San Francisco Police Commission Regular Meeting - May 4, 2022

The San Francisco Police Commission held a regular meeting on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, beginning at approximately 5:45 PM. The meeting included public comment, adoption of minutes, a chief's report on crime trends, a DPA director's report, commission reports, and a presentation of the first quarter 2022 Sparks report on policy proposals. The commission also voted on a closed session item and elected not to disclose discussions from that session.

Consent Calendar

• Adoption of Minutes for April 6, 13, and 20, 2022: The minutes were adopted on a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Benedicto voting no.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Francisco De Costa: Expressed concern about the police force reduction from 2000 to 1100 officers, stating quality of life issues cannot be addressed without a full force.
• David Aronson (Wealth and Disparities in the Black Community): Quoting founder Felicia Jones, condemned anti-blackness in SFPD use of force, arrests, and traffic stops. Stated that black San Franciscans are six times as likely as white to be subject to a traffic stop, and called for elimination of low-level stops.
• Susan Buffman (Wealth and Disparities in the Black Community): Repeated similar statistics, citing cities like Berkeley that have reduced disparities by ending low-level stops.
• Kate Hodge (Wealth and Disparities in the Black Community): Quoted Felicia Jones, emphasized that black San Franciscans are six times as likely to be stopped, more than 10 times as likely to be arrested, and 16 times as likely to experience use of force. Demanded an end to racial profiling in traffic stops.
• Ms. Brown: Requested justice for her son Aubrey Abacaso, murdered August 14, 2006; case remains unsolved.
• Jessica Jenkins: Reported a friend on a bicycle was ticketed by a traffic motorcycle officer, citing unequal enforcement against cyclists while dangerous driving goes unaddressed.

Discussion Items

• Chief's Report (Assistant Chief Mosier):
  • Part one crimes up 10% year-over-year; violent crimes up 4%; property crimes up 11%.
  • Burglaries decreased 30%; larceny (including auto break-ins) increased 23%.
  • Homicides up 25% (no homicides in the past week); gun violence down 12%; non-fatal shootings down 18%.
  • Reported three recent shootings (May 1, April 29 twice) with no arrests yet.
  • Responses to demonstrations following leaked Supreme Court draft on Roe v. Wade: two peaceful gatherings (approximately 1500 participants total).
  • Salesforce Tower climber incident: subject climbed to 64th floor, taken into custody, cited for trespassing.
  • Arson barricaded subject on Larkin Street: subject set mattress on fire, armed with knife, eventually taken safely into custody.
  • Three stunt driving events over the weekend involving large crowds.
  • Fatal hit-and-run collision on May 1 near Turk and Taylor.
• DPA Director's Report (Executive Director Henderson):
  • 221 cases opened in 2022; 203 closed; 293 open; 16 sustained; 6 mediated.
  • 29 cases beyond 9 months (25 tolled due to civil/criminal cases).
  • Past two weeks: 27 new cases; top allegations: officer behaving badly/inappropriate speech (43%) and failure to write incident report (11%).
  • Top districts for allegations: Central (9) and Tenderloin.
  • Ongoing audit of SFPD misconduct handling; survey sent to current/former commissioners.
  • Monthly statistical report available online.
• Commission Reports:
  • Commissioner Yi recognized May as Asian Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month for officers.
  • Commissioner Benedicto expressed interest in working on pretext stops and advancing the search warrant DGO.
  • Commissioner Carter Oberstone reported weekly meetings with DPA and department on pretext stop DGO, which is on the agenda for next week.
  • Vice President Elias requested that internal affairs cases begin tracking race and gender of officers subject to discipline, and asked for additional correlations (e.g., case volume, sustains).
• Sparks Report (First Quarter 2022):
  • Presented by SFPD's Director of Policy (name not given) and DPA's Janelle Kaywood.
  • Summary of pending and adopted policies: DGO 5.01 (adopted and in effect), DGO 6.09 (adopted, effective July 12), DGO 3.01 (pending), DGO 9.01 traffic enforcement (in discussions).
  • New policies: disengagement policy and directed referrals to Behavioral Sciences Unit (under discussion).
  • Department bulletins: one expired (juvenile interrogations) – reissued as a department notice on May 2 after discovery; lapse caused concern.
  • Pretext stop recommendations: prioritize stops impacting public safety; limit enforcement of minor infractions; restrict questions about unrelated criminal activity, consent searches, and probation/parole status.
  • New crisis intervention debriefing order implemented; first incident review planned.
  • DPA revived recommendations on DNA evidence procedures to ban use of victim DNA in unrelated investigations.
  • Discussion on the lapsed juvenile DB: Commissioners questioned how it expired unnoticed and why notification was delayed. Department acknowledged internal safeguards will be implemented.
• Public Comments on Sparks Report:
  • Wesley Favor (GLIDE): Supported ending pretext stops, endorsed by 59 local organizations; urged a banned list of stops.
  • Brian Cox (Deputy Public Defender): Called for aggressive approach with no exceptions; requested data capture on any exception.
  • David Aronson: Supported DPA recommendations, citing racial disparities; encouraged expedited elimination of pretext stops.
  • Additional caller (name not given): Reported a motorcycle officer (unit 330) targeting cyclists near the car-free JSK area, requesting the officer be spoken to.

Key Outcomes

• Adoption of Minutes: Approved 4-1.
• Closed Session: Voted unanimously (5-0) to hold item 9 in closed session.
• Disclosure of Closed Session Discussions: Voted unanimously (5-0) not to disclose any discussions from the closed session.
• Next Steps:
  • Pretext stop policy will be presented for public discussion at the next commission meeting (week of May 9).
  • Search warrant DGO expected to be agendized by end of May or early June.
  • Commission to receive a list of upcoming expiring department bulletins and notices.
  • Internal Affairs to provide data on race and gender of disciplined officers.