San Francisco Police Commission Meeting on Dolores Park Hill Bomb Response and July 4th Deployment - July 19, 2023
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San Francisco Police Commission Meeting on Dolores Park Hill Bomb Response and July 4th Deployment - July 19, 2023
The San Francisco Police Commission convened on July 19, 2023, to discuss the SFPD's response to the Dolores Park Hill Bomb event on July 8 and the Fourth of July deployment in the Mission District, alongside routine reports and grant approvals. President Elias led the meeting, emphasizing the commission's role in policy and discipline and announcing joint investigations by SFPD and the Department of Police Accountability (DPA).
Consent Calendar
- The Commission unanimously voted to receive and file items including the Violence Reduction Initiative gift card policy and complimentary passes to Oracle Cloud World.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Dolores Park Incident (Items 9 & 10): A large number of public speakers addressed the commission. Many parents and youth (e.g., Max Reyes, Leslie, Milani) described being detained for hours without access to phones, bathrooms, or food, and alleged they were not read their Miranda rights. Community activists and organizations (e.g., Party for Socialism and Liberation, SF Bicycle Coalition, SF Latinx Democratic Club) condemned the police response as excessive, called for dropping charges, and advocated for sanctioned, community-led events instead of police intervention. Several residents and business owners near Dolores Park (e.g., Frank Noto from Stop Crime SF, Gideon Kramer, Simacavan) expressed strong support for the police action, citing the violence, property damage, and safety risks of the unpermitted event, including a past death. A skate shop owner and educator (Jennifer Blanconet) called for a city-sanctioned, safe event.
- Chief’s Report (Item 4) and DPA Report (Item 5): Speakers commented on drug enforcement policy, with some advocating for harm reduction over enforcement. Concerns were raised about the merging of Hill Bomb complaints into a single DPA case.
- Grants (Items 7 & 8): A speaker questioned the oversight and allocation of the officer wellness grant.
- General Public Comment (Item 2): A mother of a homicide victim pleaded for more resources and tip line utilization for unsolved cases.
Discussion Items
Dolores Park Hill Bomb and July 4th Deployment (Items 9 & 10)
- SFPD Presentation: Chief Scott presented a detailed timeline of the July 8 event, justifying the deployment of over 80 officers. He stated that officers gave dispersal orders for over an hour before arresting 83 juveniles and 34 adults, recovering two loaded firearms, six knives, and fireworks. He reported 15 uses of Extended Range Impact Weapons (ERIW) and 3 physical takedowns, noting that no tear gas or rubber bullets were used. The Chief acknowledged delays in processing juveniles and complaints about lack of communication, promising a thorough investigation. Deputy Chief O’Sullivan presented on the July 4th deployment, noting that crowds dispersed without arrest after similar dispersal orders.
- Commissioner Questions & Deliberation:
- Community Outreach: Several commissioners (Elias, Yanias, Benedicto) criticized the lack of proactive community outreach to skateboarders and residents before the event. The Chief stated some outreach was done but noted the lack of an official event organizer.
- Juvenile Processing: Significant concern was raised about the mass arrest and detention of minors. Commissioners questioned the use of zip ties, delays in parent contact, lack of bathroom access, and whether Miranda rights were properly administered. The Chief admitted to delays and stated the department is reviewing body-worn camera footage.
- Tactics: Commissioner Yanias questioned the “encirclement” (kettling) tactic, which the Chief confirmed is standard for mass arrests. The Chief stated there is a possibility innocent people were swept up but that the dispersal order was repeated to give people an opportunity to leave.
- Use of Force: Commissioner Benedicto questioned the lack of lethal cover officers during ERIW deployments, which the Chief supported as appropriate for the situation to avoid escalation.
- Demographics: Commissioner Yanias requested the demographics of those arrested. The Chief reported the juveniles arrested were predominantly Latino (42) and Black (12), with 18 white and 8 Asian.
- DPA Access: Commissioners secured a commitment from the Chief to provide DPA with all necessary evidence for its investigation, while navigating legal restrictions on juvenile records.
Chief’s Report (Item 4)
- Chief Scott reported an overall 6% decrease in Part 1 crimes year-to-date. He highlighted the department’s focus on drug markets, noting the seizure of 17,692 grams of drugs (70% fentanyl) since May 30th. Commissioner Yanias raised concerns about the correlation between increased enforcement and rising overdose deaths, urging a balanced approach including treatment.
DPA Director’s Report (Item 5)
- Acting Director Roserstein reported that DPA has received and merged complaints regarding the Hill Bomb into a single comprehensive investigation. He confirmed 20 cases are past the 270-day mark. He encouraged the public to file complaints via phone or their website.
Commission Reports (Item 6)
- Commissioner Yee reported an extension for DGO 6.14. Commissioner Benedicto announced the final working group for the body-worn camera policy (DGO 10.11). Commissioner Yanias provided an update on the pre-booking diversion program and requested a future agenda item on disproportionate minority contact (DMC) after data showed a significant increase in the disproportionate detention of African Americans.
Grants (Items 7 & 8)
- The Commission unanimously approved resolutions to accept a $70,549 grant for the Criminology Laboratory and a $1,407,675.74 grant for the Officer Wellness and Mental Health program.
Key Outcomes
- Investigations: SFPD Internal Affairs and DPA will conduct parallel investigations into the Dolores Park incident, focusing on policy and discipline. The Chief committed to facilitating DPA’s access to evidence. A status update is requested for late August.
- Consent Calendar: Approved unanimously.
- Grants: Both resolutions were approved unanimously.
- Closed Session: The Commission voted unanimously to hold Item 15 in Closed Session.
- Future Agenda: Commissioner Yanias successfully requested a future agenda item to discuss disproportionate minority contact in policing data.
- Policy Review: The Chief indicated that the incident would likely lead to policy recommendations regarding juvenile processing, pre-staging resources, and event coordination with other city agencies.
Meeting Transcript
Commissioner Yee. Vice President Carter Overstone is excused. President Lyons, you have a quorum. Also with us tonight, we have Chief Scott from the San Francisco Police Department and Executive Director Paul Henderson from the Department of Police Accountability. Thank you and welcome everyone. Good evening. Thank you for joining us. Just wanted to give you a heads up of tonight's procedure. What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna take item one and then I'm gonna take items nine and ten out of order. I know these are very important topics. You all are here, so we just need to get down to business. So what I'd like to do is take nine and ten out of order. I'm gonna call them together. There was an ad uh clerical error. Both of these items should have been agendized in one line item, but they weren't. So we're going to make that correction now. I will then take again item one, then I'm going to do public comment for item one only. We'll then skip to items nine and ten, which will be combined. We will do public comment for nine and ten items only, and then we will do general public comment for 15 minutes. Now, recall the general public comment is comment for any item that is not on the agenda. Um, and then we will go to our regularly scheduled program. I also wanted to let you know that I know that again, this is a very important topic. We appreciate you being here. We want to cut right to the chase and get into it. As a body, our responsibility is to do policy and discipline for the department. We have asked the chief of police to begin an investigation. As you saw last week, other commissioners have also reached out to the chief of police to ensure that an investigation is done into this matter. We have also asked DPA to conduct an investigation, both into policy and to any possible disciplinary matters. As the body who decides policy and discipline, it is important for us to remain neutral and be fact and listen to the facts as they come. It is my understanding that both DPA and the department have begun the their investigations, and upon completion of their investigation, they will then provide us with two areas in which we would be able to address. One, which is policy, whether there's any policy failures or what policies need to be changed, and the second part is discipline. If there were any violations or discipline is warranted, then they will provide that to us as well. So with that in mind, I'd like to begin our meeting. Line item line item one, weekly officer recognition certificate. Presentation of an officer who has gone above and beyond in the performance of their duties. Officer Stephen Hampton, star number 1793 from the Airport Bureau. Hello, welcome. Uh good evening, President Elias, Commissioners, Director Henderson, Chief Scott, members of the public. Uh Daniel Peret, I'm the Deputy Chief from the San Francisco Police Department's Airport Bureau. And I'm uh honored to be here tonight with Captain Jason Sawyer, who's our uh boss in the patrol division, and your honoree, Officer Stephen Hampton. And with no further ado, uh Captain Sawyer. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Thank you for having us. All right. Officer Stephen Hampton entered the San Francisco Police Department on June 27, 2005. After the police academy, his assignments included Mission Station, Northern Station, Ingleside Station, and the Tactical Unit or SWAT team, and his current assignment at the San Francisco International Airport. At the airport, he is currently assigned to the cargo theft task force, where he does proactive enforcement and investigative work to keep cargo and luggage from being stolen. He's also a member of our incident response team, which is an airport response unit of trained officers designed to respond and contain incidents at San Francisco Airport until the tactical unit can arrive. In addition to being a member of the group, he's also one of the principal instructors using his training and experience from his years on the SWAT team to help members better understand tactics, response, de-escalation, and safety and safely resolving incidents.
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