OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

San Francisco Police Commission Meeting - June 5, 2024

Police Commission — Wednesday, June 5, 2024
BodySan Francisco, California
SessionPolice Commission
DateWednesday, June 5, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
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0:15

President Lyons like to take role.

0:17

Commissioner Benedicto.

0:19

Present.

0:19

Commissioner Yanez.

0:20

President.

0:21

Commissioner Yi.

0:22

Here.

0:23

Vice President Carter Overstone is excused.

0:25

President Lyons, you have a quorum also with us tonight.

0:27

Chief Scott from the San Francisco Police Department and Executive Director Paul Henderson from the Department of Police Accountability.

0:33

Thank you.

0:34

Welcome everyone to our June.

0:36

Oh my gosh, June 5th, 2024 meeting.

0:39

Sergeant, can you please call the first matter?

0:41

Line item one, weekly officer recognition certificate.

0:44

Presentation of an officer who has gone above and beyond in the performance of their duties.

0:48

Officer Kyle Simmons, star number 2470, Central Station, and Officer Marcus Wells, star number six 1564 from the tactical company.

0:58

Hello, come on, come forward.

1:00

How are you?

1:02

Good evening, Commissioners.

1:04

Um and Chief Scott.

1:05

Um I'm here to talk about Officer Kyle Simmons from Central Station.

1:11

Um I first want to start off by thanking uh everyone here for recognizing one of the hardest working officers at Central Station.

1:18

Uh let me take a minute uh to let you know why Officer Kyle Simmons, a nine-year veteran of the department, was selected for this recognition itself.

1:27

Uh in the beginning of the year, uh I was looking for a footbeat officers take over the Fishman's Wharf area.

1:33

As a captain of Central Station, I recognize the the importance of having a footbeat officers.

1:39

Over the last 29 years of my career, I know that um having a beat officer really represents what the values and um what we want to show for the community and building that relationship.

1:53

Um when when we talk about community policing as a department, uh the word footbeat officers always is mentioned.

2:00

So I just want to show how important to me what the footbeats does for our city.

2:06

Uh when I started look searching for an officer, uh, I asked all the supervisors under my command uh who would be a great footbeat officer.

2:14

Uh I realized there was only one name that was really consistent with um all the supervisors that worked at Central and was Officer Kyle Simmons.

2:22

The supervisors subscribe, Officer Simmons is a hardworking cop who volunteered for stuff, um never complained, and always got the job done.

2:34

Uh he's an FTO, he works uh late evenings, and um again consistently helped with all the f uh all the officers that uh he worked with.

2:44

But the one thing that I noticed when uh the officers, the supervisor scribe officer Simmons was that he liked to talk to everyone, uh whether it was the community, uh the suspects, but he talked to everyone, but but most importantly, he treated everyone with respect and dignity.

3:00

Ums was selected uh in March uh as the footbeat officer, and since then uh he's been basically walking the wharf and engaging with all the businesses in the area.

3:14

Uh as a footbeat officer talking to the merchant, I learned that he walked around, talked to all the merchants, give him this business card, and that has went as far as giving his department's cell phone number to basically engage with the merchants and to basically say, hey, if you have a problem, and if you don't need a meet police response, call me, we'll take care of it.

3:35

So that showed me um he realized the importance of having that trust and building that gap between the department and uh the community itself.

3:47

So um at this time, I know looking at him, I want to thank uh Officer Kyle Simmons all his for all his hard work and again uh building that trust with the community and um well on the community.

4:02

So I thank you for all your hard work and I appreciate everything you do.

4:04

Thanks, sir.

4:05

Thank you.

4:09

Oh, officer Simmons, we don't let you off that easily now.

4:12

Come on.

4:14

First of all, congratulations.

4:16

Uh I want to give you an opportunity if you wanted to say a few words, if totally up to you, you don't have to, and then I'm gonna turn it over to the chief in a few seconds.

4:24

Um it's an honor and thank you for the opportunity.

4:27

Well, before I turn it over to the chief, I wanted to again congratulate you.

4:31

I wanted to thank you and your family.

4:34

It's my understanding that you work late late nights and evenings, um, which has its toll on the family who has to go forward when you're not there.

4:43

Um so huge thanks to them for allowing you to be your best self and uh coming to work and dedicating yourself to your job.

5:00

Um I know that a lot of times we get a lot of complaints about not having enough beat officers and people in the community desperately wanting uh a physical presence by police officers, so it's great to hear that you are there, and not only are you there, but you're engaging with them because I think that you could we can put someone there, but unless you're really engaging uh with them, I think that's what's really important, and I think the words like trust, building gap um, and uh talking to everyone are adjectives that we obviously um are happy to hear and what the public has asked for.

5:26

Uh, I also think it speaks volumes that not only your supervisor wants to nominate you, but your peers also recognize your dedication and hard work.

5:34

So um thank you so much for you know all that you do for our city uh and engaging with everyone that you come in contact with.

5:42

Thank you, thank thank you, President Elias, and uh just uh Officer Simmons, thank you.

5:47

I know I've I've walked with your unit a couple of times, and a couple of things that uh just stood out to me.

5:52

Number one, you all know the people in the community and and they love you.

5:57

And um, and I mean that.

5:59

I mean, everybody that I talk to, the business owners, the people that in the beats, they respect and love their footbeat cops.

6:05

So that's because of you and your partners and the work that you do.

6:09

Also, you all uh take care of business when something happens in that in the communities that you you walk to beat in, you're there to take care of the problem.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Police Oversight█████████████████████████████████████████████58%
Public Comment██████████13%
Procedural████████10%
Public Safety███████9%
Public Education████5%
Justice And Corrections█1%
Cannabis Regulation█1%
Public Health█1%
Community Engagement█1%
Summary of Proceedings

San Francisco Police Commission Meeting - June 5, 2024

The San Francisco Police Commission met on June 5, 2024, to address a full agenda including officer recognitions, public comment on police conduct and unsolved homicides, reports from the Chief and the Department of Police Accountability (DPA), adoption of two Department General Orders, presentations on the Disciplinary Review Board findings and the Internal Affairs Division annual report, and a presentation on the BolaWrap non-lethal restraint device. The commission also held a closed session.

Consent Calendar

  • The commission received and filed SFPD's and DPA's document protocol reports for the first quarter of 2024 and accepted a donation of a facility dog (estimated value $2,000).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • A member of the public commented on a mural depiction (49ers square foot) and criticized intelligence operations.
  • A mother of a murder victim (Arbor Casa, killed August 14, 2006) pleaded for justice and named alleged perpetrators, requesting a cold case witness program ("Tracer program").
  • Two speakers described a May 30, 2024 incident where they alleged an SFPD officer refused to activate body camera, refused to identify himself, and enabled an assault on them. They called for the officer's termination.
  • Another speaker reported an encounter with Officer L. Wong, alleging threats and bragging about connections.
  • A retired teacher urged foot patrols and proposed legalizing sex work and gambling to revitalize Mission Street.
  • A speaker criticized the city for not funding homicide tip rewards, referencing prior presentations, and urged action.

Chief’s Report

  • Chief Scott reported a 30% reduction in part one crimes year-to-date (6,500 fewer crimes), highlighting a 38% reduction in homicides (13 vs. 21 last year) and a 51% drop in car break-ins. Gun seizures totaled 503 (up 60 from last year), including 74 ghost guns (down from 117).
  • Major incidents: four non-fatal shootings (one arrest), a stabbing arrest, a robbery arrest, a burglary arrest at a marijuana grow house, and a narcotics operation in the Tenderloin (10 arrests, 522g narcotics seized). A coordinated operation with multiple agencies led to two Oakland suspects arrested with heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and over $7,000 cash.
  • Stunt driving events on June 1 involved ~40 cars across multiple districts; no arrests but follow-up investigation underway.
  • Mutual aid requests: SFPD sent officers to Cal Poly Humboldt, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, and San Francisco State for protest-related assistance; no reportable uses of force.
  • Commissioner Benedicto requested a future agenda item to discuss coordinated protest response strategy.

DPA Director’s Report

  • Executive Director Henderson reported 57 new investigations opened and 97 closed since last meeting, a 15% reduction in pending cases.
  • DPA received the 2024 Distinguished Knight Award from the Association of Local Government Auditors for its report on SFPD's discipline process.
  • DPA hosted a two-day training for 15 California oversight practitioners; attended by national oversight leaders.
  • The annual internship and fellowship cohort includes 25 students (5 law, 20 undergrad) from 14+ colleges, representing 9 HBCUs. The program partners with 12 city agencies.
  • Commissioner Benedicto and Commissioners Yee and Yanez welcomed the interns and thanked DPA staff.

Commission Reports

  • Commissioner Yee reported attending the SFPD 281st recruit class graduation (15 new officers) and visiting Carribrow stations.

Discussion Items

Adoption of Department General Order 6.20, “Member-Involved Domestic Violence”

  • The DGO was presented with minor wording changes. A commissioner asked why a definition of domestic violence was not included; staff explained that definitions reside in DGO 6.09 to avoid needing to update this order when definitions change. Chief confirmed a waiver from community engagement process. The commission adopted the DGO unanimously (4-0).

Adoption of Department General Order 3.12, “Department Training Plan”

  • No substantive changes; only an email address update. Chief issued a waiver for the proper process. The commission adopted the DGO unanimously (4-0).

Presentation on SFPD’s Disciplinary Review Board Findings, 3rd and 4th Quarter 2023

  • DPA attorney Diana Rosenstein presented. Aggregate trends included neglect of duty (general, body-worn camera, failure to appear at range, conduct unbecoming). Policy failure cases: an officer establishing a nonprofit without an MOU; an incident involving a probation search when no one was home. Training failures: one case in Q4 related to a probation search. Office of Equity and Inclusion found no negative bias trends. Recommendations include creating MOUs for programs with on-duty officer participation. Chief confirmed MOU for Operation Genesis is complete; other programs (PAL, Wilderness, etc.) will have MOUs by year-end.

Presentation on Internal Affairs Division Annual Report 2023

  • Lieutenant Lisa Springer presented. In 2023, 271 cases opened, 250 closed (93% closure rate). Top allegations: conduct unbecoming (~30%), neglect of duty general (~24%), body-worn camera issues (~18%). Of closed cases, 66.6% resulted in non-disciplinary action (admonishment, retraining, etc.), 33.4% in discipline (written reprimand to termination). Director Henderson requested more detailed closed-case summaries; Springer agreed to consider.

Presentation on BolaWrap Non-Lethal Remote Restraint System

  • Captain Sean Perdomo and Sergeant Bugarin presented the BolaWrap, a restraint device that deploys a 7.5-foot Kevlar cord from a handheld device (ranges: under 10 ft optimal, up to 25 ft). It is classified as a type 1 use of force (equivalent to handcuffing) under policy 5.01. The pilot program will train 55 officers (50 specialist team members, 5 tactical unit) in a 10-hour course, with a one-year trial. Deployment considerations include loud noise (similar to gunshot) and bright light. Commissioners asked about potential escalation from noise, need for lethal cover, wind effects, and training layering with CMCR. Chief clarified lethal cover will be present if subject poses threat of serious injury. The device is designed to not resemble a firearm. The commission expressed support for the pilot.

Key Outcomes

  • Adopted DGO 6.20 (Member-Involved Domestic Violence) unanimously (4-0).
  • Adopted DGO 3.12 (Department Training Plan) unanimously (4-0).
  • Received and filed reports on DRB findings and IAD annual report.
  • Supported the BolaWrap pilot program; rollout expected after training in July/August 2024.
  • Voted to hold item 16 in closed session (4-0) and later voted not to disclose any discussion from closed session (4-0).
  • A future meeting item on protest response strategy was calendared.

Meeting Transcript

President Lyons like to take role. Commissioner Benedicto. Present. Commissioner Yanez. President. Commissioner Yi. Here. Vice President Carter Overstone is excused. President Lyons, you have a quorum also with us tonight. Chief Scott from the San Francisco Police Department and Executive Director Paul Henderson from the Department of Police Accountability. Thank you. Welcome everyone to our June. Oh my gosh, June 5th, 2024 meeting. Sergeant, can you please call the first matter? Line item one, weekly officer recognition certificate. Presentation of an officer who has gone above and beyond in the performance of their duties. Officer Kyle Simmons, star number 2470, Central Station, and Officer Marcus Wells, star number six 1564 from the tactical company. Hello, come on, come forward. How are you? Good evening, Commissioners. Um and Chief Scott. Um I'm here to talk about Officer Kyle Simmons from Central Station. Um I first want to start off by thanking uh everyone here for recognizing one of the hardest working officers at Central Station. Uh let me take a minute uh to let you know why Officer Kyle Simmons, a nine-year veteran of the department, was selected for this recognition itself. Uh in the beginning of the year, uh I was looking for a footbeat officers take over the Fishman's Wharf area. As a captain of Central Station, I recognize the the importance of having a footbeat officers. Over the last 29 years of my career, I know that um having a beat officer really represents what the values and um what we want to show for the community and building that relationship. Um when when we talk about community policing as a department, uh the word footbeat officers always is mentioned. So I just want to show how important to me what the footbeats does for our city. Uh when I started look searching for an officer, uh, I asked all the supervisors under my command uh who would be a great footbeat officer. Uh I realized there was only one name that was really consistent with um all the supervisors that worked at Central and was Officer Kyle Simmons. The supervisors subscribe, Officer Simmons is a hardworking cop who volunteered for stuff, um never complained, and always got the job done. Uh he's an FTO, he works uh late evenings, and um again consistently helped with all the f uh all the officers that uh he worked with. But the one thing that I noticed when uh the officers, the supervisor scribe officer Simmons was that he liked to talk to everyone, uh whether it was the community, uh the suspects, but he talked to everyone, but but most importantly, he treated everyone with respect and dignity. Ums was selected uh in March uh as the footbeat officer, and since then uh he's been basically walking the wharf and engaging with all the businesses in the area. Uh as a footbeat officer talking to the merchant, I learned that he walked around, talked to all the merchants, give him this business card, and that has went as far as giving his department's cell phone number to basically engage with the merchants and to basically say, hey, if you have a problem, and if you don't need a meet police response, call me, we'll take care of it. So that showed me um he realized the importance of having that trust and building that gap between the department and uh the community itself. So um at this time, I know looking at him, I want to thank uh Officer Kyle Simmons all his for all his hard work and again uh building that trust with the community and um well on the community. So I thank you for all your hard work and I appreciate everything you do. Thanks, sir. Thank you. Oh, officer Simmons, we don't let you off that easily now. Come on. First of all, congratulations. Uh I want to give you an opportunity if you wanted to say a few words, if totally up to you, you don't have to, and then I'm gonna turn it over to the chief in a few seconds. Um it's an honor and thank you for the opportunity. Well, before I turn it over to the chief, I wanted to again congratulate you. I wanted to thank you and your family. It's my understanding that you work late late nights and evenings, um, which has its toll on the family who has to go forward when you're not there. Um so huge thanks to them for allowing you to be your best self and uh coming to work and dedicating yourself to your job.

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