San Francisco Police Commission Meeting Summary - March 20, 2024
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San Francisco Police Commission Meeting - March 20, 2024
The San Francisco Police Commission met on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at 1:45 PM. The meeting included officer recognition, public comments, consent calendar approval, reports from the Chief and DPA, a detailed presentation on language access services, and a closed session on pending litigation.
Consent Calendar
- Consent Calendar items (motion to receive and file):
- Amended Department General Order 1102 (secondary employment).
- Secondary Employment Annual Report 2023.
- Photo booth donation for SFPD's annual "Bring Your Child to Work Day" event (estimated value $500).
- SFPD and DPA SB 1421 reports.
- The motion was approved unanimously (6-0).
Public Comments & Testimony
- General Public Comment (non-agenda items):
- Speaker raised concerns about inter-departmental system credentialing, urging formation of a task force to prevent illegal interventions and surveillance overutilization.
- A speaker advocated for an elected police chief, citing Michael Hennessy's idea of increased public accountability.
- Speaker referenced Proposition E election results as evidence of public support for police, and called for Commissioner Elias and Commissioner Yanniz to resign over alleged conflicts of interest (family ties to district attorney's office and public defender's office).
- A speaker criticized the Commission's micromanagement and called for ethics investigations.
- Public Comment on Chief's Report:
- Speaker expressed skepticism about crime data accuracy, noting anecdotal underreporting; asked about cross-verification and reporting trends.
- Mother of unsolved homicide victim (2006) pressed for agenda item on solving unsolved homicides; provided suspect names.
- Public Comment on Language Access:
- Speaker proposed creating a "public safety foreign legion" for mutual aid, and noted that AI could assist with language translation.
- Public Comment on DPA Director's Report:
- Speaker urged a study of lateral transfers, alleging thug hires; asked DPA to track complaints against lateral officers.
- Public Comment on Commission Reports:
- Speaker called for drug testing of police officers involved in violent incidents, citing Proposition F mandate.
Discussion Items
-
Chief's Report (Crime Trends & Incidents):
- Part 1 crime down 30% year-to-date (approx. 300-400 fewer crimes). Property crime down 32%; violent crime down 16%. Homicides: 6 this year vs. 10 last year (40% reduction). Shooting victims down 31% (11 fewer). Firearm recoveries: 190 (slightly above last year).
- Reported a fatal collision on March 16 in the 900 block of Ulloa Street: driver (78-year-old) arrested for felony vehicular manslaughter after hitting a bus stop; 4 victims died.
- Three recent Bayview shootings (March 11, 15, 17) – one non-life-threatening, one critical, one with suspect known; all investigations ongoing without arrest.
- Pro-Palestine protest at SFO on March 13 (approx. 300 attendees) – no violence.
- Reopening of the Yen Feng Wu homicide case due to new evidence; statement released but evidence not disclosed pending investigation.
- In response to questions about SFPD's highest vehicle pursuit collision rate in the state (lowest apprehension rate), Chief cited lack of air support and dense city conditions; noted drones may help once authorized; acknowledged new pursuit policy may increase pursuits but emphasized risk management.
- Chief attributed crime reduction to plainclothes unit arrests (51 in February), violent crime strategies (community safety meetings), retail blitz arrests, and new Flock camera technology (rolled out same day).
- Confirmed body-worn camera investigation from Palestinian demonstration still ongoing; 61 vandalism incidents identified.
- West Portal incident toxicology report not yet available.
-
Language Access Services (Item 7 – Presentation of Annual Report under DGO 5.20):
- OSIA (Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs) presented citywide language access compliance overview. Ordinance requires services in Chinese, Spanish, Filipino (threshold languages). Reported FY2022-23 trends: increases in LEP client interactions, translated materials, in-person interpretations; decreases in telephonic interpretations, bilingual staffing, and language service budgets.
- SFPD presentation: 374 certified bilingual members (427 total bilingual including 5 core languages). In 2023, 71 members certified. Language Line offers interpretation in 240+ languages. In 2023, SFPD provided 13,955 interpretation services to LEP individuals; 5 DPA complaints received. 5-year comparison shows steady increase.
- Community Liaison Unit: 241 outreaches in 2023 (95% increase from 2022).
- Department acknowledged delay in submitting 2022 report to Commission (completed February 2023, but not forwarded to Commission until December 2023). Apologized for oversight.
- Commissioner Yanniz raised concerns about data discrepancies: SFPD reported 6,635 LEP interactions in FY2022-23 vs. 30,738 in FY2019-20; expenditures dropped from $751,706 in FY2018-19 to $113,851 in FY2022-23. Department could not explain immediately but committed to review.
- Commissioner Yanniz noted SFPD's LEP interaction rate was 1.2% of total calls (2023) vs. 2.1% (2022). Other departments with similar budgets report 180,000+ translations.
- Discussion on certification process, training, and use of language identification cards. Department stated it does not have sufficient bilingual staff and is working to increase certifications.
- OSIA responded that ordinance does not specify threshold for sufficiency; department self-reports adequacy. SFPD reported "no" to sufficiency question due to limited testing scope.
-
DPA Director's Report:
- Acting Director Hawkins reported 314 pending cases (vs. 252 last year). 13 cases pending with Commission, 93 with Chief. 24 new cases in two weeks. Staffing concerns continue.
- DPA received second round of stop data audit information; outreach efforts ongoing.
- Commissioner Byrne thanked Ms. Hawkins for her service; her last meeting before leaving to TikTok.
-
Commission Reports:
- Commissioner Benedicto: Attended St. Patrick's Day parade; upcoming ride-along with Commissioner Walker in Tenderloin; update on DGO 7.01 (juveniles) – draft public comment period closed, working on revisions.
- Commissioner Byrne: Thanked Deputy City Attorney for memo on Prop E implementation; raised question about pending DGOs grandfathered. Chair deferred discussion to next agenda.
Key Outcomes
- Votes:
- Consent Calendar received and filed (6-0).
- Motion to hold Item 10 (Closed Session) passed (6-0).
- Motion to not disclose Closed Session discussion passed (6-0).
- Directives/Next Steps:
- SFPD to investigate discrepancies in language access data (client counts and expenditures) and provide follow-up to Commission.
- Department to continue working on revising DGO 5.20 and increasing bilingual certifications.
- DGO 7.01 revisions to be brought back for action.
- Commission will schedule discussion on Prop E implementation at a future meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Commissioners would like to take role. Commissioner Walker. Here I'm welcome to read it into it. Commissioner Benedicto. Present. Commissioner Yannez. Commissioner Byrne. Here. Commissioner Yi and Vice President Carter Overstone are in route. And you do have a quorum. Thank you. You're gonna call the item. Line item one weekly officer recognition certificate. Presentation of an officer who has gone above and beyond in the performance of their duties. Sergeant Michael Zhang, star number 4236, Special Investigations Division. Thank you, Commissioner Byrne. Commissioners, um Acting Director Hawkins, and Chief Scott, and to those uh here and watching at home. Um so good evening. Um the Special Investigations Division would like to recognize Sergeant Mike Zhang for his dedication and hard work. Uh Sergeant Zhang was one of the primary planners of the dignitary protection for the APEC conference and was designated point of contact for many of our state federal, state, and local partners that the San Francisco Police Department worked with for almost a year. He and others, but mostly him, coordinated and helped plan the routes the dignitaries would use to get to their various venues throughout the city. Um as we all know, the APEC conference served as a big open for business sign and signal for San Francisco and was a and Sergeant uh Zhang was a big part of making that happen on the police department side of the house. Uh Mike is also a consummate professional in the office and always prepared to lend a hand when someone needs a hand on a case or an extra body in the field. Um when I first met Mike in 2014, he uh he and I were sergeants in the tenant only station, and I was struck uh and still am at his jovial nature, which might seem at odds with his strong work ethic and humble demeanor. But uh it's a great uh honor to present this commissioner award to him. So um I'll read it now. It says uh the officer of the week, in recognition for your dedication and professionalism demonstrated through outstanding community policing practices and inspiring greatness by exemplifying the ideals of the police officers as guardians of our community. Such an example of dedication is worthy of the highest esteem by the city and county of San Francisco and the San Francisco Police Department. Presented on this 20th day of March 2024, Sergeant We don't want to embarrass you, but Sergeant, would you do you have anything to say, please? Oh, I just want to thank the commission for this award. Okay. Humble man, Sergeant Matthew Wards. Pardon me? He is, he said he's a man of few words. Uh okay. Well, um, Commissioner Yi, you you're now the senior one here. Yes. Uh I I'll uh I we would like to thank you uh for your service. Um sometimes uh as you well know, it's not appreciated. Uh uh, but uh on behalf of the rest of the commission, uh I'd like to say that it is appreciated. And thank you for your outstanding work. Thank you. Uh Chief uh Wheels. Thank you, Commissioner Yi. I just want to say uh Sergeant Zhang is you know there's some people that are just go-to type of people that you can count on. They're they're always there, always reliable, always respond to the call. He is that type of person. So um I know unassuming, uh, not looking for the glory, but it's a well-deserved um award, and thank you, Commission, for recognizing Sergeant Jane Zhang's work. Thank you. Uh Commissioner uh Benodicto.
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