MINUTES
San Francisco Commission of Animal Control & Welfare
Thursday, May 15, 2014
1. Call to Order and Roll Call at 5:35pm
Commissioners present: Susanna Russo; Annemarie Fortier; Shari O’Neill, DVM; Sally
Stephens; Russell Tenofsky; Sergeant Sherry Hicks; Rebecca Katz
2. General Public Comment
No public comment.
3. Approval of Draft Minutes of the April 17, 2014 Meeting.
Commissioner Stephens - The commissioners are not able to post to the city website “personally”, but we are able to post through the city’s webmaster. Minutes approved as amended.
4. Chairperson’s Report and Opening Remarks
A) Update on Commision Vacancies and Appointments to the Commission -
Commissioner Marks resigned, due to relocating to a job outside of the city. Commissioner
Russo is retiring from the Commission and not renewing . Commissioners Fortier and O’Neill
were reappointed. Thank you to Commissioner Russo for her work. Two new commissioners
appointed, awaiting final approval from the full Board of Supervisors.
B) “Thank you” to retiring SFPD Officer John Denny for his tireless work on the Vicious and Dangerous Dog Unit.
Commissioner Russo - Thank you for your service and commitment to the dogs and animals of San Francisco.
Officer Denny - Thank you very much. And thank you to the commission for your volunteer work.
Rebecca Katz - Officer Denny has been a real asset to the city and the VDD Unit. He has been an advocate for keeping families whole. Thank you for your insights and compassion.
No public comment.
5. New Business
A) SF Police Department’s Shooting of Pit Bulls. Discussion and possible action to send a letter to the Board of Supervisors, Police Chief Greg Suhr, and the Police Commission asking them to address a recent increase in police shootings and killings of pit bull dogs. Three dogs have been shot by SFPD police officers and died since January. The Commission would like to ensure that deadly force is used when necessary, but not based on stereotypes about pit bull dogs. We will discuss what more can be done, if anything, to educate officers about dog behavior and about pit bulls in general, to prevent the use of deadly force when it might not be warranted.
Commissioner Stephens - Three shootings in four months does seem to be a big increase. Is there anything we can be doing to help officers make the right decisions, not based on stereotypes. In the Golden Gate Park incident, the dog had been involved in an incident, but had not bitten anyone. And, when the dog was shot, he was on a picnic table. And recently, there was a dog shot in the back of the leg, so could not have been approaching the officer. We can ask if there is a review process. Owner of Duke is present.
Raymond - (presents ashes of Duke, deceased dog). Duke was a very sweet dog, as he lived in the house with a three-year-old boy. He was a good dog. All he wanted to do was play.
Commissioner Stephens - Thank you for coming. I’m sorry for your loss. You have helped us as a commission to understand that this is real, it has impact on people.
Rebecca Katz - We had Duke with us at ACC while we were making arrangements to have Duke neutered and returned to his family. We have some of the volunteers from ACC here who worked with Duke through the Fetch program.
Sydney Arnold - I was well acquainted with Duke. He was very friendly, loved to play. Does the SFPD have any training on how to read a dog? We could help officers understand dog behavior.
Sergeant Hicks - Officers are trained and go through a two-year cycle of continuing training. New recruits have training when they go through the academy. Officers cannot be expected to know breeds of dogs. Officers are trained to assess the threat that is present, regardless of the breed. Supervisors are also trained, to insure that officers follow protocol. I plan to do training at various stations, once I get settled into my new job at VDD Unit. I can address some of the myths involving pit bulls in my training by altering my lesson plans. One of my dogs is a bull terrier. People often assume she is a pit bull, but she is not. And sometimes I see people cross the street to avoid my dog. A quicker response by ACC might help situations where SFPD receives a call about a vicious dog. But ACC does not have Code 3 access, so they cannot get to a scene quickly. Plus, they do not have much staff. Officers must first protect themselves. We do not ask officers to get bitten by a dog. Firing a gun should always be a last resort for an officer.
Commissioner Stephens - Is there a mandatory review if a dog is shot?
Sergeant Hicks - If you have discharged your weapon for any reason, there are two parallel investigation about the discharge of the weapon, so that applies to shooting a dog.
Rebecca Katz - To clarify, the police were not at Raymond’s house for anything to do with him. It was completely unrelated.
Commissioner Fortier - Does the SFPD encourage use of pepper spray or something else before firearms?
Sergeant Hicks - Yes, we do train officers to do things other than shoot. We encourage officers to give the dog something to bite, such as a flashlight or stick, which might give time for the owner to control his dog. We always advocate for that. Some say pepper spray is completely ineffective. It seems to not effect some people, same as with dogs.
Commissioner Stephens - Is there a general order that pertains to dogs?
Sergeant Hicks - Yes, General Order 6.07 is the dog general order. If were to be modified, the department would have to change it. It is an official policy.
Commissioner Tenofsky - If someone calls 911 about a dog attack, who responds? Is it SFPD or does ACC respond, too?
Rebecca Katz - To clarify, we have a priority calling system so that when we receive a call from SFPD, even if we are short staffed, we respond to those calls immediately. We have a priority calling system. Generally, the 911 dispatch calls our dispatch.
Captain Denise Bongiovani, Department ACC - We do get a lot of calls about aggressive dogs, some directly from public, some from 311 or transferred from 911. If from 911, the dispatch will tell ACC that they are sending an officer, too. We must obey all traffic laws, just like anyone else because we do not have Code 3 clearance. We deal with animals every day. We are not armed. It is rare that we are bit. Very rare to be seriously bit. Our training is what keeps us safe.
Rebecca Katz - Oakland had some incidents a few years ago, one was a family dog in the yard was shot by an officer. The East Bay SPCA, our agency and others in the Bay Area, put together a training video about dog language, how to respond, various scenarios to see how to engage with dogs and wildlife in safe ways. There are all sorts of nuances about animal behavior. It takes a specialist to be able to train others on how to interpret signals from animals.
Commissioner Stephens - Is there an expectation that the officer on the scene could contain a dangerous animal until ACC arrives?
Sergeant Hicks - Yes, if the officer has the opportunity to remove the dog, they will do that first. No one wants to be bit by a dog. The biggest problems we have had is when the dog is at large, is out and not contained in a home or yard.
Public Comment -
Unidentified speaker
- I heard that the supervisor was the one who ordered the dog in Golden Gate Park be shot. The dog was sitting on a bench at the time. So, training needs to happen for officers and supervisors. There should be more ACC officers. In the Golden Gate Park incident, only one officer responded and there were two dogs. Although you say incidents happen throughout the city, it seems there is a lot of dog activity in the park and the panhandle.
Jody, volunteer at Fetch SFSPCA - What is Sergeant Hicks’ training?
Sergeant Hicks - I am a California POST Certified Instructor, through POST Police
Officer Standard Training. certified trainer for about 16 years.
Public comment closed.
Commissioner Stephens - I feel there is more to talk about with this issue, so I am not ready to put a motion forward at this time. I would like this program to be the best in the country, so maybe we could continue to work with this. I am not ready at this point to send anything to the SFPD, or the Board.
6. Old Business
A) Update on Animal Care and Control’s Budget and Vicious and Dangerous Dog Unit
Commissioner Stephens - Sergeant Hicks has been assigned to the unit. She is on the job currently. ACC budget has been approved to hire a part time hearing officer. The Board of Supervisors budget meeting took place a couple of weeks ago, and as expected, there was a lot of talk and praise for the ACC and talk of needing more officers. The mayor’s budget has not yet come out, so we are monitoring it. Commissioners wrote emails and made calls.
Rebecca Katz - Thank you for your support. It was great to hear the testimony from people about the great work we do for San Francisco.
No public comment. Public comment closed.
7. General public comment.
No public comment.
8. Items to be put on the Calendar for Future Commission Meetings.
Commissioner Fortier - I have heard there has been an increase in dog attacks and bites
in the Presidio and I would like to ask the Presidio to share information about these incidents
with ACC, as what happens in the Presidio might spill over into the city.
9. Motion to adjourn at 6:39pm
Motion to adjourn passed.
