San Francisco Police Commission Meeting - October 4, 2023
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San Francisco Police Commission Meeting - October 4, 2023
The San Francisco Police Commission met on October 4, 2023, at 1:45 PM UTC. The meeting included officer recognition, public comment on missing persons policies and police accountability, reports from the Chief and DPA, a presentation on the Benchmark early warning system, updates on the Collaborative Reform Initiative, and adoption of revised department general orders.
Consent Calendar
- The commission unanimously voted to receive and file the Police Commission report of disciplinary actions for the third quarter of 2023 and the DPA May, June, and July statistical reports.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Michelle Lazaneo (26-year civilian police employee for a neighboring agency) urged the commission to adopt a public alerts policy for missing persons, citing the case of 13-year-old Knowledge Shepherd, a nonverbal autistic child reported missing on September 15, 2023, and found three days later without immediate public alerts from SFPD. She noted the current missing persons policy (DGO 6.10) has not been updated since 1999.
- Janelle Harris (former Oakland Police Commissioner) supported updating the missing persons policy, referencing a 12-page draft from an ad hoc committee.
- Jake Honor B. Ortega (co-president of Iconic D3) expressed strong support for SFPD officers, criticizing anti-police policies and vowing continued public pushback.
- A speaker challenged Commissioner Oberstone's focus on traffic enforcement, arguing that traffic fatalities (12 over six months) are far fewer than fentanyl overdose deaths (over 500 in 2023) and that resources should be directed at drug dealers.
- Tracy McCray (President of the San Francisco Police Officers Association) raised concerns about a leak of confidential disciplinary information to the SF Standard, demanding an investigation. Commissioner Oberstone countered that the article explicitly stated the information was not leaked, and the leak theory originated from a right-wing blogger. McCray reiterated the need to find the source.
- Aubrey Abarcasa's mother (speaker) called attention to unsolved homicides, including her son's murder in 2006, and questioned the commission's efforts to hire tipsters.
Discussion Items
- Chief's Report: Chief William Scott reported that overall crime is down 4% year-to-date (about 1,900 fewer crimes), with property crime down 5% and violent crime up 2%. Homicides are even with last year; the clearance rate is 75% (with a recent arrest). He highlighted a hit-and-run fatality involving a self-driving vehicle, Fleet Week activities, and the ongoing drug enforcement strategy in the Tenderloin. Since May 29, 2023, there have been 582 arrests for drug possession/use, with 81 overdose reversals. Commissioner Oberstone questioned the effectiveness of the drug user arrest strategy, suggesting resources could be better used for traffic enforcement. Chief Scott defended the approach, citing the need to address both supply and demand. Commissioner Yanez noted a correlation between the policing strategy and increased overdose deaths, and asked for measurable outcomes. Commissioner Walker expressed support for the strategy.
- DPA Director's Report: Director Henderson reported that DPA has opened over 600 cases this year, closed 552, and has 304 active cases. He noted that the top complaint category is neglect of duty (e.g., failure to take action). Regarding stop data audits, he expressed concerns about the current auditing practices and announced a planned review to assess data integrity, potentially involving outside partners. Commissioner Benedicto supported a formalized review.
- Benchmark Analytics Presentation: CEO Ron Huberman and Chief Research Officer Nick Montgomery presented the First Sign early warning system, which uses 79 data variables to identify officers at risk of future adverse events. The model has 81% efficacy in predicting officers who will be investigated within 12 months. The system is ready for deployment pending policy approval. Commissioners discussed data sharing with DPA, transparency, and the need for a supportive, non-punitive approach. Chief Scott noted that the system is not intended for discipline but for early intervention.
- Collaborative Reform Initiative (CRI) Quarterly Update: Deborah Kirby (Jensen Hughes) reported that the department is in Phase 3 Plus, with five project plans aimed at sustaining reforms. The department has achieved nearly 90% of the 272 recommendations from the 2016 DOJ report. The focus is on use of force, community policing, bias, and internal affairs data. The sustainability review will dip-sample 10% of recommendations. Challenges include IT delays and resource constraints. Commissioner Oberstone raised concerns about stop data auditing and policy transparency.
- Disciplinary Review Board (DRB) Findings: Representatives from IAD and DPA presented aggregate trends for Q1 2023, including neglect of duty (body-worn camera violations) and improper search. One policy failure recommendation led to updated training on Fourth Amendment issues regarding “freezing” a location for a search warrant.
Key Outcomes
- Revised Department General Order 3.05 (Weapon Return Panel): Adopted unanimously (5-0).
- Revised Department General Order 8.04 (Critical Incident Response Team): Adopted unanimously (5-0) to send to meet and confer with affected bargaining units, subject to a resolution ensuring negotiation only over mandatory subjects.
- Closed Session: The commission voted unanimously (5-0) to enter closed session on Item 15 (personnel matters) and subsequently voted unanimously not to disclose discussion, except for factual updates to be included in minutes.
- Consent Calendar and Minutes: Approved unanimously.
- Next Steps: The commission will continue discussions on stop data auditing, policy updates (including missing persons DGO), and the Benchmark system implementation.
Meeting Transcript
One nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all the Vice President Carter Wisconsin if I could take roll. Commissioner Walker. Present. Commissioner Benedicto. Present. Commissioner Yanez. Commissioner Byrne is excused. Commissioner Yi is in route. Vice President Carter Overstone, you have a quorum also with us here tonight. We have Chief Scott from the San Francisco Police Department and Chief of Staff Sarah Hawkins from the Department of Police Accountability. Could you please call a first item, Sergeant? Line item one, a weekly officer recognition certificate. Presentation of an officer who has gone above and beyond in the performance of their duties. Sergeant Joe Hall, star number 4315, Special Victims United. Good evening. Hi. Okay. Good evening. I'd like to thank the police commission, the chief of police, and the public for taking the time to recognize the outstanding work that the San Francisco Police Department investigators do. And I'm especially glad to be here this evening to recognize one of my very own investigators, Sergeant Nick Joe Hall, for his exceptional job he does day in and day out, but more specifically on a recent case that I will highlight this evening. First, let me introduce myself. My name is Alexa O'Brien. I'm the captain for the Investigation Bureau Special Victims Unit. And we're honoring Joe Sergeant Joe Hall this week. A little bit about Sergeant Joe Hall. He's originally from London, England, but has been living in the U.S. since 2001. Before joining our police department in 2012, he worked for the Los Angeles Police Department for five years, like our chief. In 2018, he was promoted to sergeant and was put to work as an SVU investigator. Almost six years later, here we are, Sergeant Joe Hall still works for SBU as one of our more senior investigators. When Sergeant Joe Hall is not at work or busy working his cases or on call, he likes to enjoy time with his wife and two kids, a boy and a girl who are sitting in the back with us tonight. But domestic violence and the work that goes into the special victims unit encompasses a wide variety of crimes. It includes rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, simple assaults committed by intimate partners, immediate family members, even strangers. And victims can be men, women, children, people with disabilities, or the elderly. That is why this recent case that Sergeant Joe Hall worked at and was involved with struck such a chord with our entire unit. In the early morning hours of September 13th, 2023, Sergeant Joe Hall and his partner were told that there was a home invasion sexual assault of an elderly victim who was 95 years old. It occurred in the Ingleside District on Naples Street. Sergeant Joel Hall and his partner responded to the scene where the officers advised Sergeant Joe Hall that the suspect possibly gained entry from the rear of the home into the victim's unit by forcibly prying their way in. Sergeant Joe Hall learned that the victim was sleeping when she heard a noise that woke her up. The victim stated that an unknown male entered her unit, placed something over her head, and sexually assaulted her. Sergeant Joe Hall spent hours writing search warrants for the property and the entire crime scene, which was processed for biological and latent prints. Sergeant Joe Hall also had the wherewithal to have the crime lab expedite this sexual assault kit in order to establish foreign DNA and a possible and hopefully a possible CODIS hit. We're happy to say that less than two weeks later, our amazing SFPD crime lab notified us that there was a full foreign DNA profile obtained, and they were going to run it through the CODIS system. A short time later, the crime lab confirmed there was a CODIS hit. Sergeant Joe Hall and his team obtained the suspect's identity, who resulted in being a neighbor to the victim. Sergeant Joe Hull organized surveillance in order to take that suspect into custody, and shortly thereafter they spotted him coming out of his home and took him into custody without any further incident. Sergeant Joe Hall and his team members conducted an interview of the suspect under Miranda, where he confessed to the assault and even admitted that he stole items from this victim's home. Thankfully, no one else was harmed by this assailant, and he remains in custody. Sergeant Joe Hall, your hard work and dedication is an example to everyone on our team. Thank you for being the very best at everything you do.
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