Police Commission - December 16, 2020 - Minutes

Meeting Date:

December 16, 2020 - 5:30pm

Location:

Related Meeting Content:

Agenda Supporting Documents

The Police Commission of the City and County of San Francisco met via videoconference at 5:34 p.m.

PRESENT: Commissioners Taylor, DeJesus, Elias, Hamasaki, Brookter, Cohen

PRESENTATION OF THE CENTER FOR POLICING EQUITY REPORT

Put over to a later date.

REPORTS TO THE COMMISSION

a. Chief’s Request

- Weekly crime trends

- Major/Significant Incidents

- Presentation of the SB 1421 Monthly Update

Chief Scott reported on crime trends: Part one crime, down 25 percent; burglaries, up 46 percent; homicides, 46 year-to-date; shootings are up 23 percent; number of victims by gun violence are up 25 percent; domestic violence, there was a decline in both domestic violence and sexual assaults throughout the year. From March 17^th to November 30^th, for domestic violence, 2,015 reported as compared to 2,609 in 2019, which is a 23 percent decrease. Sexual assaults, 351 reported incidents from March 17^th to November 30^th, which is a 44 percent decrease as compared to 2019 where there were 649 incidents.

The Chief then talked about the Street Crisis Response Team that was put in place on November 30, 2020. The purpose of the Street Crisis Response Team is to relieve police officers from responding to non-violent criminal calls when people are in mental crisis. For the period of November 30^th to December 11^th, the team responded to 34 calls; 24 documents accounts of clients in need. The outcome includes connections and linkages to psychiatric urgent care treatment, transport to medical emergency departments, and overdose reversals. The team works very well together which consist of SFFD paramedics, nonprofit community-based organization, and public health clinicians. The Department have worked with all the organizations on protocols as to when the police will be called. During the same period, the team handled 34 calls, there were over 500 calls for service citywide. The Chief stated that this pilot program is focused basically in the Tenderloin area. The hope is that the capacity will grow and calls can be shift away from police response to the CRT team.

Commander Rob O’Sullivan presented the monthly SB 1421 update.

b. DPA Director’s Report

- Report on recent DPA activities, and announcements

Director Henderson gave an update on year-to-date stats: 743 cases opened cases and closed 836 cases year to date; 348 pending cases; 42 cases sustained; 32 cases past 270 days; 49 cases mediated; 26 cases pending with the Chief; 13 cases pending with the Commission.

Director Henderson gave an update on sustained cases. In 209, the DPA sustained 86 cases containing 185 sustained allegations, compared with 45 sustained cases containing 108 sustained allegations in 2020. There was 52% reduction in sustained Neglect of Duty allegations in 2020. In 2019, the DPA sustained 136 Neglect of Duty allegations, compared with 66 Neglect of Duty allegations sustained in 2020. The reduction in sustained findings in 2020 is due, in part, to the Police Department’s improved compliance with DGO 10.11, Body Worn Cameras. In 2019, the DPA sustained 66 body worn camera related allegations, compared with 29 in 2020.

Outreach: Mediation Table Talk for the community to talk about mediation changes; on December 8^th and 10^th, participated in the Mega Black meeting around criminal justice; December 15^th, participated in stakeholder engagement series partnering with Edwood Center for Children on how to work with public agencies during the pandemic. In January, hosting a panel about language access and a panel on oversight and audits. He went on to give the SB 1421 update.

c. Commission Reports

- Commission President’s Report

- Commissioners’ Reports

- Commission announcements and scheduling of items identified for consideration at future Commission Meetings.

Commissioner Hamasaki thanked the Wealth and Disparities in Black organization for meeting with him and Commissioners Elias and Cohen. He went on to talk about filing of charges by the District Attorney against officers and comments made by the Chief. He stated that these cases are now in the criminal justice system and that no members of the department should comment on the merits of a pending case.

Commissioner Elias announced that she visited the Crime Information Services Unit which is the unit that processes all requests for police reports by victims of domestic violence. She stated that because of conversations that happened before the Commission, policies and procedures were put into place to ensure that victims were provided their police reports in a timely manner. She stated that the Department went from 60 plus days to 1.3 days. She thanked Captain Falzon and the team for their hard, diligent work and for taking the time to show kindness and compassion to the victims. She went on to request the Chief to give a brief overview as to how Internal Affairs investigations work and the process what triggers the investigations and how investigations are handled and where investigations go.

Commissioner Brookter thanked Director Maguire, Director Leung, and Director Oliva-Roche for meeting with him regarding budget.

Commissioner DeJesus asked about the Bar Association’s letter in regards to DGO 5.03. She also asked about not having a meeting last week.

Commissioner Cohen asked about when elections can move forward.

Commissioner Elias made a motion that on January 6 to agendize suspension of bylaws to have an election and to agendize the election on the same date. Second by Commissioner Hamasaki.

AYES: Commissioners DeJesus, Hamasaki, Elias, Brookter, Cohen, Taylor

Public Comment

Unidentified asked that these rules be put on the website.

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY UPDATE ON RACIAL BIAS COMPLAINT-PAUL HENDERSON/DANTE KING

Commissioner Taylor gave a brief background on this item and explained that the Commission sits as a quasi-judicial body and any officer facing discipline could make the allegation that they were not given due process. It took some time to coordinate with the City Attorney’s Office and the Department of Police Accountability on how to structure this presentation. She asked that Commissioners stay clear from asking questions or information about individual officers. She explained she is doing that because should any case comes for discipline before this Commission, in making those statements, Commissioners could end up having to recuse themselves in that discipline case. She asked the Commissioners to be very careful about how questions are asked of Mr. King and how questions are phrased and how statements are made because should discipline arise from this, that those cases are treated on how they should be treated and that officers get disciplined on the way they should be disciplined.

Chief of Staff Sarah Hawkins introduced Mr. Dante King.

Mr. Dante King presented his report.

(The Commission took a brief break from 7:25 p.m. and reconvened at 7:34 p.m.)

Chief of Staff Hawkins presented the DPA’s Bias Audit Proposal.

Public Comment

Unidentified thanked Dante King for speaking tonight and hopes that big changes happen due to his testimony tonight.

Rebecca Young, Public Defender’s Office, spoke of how she was blown away by Mr. King’s statement tonight and that she is grateful for his courage and strength and that police officers are not here just to protect white San Franciscans.

Julie Traun thanked Dante King and spoke that the training was challenging and difficult and thanked the Commissioners and Chief Scott for listening to Mr. King with respect.

Damaris Evans attended one of the training with the sergeants that Dante provided and corroborated with what Julie has said.

PRESENTATION OF THE SFPD’S RACIAL EQUITY PLAN

Director Tiffany Sutton presented the SFPD’s Racial Equity Plan along with Lieutenant Williams.

Public Comment

Yulanda Williams, President OFJ, spoke of attending the course that Dante King gave and said that there has been a lot of damage that has been done and asked how the Department can have a racial equity plan without the leadership of the OFJ involved in the conversation.

Ms. Paulette Brown thanked Dante King and commended him and talked about her son on how the Feds have implied that her son was a gang member.

Gloria Berry gave an example of what a solution can be and spoke of her experience in the military of sexual harassment and spoke of accountability for officers accused of bias.

Arlene Drummond, OFJ, spoke of including retired members in the process and the conversation.

PRESENTATION OF DPA’S RACIAL EQUITY PLAN

Tinnetta Thompson presented the DPA’s Racial Equity Plan.

Public Comment

None

DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ISSUE DEPARTMENT BULLETIN 20-175, “ACTIVATION OF BODY WORN CAMERA.” THIS IS A RE-ISSUE OF DEPARTMENT BULLETIN 18-256 WHICH EXPIRES ON DECEMBER 18, 2020. REFERENCE: DGO 10.11, “BODY WORN CAMERAS”

Assistant Chief Moser presented DB 20-175, “Activation of Body Worn Cameras.”

Motion by Commissioner Hamasaki, second by Commissioner Cohen. Approved 6-0.

RESOLUTION 20-83

APPROVAL TO ISSUE DEPARTMENT BULLETIN 20-175, “ACTIVATION OF BODY WORN CAMERA.” THIS IS A RE-ISSUE OF DEPARTMENT BULLETIN 18-256 WHICH EXPIRES ON DECEMBER 18, 2020

RESOLVED, that the Police Commission hereby approves the issuance of Department Bulletin 20-175, “Activation of Body Worn Camera.” This bulletin is a re-issue of Department Bulletin 18-256 which expires on December 18, 2020.

AYES: Commissioners Taylor, DeJesus, Elias, Hamasaki, Brookter, Cohen

Public Comment

None

GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT

Ms. Paulette Brown spoke in regards to her son Aubry Abrakasa and that to this date it is still an unsolved homicide and that she had not heard from her investigator regarding her son’s case. She thanked Commissioner DeJesus for her letter to the Feds in regards to her son being affiliated with a gang.

PUBLIC COMMENT ON ALL MATTERS PERTAINING TO CLOSED SESSION

None

VOTE ON WHETHER TO HOLD CLOSED SESSION

Motion by Commissioner Elias, second by Commissioner Brookter, to go into Closed Session. Approved 5-0.

CLOSED SESSION (10:14 p.m. – 10:36 p.m.)

CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL – Existing Litigation. Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1) and San Francisco Administrative Code Section 67.10(d)(1): Maurice Caldwell v. CCSF, et al., Case No. 12-CV-1892 EDL, filed April 16, 2012

(Present: Commissioners Taylor, DeJesus, Elias, Hamasaki, Brookter, Chief Scott, Assistant Chief Moser, Deputy City Attorney Cabrera, Sergeant Youngblood, Sergeant Reynolds, Ret. Sergeant Kilshaw, Risa Tom)