San Francisco Police Commission Meeting - June 1, 2022

The San Francisco Police Commission held its regular meeting on June 1, 2022, at approximately 5:45 PM. The meeting covered crime trends, a disciplinary review board report, a proposed department general order on major incident evaluation, and public comments on racial disparities in policing.

Consent Calendar

• Adopted minutes from the meetings of May 4 and May 11, 2022 (unanimous vote: 5-0).
• Received and filed the consent calendar, including SB 1421 and SB 16 reports, CRI monthly update, and the first quarter 2022 Safe Streets for All report (unanimous vote: 5-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

• General Public Comment (Item 1): Francisco de Costa criticized the commission for failing to address quality-of-life issues. Several speakers from the group "Wealth and Disparities in the Black Community" expressed urgent concerns about racial profiling and traffic stops. Susan Buckman, David Aronson, and Kit Haj cited data showing Black San Franciscans are six times as likely as white residents to be subject to a traffic stop. They demanded the elimination of routine low-level stops by SFPD and noted that other cities have already enacted similar policies.
• Public Comment on Chief’s Report (Item 4): Paulette Brown spoke about her son’s unsolved homicide from 2006, calling for more resources for cold cases.
• Public Comment on DRB Report (Item 7): Francisco de Costa urged respectful treatment of officers, while another speaker highlighted officer fatigue due to overwork.
• Public Comment on DGO 8.01 (Item 8): Susan Buckman criticized the proposed DGO for lacking guidance on department values and referenced an incident on May 19, 2022, involving two unhoused individuals killed by police.

Discussion Items

• Chief’s Report (Item 4): Chief William Scott reported overall violent crime up 4% compared to the previous year. Homicides were down 11% (16 this year vs. 18 last year) but noted two recent deaths: an overnight shooting involving a security guard and a morning stabbing. Other statistics: rapes up 13%, robberies down 3%, assaults up 12%, burglaries down 26%, motor vehicle theft up 3%, and larceny-theft up 24%. Gun violence was down 14%. He discussed ghost gun seizures (80 year-to-date vs. 79 last year) and the upcoming NBA Finals. The chief also addressed the May 11 town hall regarding an officer-involved shooting, responding to concerns about late posting of the event. Commissioners asked about the use of less-lethal weapons and the number of knives involved in the incident.
• DPA Director’s Report (Item 5): Acting Director Sarah Hawkins reported 281 cases opened in 2022, 283 closed, 257 pending, 28 sustained, and 8 mediated. The number of cases past 270 days dropped from 32 to 23.
• Commission Reports (Item 6): Commissioner Benedicto will serve as liaison for the DPA audit and requested an agenda item on CIT training. Commissioner Carter-Oberstone requested a presentation on recruiting female officers. Commissioner Yi reported on a community policing plan. Commissioner Byrne discussed a recent visit to the Tenderloin and increased police presence.
• DRB Report (Item 7): Acting Chief of Staff Robert O’Sullivan and Sarah Hawkins presented the 4th Quarter 2021 Disciplinary Review Board findings. Trends included failure to make an arrest, failure to activate body-worn cameras (BWC), and inappropriate behavior. One policy failure involved cell phone searches. Recommendations included updating training on searches of electronic devices, reissuing an expired department bulletin on public safety statements, and providing more detailed complaint data to analyze BWC violations.
• DGO 8.01 (Item 8): Captain John Jemarena and Deputy Chief Daniel Perea presented proposed revisions to Department General Order 8.01, "Major and Critical Incident Evaluation and Notification." Acting President Elias and Commissioner Benedicto expressed that the language "take appropriate steps to address the situation" was too vague and requested more concrete procedures. They also asked that the Field Tactical Force Operations (FTFO) unit review the order and that best practices be provided to the commission. The department agreed to revise the order.

Key Outcomes

• Adopted minutes and consent calendar.
• Commissioners directed the department to revise DGO 8.01 with more specific guidance and to seek input from FTFO.
• Agenda items scheduled for future meetings: update on CIT training (including refresher requirements), presentation on recruiting female officers, and continued review of DGO 8.01.
• The commission voted 5-0 to hold Item 11 in closed session and subsequently voted 5-0 not to disclose any discussion from that session.
• Meeting adjourned at approximately 8:00 PM.