OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

San Francisco Police Commission Meeting - September 9, 2026

Police Commission — Wednesday, September 9, 2026
BodySan Francisco, California
SessionPolice Commission
DateWednesday, September 9, 2026
StatusNEW · FILED
Video Record
0:00 / 57:29

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Commissioner Lowe.

0:02

Here.

0:02

Commissioner Scott.

0:03

Here.

0:04

Commissioner Le Young.

0:05

Here.

0:05

Commissioner Benedicto.

0:07

Here.

0:07

Commissioner Lyas is in route.

0:08

Vice President Techie.

0:10

Here.

0:10

President Clay, you have a quorum.

0:12

Also with us tonight, our Chief Liu from the San Francisco Police Department and Executive Director Paul Henderson from the Department of Police Accountability.

0:18

All right.

0:18

Thank you, everyone, for being here at our September 9th meeting.

0:22

Sergeant, can we please start the meeting?

0:25

One item of business first.

0:26

We are going to remove items six and seven from tonight's agenda, and they will be on a future agenda in another Commission meeting.

0:36

All right.

0:37

Line item one, general public comment.

0:40

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.

0:49

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.

0:58

Alternatively, you may submit public comment in either of the following ways.

1:01

Email the Secretary of the Police Commission at SFPD.commission at SFGUB.org.

1:06

A written comments may be sent via U.S.

1:08

Postal Service to the Public Safety Building located at 1245 Third Street, San Francisco, California at 94158.

1:15

If you'd like to make public comment, please approach the podium.

1:25

I am here to discuss three items related to SFPD's use of violence at Trans March in Stud Alley on June 26th and 27th.

1:33

Firstly, does SFPD have any updates on the progress of scheduling a town hall meeting?

1:38

If no progress has been made, I wish to remind the Department that community engagement and trust are priorities of the San Francisco Police Department, which could be fostered through a town hall meeting.

1:46

Additionally, there is a precedent that these meetings can happen while investigations are ongoing.

1:51

Secondly, I have heard no comment regarding the number of officers present at Transmarch on June 26th during the 22-minute active enforcement window.

2:00

How many officers were present when the department was recklessly escalating a few vandalism arrests into full-scale violence?

2:06

I am still shocked that the department does not know or cannot specify the number of officers present at that time.

2:12

Wouldn't the Commission as well want to know this number?

2:15

As stated during last week's meeting, I imagine that performing this head count is both a relatively simple and achievable task, assuming adequate uh oversight and record keeping are in place.

2:26

Thirdly, I want to discuss the discrepancies between the response to Supervisor Fielder's letter of inquiry and the information revealed in a recent mission local article.

2:36

In short, why did the department lie to Supervisor Fielder in its response to her LOI or otherwise fail to correct a mistake in said letter?

2:44

I implore this Commission to investigate this discrepancy.

2:47

What was the decision-making process during the drafting of the response to Supervisor Fielder?

2:52

When drafting the letter, did the department know that Lieutenant Conroy Tam nor any other officers present had not given a dispersal order on Washburn Street until after arrests were made?

3:01

I hope to see these questions, plus any more that could arise through a formal investigation answered by the police commission, DPA, or SFPD.

3:16

Hello, everyone.

3:20

Good to see everyone again.

3:42

Again, as I tell everyone, I come here every Wednesday.

3:46

I missed last Wednesday because I had some family emergencies.

3:53

I just found some pictures of him when he was a young boy.

3:57

You know, um, just sitting there being happy.

4:01

Um just looking at pictures.

4:05

Um I bring all of these pictures with me of unsolved homicides.

4:10

My case is about all on half homicides, and I want to thank everyone for who showed up at the uh at my son's visual um the memorial on August 14th.

4:24

Thank you for showing up.

4:25

I really appreciate the support.

4:28

I think I should have had more, but you know, I'm gonna do this next year again, and hopefully more people will show up and mothers like myself and other mothers can get support from the police department.

4:40

Thank you again for showing up.

4:42

I appreciate it very much.

4:50

This is what I have to remember every day.

4:52

And I'm pretty sure other mothers will remember their children if they seen them.

5:00

I had this is what mothers have to deal with every day standing over their son's casket.

5:06

This is the last graduation picture of my son.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████████████████████35%
Public Safety████████████████████████24%
Public Comment█████████████████17%
Police Oversight████████████12%
Animal Control████4%
Homicide Investigation██2%
Surveillance Technology██2%
Retail Crime██2%
Community Engagement██2%
Summary of Proceedings

San Francisco Police Commission Meeting - September 9, 2026

The San Francisco Police Commission held its regular meeting on September 9, 2026, at 1:30 PM. Commissioners present: Lowe, Scott, Leong, Benedicto, Lyas (arrived later), Vice President Techie, President Clay. Also present: Chief Liu (SFPD) and Executive Director Paul Henderson (DPA). Items 6 and 7 (Department General Orders 5.14 and 8.11) were removed from the agenda and will be taken up at a future meeting.

Consent Calendar

  • The Commission voted to receive and file the 2026 SFPD Department Awards certification, the DPA Quarterly Report (Second Quarter 2026), and a grant cost-sharing agreement ($97,000 for a narcotics-detecting canine).
  • The 2026 Q1 and Q2 Live Monitoring Report was separately agendized (to be heard in fall 2026) per a motion by Commissioner Benedicto, citing public interest in surveillance trends. The motion passed 6–0.
  • Commissioner Well questioned whether the increase in DPA complaints was due to greater accessibility rather than police behavior. Director Henderson noted no direct correlation between volume and sustained cases.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • First speaker: Discussed three concerns regarding SFPD's use of force at Trans March (Stud Alley, June 26–27, 2026). Asked for an update on a town hall meeting, questioned the number of officers present during a 22-minute enforcement window, and alleged discrepancies between the department's response to Supervisor Fielder's letter and a Mission Local article. Urged the Commission to investigate.
  • Second speaker (Ms. Brown): Shared grief over her son's unsolved homicide (case #06086238, 20 years ago). Thanked those who attended her son's memorial on August 14. Requested better public outreach about the tipster reward program, noting many community members do not visit the SFPD website.

Discussion Items

  • Chief's Report (Crime Trends & Public Safety)
    • Year-to-date Part I crime down 18% vs. 2025; violent crime down 9%; property crime down 19%. Homicides at 16 (same as 2025). No officer-involved shootings in the reporting period.
    • Drug market enforcement (Aug 31–Sep 6): 11 narcotics trafficking arrests, 67 warrants, 55 public user arrests; over 2 lbs of narcotics and 4 firearms seized.
    • Retail theft strategy: 844 arrests in 6 months, $410,000+ recovered, ~20% decline in theft cases. Introduced online reporting for retailers; fencing operations yielded ~100 arrests in 2 months.
    • Community engagement: 12th annual Chinatown Night Out; preparations for Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Fleet Week, Halloween, and Dreamforce (nearly 5,000 attendees). Academy enrollment: 82 (42 in 290th class, graduating Jan 2027; 40 in 291st class, graduating Mar 2027).
    • Update on Trans March community meeting: SFPD has reached out to the Office of Transgender Initiatives to serve as a third-party facilitator; meeting scheduled for tomorrow (Sep 10). No date yet for the meeting.
    • Vice President Techie asked about a dog mauling incident on Sep 8 (500 block of Larkin). Chief Liu reported a victim with serious injuries, the dog died on scene, transferred to Animal Care & Control. Relationship between victim and dog still under investigation.
  • DPA Director's Report
    • Staff participated in three sessions at John O'Connell High School (public service pathway students) and delivered Know Your Rights presentation.
    • Technology modernization: developing a public-facing legislation dashboard and automating the openness report (reducing production time from 2 weeks to 2 days). Collaborating with SFPD on a record tracking system for ALPR audit.
    • Since last week: 22 cases opened, 24 closed. Most common allegation: failure to properly investigate/neglect of duty.
  • Commission Reports
    • President Clay reported on attending the API Forum group; noted robust community engagement. Requested Chief Liu provide a list of department needs (technology, vehicles, computers) for potential private-sector grants.
    • City Attorney's office (Michael Hughes) will assist in developing performance review processes for the Chief and DPA Director.
    • Sergeant Youngblood is coordinating with district captains to schedule community meetings; commissioners will sign up to attend.
    • Commissioner Benedicto read a public notice about soliciting comments on DGO 10.12 (drone policy). Comments accepted via email through September 20, 2026; responses due at the October 14, 2026 meeting.

Key Outcomes

  • Items 6 and 7 removed from agenda, postponed to a future meeting.
  • Consent Calendar approved (6–0) with the Live Monitoring Report pulled for separate discussion.
  • Motion to go into Closed Session (Item 10) passed 7–0.
  • Vote to disclose Closed Session discussion (Item 11) passed 7–0 (no disclosure of any discussion).
  • Chief Liu will provide a list of departmental technology and equipment needs.
  • DGO 10.12 (drone policy) public comment period open through September 20, 2026; policy will be heard on October 14, 2026.
  • Community meetings in police districts are being arranged; sign-up process to follow.

Meeting Transcript

Commissioner Lowe. Here. Commissioner Scott. Here. Commissioner Le Young. Here. Commissioner Benedicto. Here. Commissioner Lyas is in route. Vice President Techie. Here. President Clay, you have a quorum. Also with us tonight, our Chief Liu from the San Francisco Police Department and Executive Director Paul Henderson from the Department of Police Accountability. All right. Thank you, everyone, for being here at our September 9th meeting. Sergeant, can we please start the meeting? One item of business first. We are going to remove items six and seven from tonight's agenda, and they will be on a future agenda in another Commission meeting. All right. Line item one, general public comment. 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. Alternatively, you may submit public comment in either of the following ways. Email the Secretary of the Police Commission at SFPD.commission at SFGUB.org. A written comments may be sent via U.S. Postal Service to the Public Safety Building located at 1245 Third Street, San Francisco, California at 94158. If you'd like to make public comment, please approach the podium. I am here to discuss three items related to SFPD's use of violence at Trans March in Stud Alley on June 26th and 27th. Firstly, does SFPD have any updates on the progress of scheduling a town hall meeting? If no progress has been made, I wish to remind the Department that community engagement and trust are priorities of the San Francisco Police Department, which could be fostered through a town hall meeting. Additionally, there is a precedent that these meetings can happen while investigations are ongoing. Secondly, I have heard no comment regarding the number of officers present at Transmarch on June 26th during the 22-minute active enforcement window. How many officers were present when the department was recklessly escalating a few vandalism arrests into full-scale violence? I am still shocked that the department does not know or cannot specify the number of officers present at that time. Wouldn't the Commission as well want to know this number? As stated during last week's meeting, I imagine that performing this head count is both a relatively simple and achievable task, assuming adequate uh oversight and record keeping are in place. Thirdly, I want to discuss the discrepancies between the response to Supervisor Fielder's letter of inquiry and the information revealed in a recent mission local article. In short, why did the department lie to Supervisor Fielder in its response to her LOI or otherwise fail to correct a mistake in said letter? I implore this Commission to investigate this discrepancy. What was the decision-making process during the drafting of the response to Supervisor Fielder? When drafting the letter, did the department know that Lieutenant Conroy Tam nor any other officers present had not given a dispersal order on Washburn Street until after arrests were made? I hope to see these questions, plus any more that could arise through a formal investigation answered by the police commission, DPA, or SFPD. Hello, everyone. Good to see everyone again. Again, as I tell everyone, I come here every Wednesday. I missed last Wednesday because I had some family emergencies. I just found some pictures of him when he was a young boy. You know, um, just sitting there being happy. Um just looking at pictures. Um I bring all of these pictures with me of unsolved homicides.

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