officer, Office of Mayor Matt Mahan, tasha.dean@sanjoseca.gov
SAN JOSÉ, CA - Today, San José Mayor Matt Mahan announced his nomination of Karyn Sinunu-Towery for the role of Acting Independent Police Auditor (IPA). The City Council approved Sinunu-Towery’s appointment unanimously in Closed Session. Three weeks ago, Shivaun Nurre announced her retirement, necessitating the appointment of an Acting IPA while the search for a permanent replacement commences.
After retiring from a 30-year career with the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office, Sinunu-Towery volunteered her time and expertise over the last decade to the Northern California Innocence Project. The Innocence Project works to exonerate those wrongfully convicted and ensure that the criminal justice system is held to the highest standards of integrity.
“Karyn will bring stability and continuity to the Office of the IPA while we conduct a nationwide search for a permanent IPA,” said Mayor of San José Matt Mahan. “In leading the office, Karyn will draw on her extensive and highly respected public service career, including her time as Assistant District Attorney and her work with the Innocence Project. Karyn has always put rule of law and pursuit of truth and justice at the center of her work, and I’m confident she will bring these values to the role.”
As part of her long career serving the public, Sinunu-Towery wrote a Victims’ Rights handbook that is now distributed to all California prosecutors and rewrote the hiring protocol in the District Attorney’s Office to emphasize diversity.
"I am honored to serve the City of San José as the Acting IPA. I believe the Office of the IPA serves a crucial City function in promoting public confidence in law enforcement through policy work and accountability measures,” said Karyn Sinunu-Towery.
Karyn Sinunu-Towery will take over the Independent Police Auditor’s office as soon as next week to continue the important work of listening to the community, suggesting policy improvements, and ensuring that the San José Police Department addresses allegations of officer misconduct swiftly and thoroughly.
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About the City of San José
With nearly one million residents, San José is the largest city in the Bay Area and one of the nation's most diverse and creative. San José’s transformation into a global innovation center in the heart of Silicon Valley has resulted in the world's greatest concentration of technology talent and development.