San Francisco Police Commission Meeting - January 11, 2023: Pretext Stops Policy Adopted
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San Francisco Police Commission Meeting - January 11, 2023
The San Francisco Police Commission met on Wednesday, January 11, 2023, at approximately 1:45 PM. The primary agenda item was the discussion and approval of Department General Order (DGO) 9.07, "Curtailing the Use of Pretext Stops." After extensive public comment and deliberation, the commission voted 4-2-1 to adopt the policy, directing the department to meet and confer with bargaining units while limiting the scope of negotiations. The meeting also included a presentation on the Homicide Reward Fund, the Chief’s report on crime trends, and routine consent calendar items.
Consent Calendar
- The commission voted unanimously to receive and file the following reports: Police Commission reports of disciplinary actions for Q4 2022, DGO 1102 Annual Report, Safe Streets Q3 2022, Third Quarter Bias Audit Report 2022, and the Third Quarter Report for the FDRB.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Homicide Victims’ Families: Ramona Burton (sister of Mark Anthony Coates, Sr., murdered Dec. 7, 2019) and another speaker (mother of a murdered son) urged the commission to improve the homicide reward process and allocate more resources to solve unsolved cases. Ms. Burton noted her brother’s reward was raised to $100,000 and questioned its effectiveness.
- Pretext Stops Policy: Dozens of speakers commented on DGO 9.07. Supporters, including members of the “Coalition to End Bias Stops” (Glide, ACLU, Public Defender’s Office, Bar Association, etc.), argued that pretext stops are racially biased, ineffective, and a wasteful use of resources. They cited data showing Black San Franciscans are stopped at six times the rate of whites and searched at ten times the rate. Opponents, including Frank Noto (Stop Crime Action), expressed concerns that reducing stops would lead to more crime and traffic accidents, and that the policy should emphasize “deprioritization” rather than a ban. Several Asian American community members called for more outreach before finalizing the policy.
- General: A speaker from the community urged daily gun buyback programs and better support for victims.
Discussion Items
- Presentation on Homicide Rewards (Item 7): CFO Patrick Leong and Captain Ahern presented the Homicide Reward Fund, established in 2016. There are 17 active reward cases (19 victims) with amounts up to $250,000. The last payout was in 2013 ($2,500). Commissioners discussed the high bar for payout (must lead to arrest, prosecution, and conviction) and considered alternative models with lower thresholds for anonymous tips.
- Chief’s Report (Item 4): Chief Scott reported year-to-date crime statistics: violent crime down 18%, property crimes down 38%, but homicides up 100% (2 vs. 1). He highlighted a tragic shooting on Jan. 4 at Japan Center Mall where a 15-year-old killed a security guard; two arrests made. Fentanyl seizures in 2022 nearly doubled to 65,367 grams. He also updated on the MOU with the District Attorney and the surveillance policy tracking forms.
- DPA Director’s Report (Item 5): Executive Director Henderson reported 6 new cases opened (vs. 13 last year), 277 open cases pending. Top allegations were officer behavior/speech and failure to take required action. He noted release of an audit on SFPD compliance with First Amendment activity guidelines for 2021.
- Commission Reports (Item 6): Commissioners reported on ride-alongs (Tenderloin), working group progress, and scheduling of future items. Vice President Carter-Overstone requested agenda time to discuss compliance with DGO 3.01 deadlines for revising DGO 8.10 (First Amendment activities). Commissioner Yanez requested a focused conversation on the RIPA report recommendations.
- DGO 9.07 – Pretext Stops (Item 8): The commission heard a presentation from retired Chief Harold Medlock of Fayetteville, NC, who implemented a policy to eliminate stops for regulatory violations and focus on moving violations (speeding, reckless, DWI, red lights, stop signs). He reported that crime, complaints, and use of force all decreased while community trust increased. Following the presentation and public comment, commissioners debated amendments. Chief Scott expressed support for the policy after “ban” language was removed and suggested adding “deprioritization” language. Commissioner Byrne moved to table for inclusion of chief’s language, but the motion was not voted on after the main motion passed. Several amendments were added: five non-substantive changes (e.g., “sun down” changed to “darkness”) and one substantive change adding “articulable facts” to the definition of reasonable suspicion. The final motion from Commissioner Benedicto included three specific instructions for the meet-and-confer process: (1) direct SFPD and DHR not to bargain on management matters, (2) set clear boundaries to prevent unreasonable delays, and (3) appoint DPA policy director Janelle Kwood as subject matter expert at bargaining sessions.
Key Outcomes
- DGO 9.07 Adopted (4-2-1): The commission voted to approve draft DGO 9.07 and send it to meet and confer with affected bargaining units. Voting yes: Commissioners Benedicto, Yannis, Vice President Carter-Overstone, and President Elias. Voting no: Commissioners Byrne and Yee. Commissioner Walker was absent.
- Instructions for Meet-and-Confer: The commission directed SFPD and the Department of Human Resources not to meet and confer on parts of the DGO that constitute management matters under California law, to set clear boundaries to avoid unreasonable delays, and to allow Janelle Kwood to attend bargaining sessions as a subject matter expert.
- Homicide Reward Presentation Acknowledged: Commissioners requested additional data on tip outcomes and agreed to revisit the topic with comparisons to other jurisdictions.
- Consent Calendar Approved Unanimously: Routine reports were received and filed.
- Minutes Approved: The minutes of December 7 and 14, 2022, were adopted unanimously.
- Closed Session: The commission voted unanimously to go into closed session (Item 12) and later voted not to disclose any discussion.
- Item 9 (Parental Leave Policy): Was removed from the agenda without discussion.
Note: The meeting concluded with the closed session and vote on disclosure. No further action was taken on the chief’s proposed language, but President Elias directed staff to post it for future consideration.
Meeting Transcript
President Lyons would like to take roll. Please. Commissioner Walker. Present. Commissioner Benedicto. Present. Commissioner Yannis. Present. Commissioner Byrne. Here. Commissioner Yee is in route. Vice President Cutter Overstone. Present. And President Alliance, you have a quorum. Also with us tonight is Chief Scott from the San Francisco Police Department and Executive Director Paul Henderson from the Department of Police Accountability. Thank you. Can we start with the first line item, please, with the revision? General. Yes, 10 minutes. We are going to take line item one, general public comment. We will take public general public comment for five minutes at the beginning of the meeting, and we will continue the rest at the end of the meeting. Each two minutes for public comment for a duration of five minutes. Commission secretary, just to clarify, we will continue public comment before we go into closed session. Correct. Thank you. At this time, the public is now welcome to address the commission for up to two minutes on items that do not appear on tonight's agenda but are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the police commission. Under police commission rules of order, during public comment, neither police or DPA personnel nor commissioners are required to respond to questions by the public, but may provide a brief response. Comments or opportunities to speak during the public comment period are available via phone by calling 415 65501 and entering access code 2489 158 9096. Alternatively, you may submit public comment on either of the following ways. Email the Secretary of the Police Commission at SAPD.commission at SFgov.org or written comments may be sent via U.S. Postal Service to the public safety building located at 1245 Third Street, San Francisco, California, 94158. If you would like to make public comment, please approach the podium or press star three. Good evening. My name is Ramona Burton. My brother is Mark Anthony Coates. He was murdered on December the 7th, 2019. I stand before you because I've been waiting for an opportunity to ask a couple of questions about the reward process. His reward was just um to a hundred thousand dollars. And I want to know how effective the reward process was. And I'm addressing this to Chief Scott and anybody else who wants to know or can answer that question. And how successful. This um you're talking on a line item that's going to be on later on. My apologies. So I just want to own the record that I am here and I'm seeking justice for my brother's name is Mark Anthony Coates, Senior. And ma'am, the homicide reward um presentation is the first thing on the agenda. So thank you so much. No worries, thank you. Anybody else like to make a public comment? Yes. Yes, my name is Frank Noto from Stop Crime Action.
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