Investigator

Ethan Waterman joins the Office of the Commission on Police Practices with more than five years’ investigative experience in police oversight. From 2019 to 2024, Mr. Waterman worked at New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board, the nation’s largest independent police oversight entity. Mr. Waterman conducted hundreds of investigations into allegations of force, abuse of authority, discourtesy, offensive language, sexual misconduct, and untruthful statements involving uniformed members of the New York City Police Department. Several of Mr. Waterman’s cases resulted in successful administrative prosecutions or guilty pleas regarding substantiated allegations of misconduct, and Mr. Waterman worked several cases involving officer-involved shootings and mass protests. Mr. Waterman rose through the investigative ranks to become a supervising investigator and interim investigative manager, which entailed supervising and training a team of four investigators. Mr. Waterman comes to the OCPP with a deep understanding of big-city policing, search and seizure jurisprudence, and best investigative practices.

Mr. Waterman holds a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from Columbia University.

Contact: EWaterman@sandiego.gov